They were slowly closing in, suffocating me.
I started to climb the grand staircase that I used to play on with my twin, taking the turn toward the wing where my rooms were. The old paintings stared back at me, frowning at my state of mind.
“Where are those girls, Liana?”
My mother’s voice came from behind me. The memory of the dreams that plagued me lingered in the back of my mind. I wanted to remember the faceless man. I wanted to remember the details of my sister’s death. But I couldn’t ask her.
I knew enough to know I wouldn’t get the truth from her. Over two and a half decades under her thumb had hardened me.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Mother.” I kept my voice cool, nonplussed. “I’m tired. I’m going to—”
“What were you doing in the Port of Washington a week ago?” I ignored the accusation in her voice. She was fishing. She didn’t know I was in the port. The tracker she thought she had on me had been removed a long time ago, and it now lived in my clutch. The one that stayed behind in the hotel room right next to hers in D.C.
I resumed walking, my mother’s heels clicking behind me as she followed me down the corridor.
“I’ve never been to the Port of Washington,” I lied, then feigned curiosity as I added, “Where is it?”
“Nowhere.”
Stopping in front of the door that led to my bedroom suite, I turned to face her. “Why do you ask?”
My heart pounded as I locked eyes with the woman who gave me life. She was a bad mother, but an even crueler criminal. She protected us from her enemies, but not from herself.
Mother sighed. “Never mind.”
I nodded. “Good night, then.”
I entered my suite and shut the door firmly behind me, dreading sleep and my nightly visits with the ghosts that just wouldn’t let me be.
Chapter 15Liana
My neck was stiff and every muscle in my body ached.
My fingers flew across the keyboard and my eyes burned from hours spent staring at my laptop screen. For two days, I’d been trying to penetrate Nico Morrelli’s walls. I’d tried every possible combination and hit a dead end every single time.
My sister had been better at this tech stuff than me. She’d taught me a few tricks, but I was always better at sketching. At art in general.
My chest tightened. God, I missed her. I should have been stronger. I should have done a better job protecting her. I should have—
There were so many “should haves” as self-loathing threatened to overwhelm me. I had to quickly put the lid on those emotions. It never boded well going down memory lane.
Instead, I focused on ensuring the women I saved were okay. So, biting my lip, I tried again. I searched for any crack in his firewalls before the screen blanked out on me.
“Dammit,” I muttered, frustrated, my palms hitting the table. “I need to know.”
I’d done detailed research on the man. He was a genius, and he was also a virtuous crusader. He funded Gia’s—his housekeeper’s—shelters, who had been a victim herself. For whatever reason though, I wanted assurance that these women were safe, that I hadn’t endangered them further.
A message popped up on the dark web.
You’ll never break into my database.
“What the—”
I had not expected this.
My heart pounded wildly. It shouldn’t surprise me that Nico Morrelli caught on to me trying to penetrate his network. While I debated whether to talk to the man or not, another message came up.
What do you want?
“At least he’s to the point,” I muttered under my breath. Then, deciding I might as well get the information I wanted, I brought my fingers to the keyboard.
Are the girls safe?
They are.
Relief washed over me like a cold stream on a hot summer day, except there was no sunshine here. I hoped those women would have theirs though. Another message came in.
Who are you?
My hands hovered over the keyboard. I wanted to tell him. I needed a friend. But trust was an expensive thing in this world. Misplacing it could cost you everything that ever mattered to you. Another message popped up.
We can help you.
Before I could contemplate my reply, my laptop pinged, warning of a counter trace, and I closed out of the software, slamming my laptop shut. Goddammit, that was stupid. Morrelli’s reputation should have been enough for me.
I gritted my teeth, turning my face toward the window and gazing out into the dark night. A full moon glimmered over miles and miles of snow, and I inadvertently shuddered. Fuck, I’d had enough cold weather to last me a lifetime.
At the sight of the white landscape, a memory filtered in through my throbbing temples.
The castle—our prison—stood dark and ominous among the winter wonderland. I couldn’t help but compare it to an evil surrounded by innocence. Ivan and my mother, and what they were doing here, were evil. The rest of us were innocent.
Or something like that.
“Sun’s setting,” my sister grumbled. “We have to go back.”
Everything about this home unsettled us. I’d rather stay out here and freeze until the sun set over the horizon than go back inside. Out here, the shame could be temporarily forgotten.
My twin and I walked in silence, lost in our thoughts.
“Make sure you keep your distance from the basement,” I warned her.
Fear slithered through my veins. Ivan and his goons had been gawking at us for months. It was only a matter of time before they made a move.
“So you noticed it too,” she whispered, eyeing me. We looked identical aside from a slight variation in our eye color.
“I don’t like the way he’s looking at us.”
She knew who I meant. Ivan was a cruel pig. I couldn’t even believe Mother would marry someone like that. If that was what every marriage was like, I never wanted a part of it.
“Me neither,” she muttered. “It gives me the creeps.”
“Me too.”
We waded between the trees, the temperatures plummeting drastically. “What if he tries something?”
“He’s too scared of Mother,” I grunted, stomping on a pile of hard-packed snow to release some of my irritation. “And that fucking bodyguard will rip anyone apart who tries to get near us.” The first smile of the day passed between us. “Maybe we should stay out here,” she said pensively. “Build an igloo.”
I shuddered despite my warm coat, but my twin could be convincing, which was how we ended up attempting to build an igloo for the next hour, almost freezing to death.
A tear rolled down my face. I missed her so much. The talks we had. The hugs she gave me. She always had my back.
A throb started in my temples, and I pinched the bridge of my nose, hoping to get some relief.
My thoughts strayed back to the dark-eyed stranger from the restaurant whose burning eyes had caught me off guard. I had never experienced such loathing aimed at me, and that was saying a lot—I wasn’t exactly a likable person thanks to my blood relations.
Yet there was something about that mysterious man. He knew me. I didn’t know how, but I’d stake my life on it. I dug through my memory, trying to remember where I’d seen him, but the harder I tried, the more my head ached.
My eyes traveled aimlessly over the bedroom that’d witnessed my past, present, and possibly my future—however long it might be. Half-completed sketches lay across the bedspread—the faceless man plaguing my dreams, terrorized women haunting my waking hours, my twin. My chest tightened and my breaths turned shallow.