Chapter 7
Audrey had been awake.
That saved her life.
The man entered through the service corridor at 5:12 a.m.
He expected a sleeping maid.
Instead, he found two bodyguards and Audrey sitting behind a locked door with a lamp on.
She had been too afraid to sleep.
Fear has terrible side effects.
Occasionally, one is useful.
“What did you hear?” I asked.
Audrey looked at Veronica.
“Yesterday.”
“Before the pool?”
“Yes.”
She swallowed.
“I was in the laundry room. Miss Veronica was in the corridor outside.”
“With whom?”
“Mr. Rizzo.”
Gabriel closed his eyes.
Veronica didn't.
Audrey continued.
“She told him Sofia had heard too much.”
My hands tightened.
“What exactly?”
Audrey hesitated.
I kept my voice steady.
“Say it.”
“She said if Sofia repeated Preston's words to you, you wouldn't attack Voss immediately.”
“Why not?”
“Because you'd stop and ask questions.”
That almost made me smile.
Apparently my enemies considered thought a tactical problem.
Audrey continued.
“She said you had to see your daughter hurt.”
There it was.
Not dead.
At first.
Hurt.
Angry father.
Immediate revenge.
No questions.
“What changed?”
Audrey looked at Sofia's empty chair across the breakfast room.
“She saw me with Sofia.”
“You interfered.”
“Yes.”
“And then?”
“She said witnesses make angry men curious.”
I understood.
The plan had evolved.
Sofia alive meant questions.
Audrey alive meant testimony.
So Veronica tried to remove both.
“You heard her order someone to come for you?”
Audrey nodded.
“This morning. Outside my room.”
Veronica finally laughed.
“Convenient.”
Audrey turned.
“You said, ‘The maid survives twice and she becomes a story. Fix it.’”
Silence.
Gabriel looked at Veronica.
Not shocked.
Horrified.
He hadn't known.
“You sent someone after her?”
Veronica stared at him.
“You wanted a war.”
“I wanted leverage.”
“No.”
Her voice turned cold.
“You wanted a chair at my fiancé's table.”
Gabriel flinched.
Fiancé.
She still used the word.
Interesting.
“You're not marrying me.”
She looked at me.
“You're angry.”
“No.”
“You'll calm down.”
“No.”
“We can fix this.”
I almost admired her.
Almost.
“You put my daughter in a cage.”
“I scared her.”
“You tried to kill Audrey.”
“She fell.”
Audrey's face hardened.
There it was again.
The lie.
Small enough to say easily.
Repeated enough to sound familiar.
I walked toward Veronica.
“What did you want me to do after I attacked Voss?”
She said nothing.
“Win?”
Silence.
“Lose?”
A flicker.
Not much.
Enough.
I smiled.
“You didn't care.”
Her face tightened.
“If I won, my crews would be exhausted.”
Nothing.
“If I lost, Voss would be weakened too.”
Still nothing.
“And Preston would step between both sides.”
Gabriel looked at me.
I continued.
“He becomes the man who can talk to everyone.”
Preston had spent years cultivating younger crews.
Drinking with them.
Lending money.
Solving problems.
I had mistaken ambition for usefulness.
Veronica finally spoke.
“Preston understands people.”
“No.”
I looked toward the door.
“He understands men who think ambition is intelligence.”
Her eyes narrowed.
I continued.
“And you?”
No answer.
“You become the grieving fiancée if I die.”
Something changed.
Audrey noticed.
So did Gabriel.
I stepped closer.
“But that's still not enough.”
Veronica's expression went flat.
“You didn't plan all this just to help Preston.”
Silence.
“So what did you want?”
For the first time, she looked toward the staircase.
Upstairs.
Toward Sofia.
My guards immediately moved.
I felt something inside me turn to ice.
“What?”
Veronica smiled.
“You still think yesterday was about Voss.”
My voice dropped.
“What was it about?”
She said nothing.
Instead, Gabriel started laughing.
Not happily.
Like a man who had finally understood how badly he had been used.
“Renato.”
I looked at him.
“She wasn't trying to start the war.”
“What?”
“She was trying to see whether you would leave Sofia behind when it started.”
The room went quiet.
I turned toward Veronica.
A test.
Not just of my anger.
Of my movement.
My priorities.
My security.
I suddenly remembered Audrey's first words.
Don't let them separate you from your daughter.
“What happens if I leave her behind?”
Veronica's smile disappeared.
May you like
Gabriel answered.
“They take her.”
