Chapter 15 - I Walked Into the Caruso Mansion Alone
I didn’t tell anyone.
Not immediately.
Because everybody had lied to me.
Sarah.
Grant.
My mother.
Dominic.
Mateo.
Even when the lies were supposedly meant to protect me, they remained lies.
So I did something incredibly stupid.
I contacted Isabella myself.
Her answer came immediately.
Tonight. 11:00. Caruso estate. Come alone.
At 10:58, I walked through the front gates.
No weapon.
No wire.
No Mateo.
At least, that was what Isabella believed.
Mateo had secretly returned two hours earlier after faking his death to force the conspirators into the open.
When I told him my plan, his reaction could have damaged windows.
“Absolutely not.”
“You’re dead.”
“Technically.”
“Then stay dead.”
“Harper.”
“You keep walking into traps.”
“That does not mean you should imitate me.”
“Maybe I’m learning from you.”
“That is exactly what I’ve been trying to prevent.”
Eventually we compromised.
I entered alone.
His people remained nearby.
The Caruso mansion was strangely quiet.
Isabella waited in a library.
Red dress.
Barefoot.
A glass of wine in her hand.
“You came.”
“You expected me.”
“I hoped.”
“Did you order the hotel attack?”
She smiled sadly.
“No.”
“Dominic says you did.”
“My father lies.”
“So does everyone.”
“That’s fair.”
She poured another glass.
I refused.
“Why did you send me the warning at my mother’s house?”
“To keep you alive.”
“Why?”
“Because Robert saved me.”
“You said that before.”
“It was true.”
“Then who attacked Mateo?”
Isabella walked toward the window.
“Vincent.”
I laughed.
“Vincent says it wasn’t him.”
“He lied.”
“And you don’t?”
She turned.
“Constantly.”
At least she was honest about that.
“Why the room switch?”
“To create a witness.”
“What?”
“The attack was supposed to happen while Mateo was alone. Grant changed the plan.”
“You’re saying Grant put me there to save Mateo?”
“Yes.”
My stomach twisted.
“Sarah said she chose me.”
“Sarah chose who would enter the room. Grant chose why.”
Pieces shifted.
Grant knew my father.
Grant knew Robert had once trusted Mateo.
If I survived, I might connect their investigations.
If Mateo survived, he might finally reopen Robert’s evidence.
“So Grant was helping us?”
“In his own cowardly way.”
“Where is he?”
Isabella’s expression changed.
“Dead.”
My chest tightened.
“How?”
“My brother.”
“Vincent?”
“Yes.”
A door opened.
Vincent walked in.
I spun.
Isabella looked genuinely shocked.
“You weren’t supposed to be here.”
Vincent smiled.
“Apparently everyone is lying tonight.”
He looked at me.
“Hello, Harper.”
My stomach dropped.
“You killed Grant?”
“Yes.”
No hesitation.
“Why?”
“He became inconvenient.”
Isabella moved toward a drawer.
Vincent said:
“Don’t.”
She stopped.
He had a gun pointed at her.
Then the lights outside flashed.
Mateo’s signal.
Vincent noticed.
He smiled.
“You brought him.”
“He’s dead.”
“Harper.”
His amusement grew.
“The whole city may believe Mateo Valente died.”
He stepped closer.
“But you don’t look like a woman who lost the man she loves.”
My breath caught.
Isabella glanced at me.
“Oh.”
“Shut up.”
Vincent laughed.
Then gunfire sounded outside.
Security.
Movement.
Chaos.
Vincent grabbed me.
Pressed the gun against my side.
My nightmare repeated.
Cold steel.
A man behind me.
But this time I wasn’t asleep.
And this time I wasn’t helpless.
I slammed my heel down on his foot and twisted the way Mateo had taught me during one of his obsessive security lectures.
Vincent lost his grip.
Isabella struck his arm.
The gun slid away.
Mateo entered.
Alive.
Furious.
Vincent stared.
“I knew it.”
Mateo raised his weapon.
“Let her go.”
Vincent smiled.
“You still don’t understand.”
“Understand what?”
“Harper was never the target.”
Silence.
Vincent looked at me.
“She was bait.”
“For Mateo?”
“No.”
His smile widened.
“For Dominic.”
May you like
Then the entire mansion went dark.
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