Page 58 of False Heir

“Hey, I was doing you a favor,” she teased, bumping her shoulder against mine. “You were the bravest eight-year-old in the entire Orsini Domain.”

“I kept praying to the Virgin Mary statue Mom kept outside not to come to life. I told her I didn’t want any miracles, thank you,” I said.

“Did it work?” Carmen asked, smirking.

“Oh, yeah. No miracles here,” I said. “And I only did it because I thought my big sister would protect me from the stone monsters.”

My laugh mingled with hers.

“Always,” Carmen said softly, squeezing my hand. Her assurance wrapped around me like a blanket.

But as quickly as it came, the lightness faded. Carmen’s smile slipped away, replaced by the solemnity befitting the elder Orsini daughter. She leaned closer, her gaze sharpening with intent.

“There’s something you should know,” she said, her voice a low thrum of urgency.

My heart skipped, bracing for impact. Whatever followed this somber interlude, it wouldn’t be good. It never was. But with Carmen beside me, I felt ready to face it, whatever ‘it’ was.

“Ade,” Carmen began, her voice carrying a weight that immediately put me on edge. I turned to face her, noting the way her hands had stilled, the playful light in her eyes now extinguished. “There’s been an attack on the lake house.”

A shiver coursed through me, not from fear but from the sudden drop in temperature as my blood ran cold. My mother was always there on the weekend, without fail, unless we already had plans.

“Mom?” The word came out strangled, barely making it past the lump forming in my throat.

“She wasn’t there, thank God. She changed her mind last minute, decided to stay in the city.” Carmen’s eyes searched mine, looking for signs of comprehension or collapse.

“Thank God,” I echoed, relief flooding my veins so fiercely it almost hurt. “But who would dare...?” I couldn’t finish the sentence; the implications were too vast, too terrifying.

“Exactly.” Carmen’s lips were a tight line. “The audacity to strike there, of all places. It’s a message, Adriana. They’re telling us nowhere is safe, not even—“

“Our childhood sanctuary,” I finished for her, a sense of violation settling over me like a shroud.

“Exactly,” she said, her voice shaky.

I stood up abruptly, the room suddenly feeling too small, its opulence a mockery. “This has to stop,” I declared, my voice choked with a mix of fear and anger. I paced the length of the room, my footsteps muted by the plush carpet. “They can’t keep doing this. Putting Mom at risk, threatening everything we hold dear—it’s unconscionable.”

“Adriana.” Carmen’s tone was a warning. She knew me too well, saw the reckless glint in my eye before it fully formed. “We need to think this through.”

“Think it through?” I spun to face her, my hands balled into fists. “While we sit here planning, they’re out there plotting the next move!” I was shouting now, my composure shattered. The idea that someone would target our mother, the matriarch of the Orsini family, was more than I could bear.

“Ade, sit down,” Carmen said.

I sat down, rubbing my temple. “Look, I’ve been thinking,” I began again, my voice steadier as I found my resolve. “We need to meet with Dad again.”

Carmen’s expression shifted from concern to incredulity. “You can’t be serious.” Her gaze locked onto mine, searching for signs of a joke that wasn’t there. “After everything that–”

“Dead serious,” I replied, meeting her stare without flinching. “He listens to me. Or at least, he used to. Maybe I can get through to him—remind him who we are, what the Orsini name stands for.”

She paused, considering, her fingers tapping rhythmically against the armrest. “Adriana, Dad’s not the man he once was. This... obsession of his—it’s changing him.”

“Which is exactly why we can’t just sit back and do nothing!” My hands spread wide in exasperation. “Someone has to show him reason.”

“Are you sure this is wise?” Carmen’s voice was low, weighted with a fear she rarely showed. “Dad is becoming more unpredictable. If he sees your move as a challenge...”

“Then I’ll deal with it,” I said with more bravado than I felt. “I have to try, Carmen. For our family.”

She let out a long breath. “All right. But we’re not going into this blind. We need a solid plan, something foolproof.”

“Right. Okay, let’s get to planning,” I said.

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