Page 77 of Obsessions of the Heart

Ravi’s question had me turning toward the backseat. “Do you know what's going on?”

The leather seats groaned when his fingers dug in, pulling himself up from the backseat as he shook his head. “I have no idea. She went to the bathroom then came back just… lost.” He glanced at Roux, whose white-knuckled grip on the wheel spoke volumes about his concern.

“Yes. Something happened, but she doesn't want to talk about it.” My normally silent brother spoke my fears, and I faced forward, going through everything I could think of.

Was she upset that she hadn’t seen Cinzia lately? I knew she was busy with family stuff, but being a good friend to Layrin should be top priority. Maybe it had something to do with school? Did she think she was falling behind and blamed us for making her stay home? I could always threaten the teachers into making her a straight-A student… Actually, I should probably do that anyway. It would make life simpler.

A heavy sigh sounded before Ravi crashed back into his seat. “This is really the worst time for our uncle to be coming in. I thought you said he was coming in two days.”

The accusation in his voice had me gripping my phone. “He was, but I guess his plans changed.” This morning, he’d texted that a flight opened up unexpectedly, but now that I was thinking about it... Could it really be a coincidence that a flight opened up the night after we had our call?

No. I don’t believe in coincidences.

My brows furrowed. Thinking back to our conversation, I tried to remember what I possibly could have said to spook him. We talked about a few jobs and some of the Foedus families’ drama, which I couldn’t care less about, then he’d mentioned Layrin.

He’d brought up the “she pet” we had been hanging around, which meant he had someone keeping an eye on us. He didn't mention her coming to live with us, so the spy must be focused on campus.

Maybe he didn't believe me when I brushed it off, claiming she was nothing. It felt foreign to say it, but it had to be said since he’d started going on about us having a “weakness.” I thought that would appease him, but I guessed it didn’t work.

“We’ll deal with the biggest threat first.” Roux glanced at me before turning back to the road. While Layrin was the ultimate goal, the biggest threat was our uncle.

“Roux is right.” I was glaring at the road like all of this was its fault. “We need to meet Uncle, appease him, and make sure he’s settled in his hotel as fast as we can, so we can get home and deal with Rin.”

Ravi rumbled from behind me, “Okay. Fine. But how are we going to do that? You know the old man likes to needle us until he finds something he can use against us.”

Glancing back through the rearview mirror, I watched him cross his arms and frown, staring out the window. While I’d had my suspicions about our uncle from the moment he “found” us, Ravi was the dreamer. He’d always had a craving for family that Roux and I didn’t. It had pained him when that illusion was shattered in our youth. Our dear uncle was worst then the rest of them, bucking for power any way he could get it, even if it meant sacrificing his own flesh and blood. I laughed at myself. Flesh and blood. That man had never seen us as that.

“Then we need to come up with something he’ll be more interested in instead.”

Ravi shot forward. “We could always give him the guy in the basement?! We could say someone tried to poison me.”

Roux nodded. “We could tell him we were about to start the extraction but needed his experience since this guy seems like a professional.”

Running my tongue along my teeth, I couldn't help but think it wasn't a bad idea. Our uncle thought he was the best of the best, so he’d love when his ego was stroked. He would growl about our incompetence, but in the end, he’d agree that he was the best Ambros for the job.

I didn’t realize how beneficial it would be when I used the mall’s surveillance footage to find the guy who’d infiltrated the cookie stand. Roux had gone after him, locking him up in our basement on a medical drip to keep him sedated and quiet. He was intended to be our stress relief toy when Rin went to sleep.

Roux’s low, slow tone caused me to snap out of my head. “We’ve got an offering. Now, what do you think he wants from us?”

That was always the question, wasn't it?

I still remembered the car ride from the orphanage when we first met him. As soon as the door shut, he asked us what we were going to bring to the Ambros family name. When none of us answered him, confused as to what he was asking, he crossed his legs and sighed. That single sigh spoke volumes, as did the glares he leveled at each of us. There was something in his eyes when he looked at us, something that made my stomach clench and sweat drip down my back. That man might be our uncle by blood, but he would get rid of us the second he was able to.

Then he said, in a dull, tired tone, “It doesn't matter. I will break you in order to build you up. You are my dogs now. Don’t forget it.”

“Obedience. He just wants obedience and control.” I exhaled as my blood rushed in my veins, my fingers twitching to wrap around his neck and squeeze. The corners of my lips tipped up, unable to hide how I felt. How disobedient of me.

“Fuck, I hate this place. Why does it always have to glitter? It’s fucking annoying.” Ravi tipped his chin up as we made our way through the marble-floored foyer with all the gold accents. He wasn't wrong.

We passed the golden vases, frames, chandelier, handles, and table legs, cringing the whole way. Of course, our uncle would choose the gaudiest, most lavish suite available, even though it was absolutely ridiculous. The white and gold color scheme gave off this laughable sense of brightness and purity. Nothing about this place represented our uncle, whose soul was the darkest of them all.

“Shut up. Let's just get dressed,” Roux grumbled as he took a left from the entrance hallway.

Ravi slumped. “Yes, fine. Let's put on the monkey suits. Fuck, I can’t wait for the naming ceremony to be over.”

“It's a month away, so we better get used to it.”

He glared at me like my words were the last he wanted to hear, but we needed to keep our guard up now. Fun time was over.

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