Page 78 of Guarded By the Phantom

“We’ll see. Not long, though. I suppose I’ll have to talk to my mother. I’ll do it today, and then we can figure out what to do next.”

I smiled, my chest filling with happiness. I couldn’t wrap my head around the fact I would be free. Free to be with whoever I wanted, free to pursue a career I chose—maybe I could even go to college. Or get a cat. And I would be able to eat what I wanted, and sleep in on the weekends, and read what I chose, and maybe get another tattoo, and drink alcohol, and…

“I love it when you smile like this,” he murmured, pressing my knuckles to his mouth. “I’ll make you smile every day.”

I kissed him with a happy sigh, feeling that my life, which had seemed like a complete trainwreck just a few days ago, couldn’t be more perfect now.

After breakfast, when Scarab set out to do his rounds around the property, I called my mother on the phone to check whether she was in the office. I vibrated with the need to tell her I was moving out and going to live with my bodyguard. I knew she’d be angry, but I almost didn’t care. Soon, I would be free.

“I was just about to call you,” she said coldly. “Will you come to your father’s study, please?”

I agreed at once, thinking it was fortuitous that she was still home. The house was so big, our entire family could stay in and go about our day, not passing each other once.

Now that I had this freedom to discern what I liked and not, I decided I hated it. Living in an apartment would be a thousandtimes better. I’d always know whether Scarab was around. I’d never be lonely again.

I knocked on the study door and slid in, taking in the masculine room furnished in heavy wood with black upholstery. My mother presided behind Father’s enormous desk that stood on carved clawed feet in the middle of a burgundy carpet.

“You’re here,” she said, giving me a tired look. “Sit with me.”

She patted the seat of a stool next to her leather desk chair. I came over, hesitating because of the weird setup. If she wanted to talk, why not sit on the sofa?

As soon as I saw what was on the wide screen of Father’s computer, I knew. My mother didn’t let me ask questions, just hit play.

I saw a black and white but very crisp recording from last night. It showed Scarab carrying me on his shoulder and touching me intimately on the way to my room, our lewd conversation coming through the speakers. My face flamed, because I’d never even realized there were cameras in the house, and the fact my mother saw and heard this made me cringe with shame.

But then, what difference did it make? I was about to tell her I was moving in with him.

“Are there hidden cameras anywhere else?” I asked, pleasantly surprised by how cool my voice sounded.

“No,” she said, pausing the video. “Only in the corridors and on the stairs. We had a problem with the servants once, which was why these were installed. Explain yourself.”

I stared at her bitter, unfriendly face, and it struck me how old she looked. My mother, who was always impeccably dressed and made up, had eyeshadow rolling in the wrinkles around her eyes. A weak surge of guilt made me tense, but then, I hadn’t done anything wrong. It was her who failed me as a mother.

“I’m in love and I’m moving out to be with him,” I said simply, raising my chin.

Her face was impassive as she studied me. I clenched my jaw when I felt like my lip wanted to wobble under the weight of her judgmental gaze. Any moment now, she’d tell me how stupid I was, how naïve, how unable to choose the right thing. She’d insult Scarab and call him horrible names.

I waited with bated breath, but my mother did none of the things I expected. Instead, she slumped back in her chair, massaging the space between her eyebrows. Finally she looked at me, almost sadly.

“No, you are not.”

I bristled. “Yeah? And what will you do? Have me committed? He won’t let you do it! He loves me and he’ll save me, and I don’t care what else you threaten me with, but it won’t work!”

She nodded once, sighing heavily. “You’re so young, Barbara. Well, listen to what I have to tell you and then make up your mind.”

I wanted to walk out of there and slam the door in a fit. But my mother seemed so exhausted and defeated, the guilt I was conditioned to feel every time I disappointed her glued me to my chair. I could at least hear her out. There was nothing she could say that would change my mind, I was sure.

“The mind manipulator who attacked you was sent by Ernest Landizza,” my mother revealed in a tired voice, making me sit up with a shiver. “He wanted to show us how easy it is for a person with his influence to destroy your father’s career. After the video came out, he contacted us with his demands. Your father agreed to work on the bill Landizza wants passed.”

I held up a hand, my thoughts swirling with the information. Not only was this a shock, but the implications of what my mother just said were difficult to grasp.

“You knew?” I asked, my voice rising in outrage. “You knew about it all and you still blamed me? And now you want me to marry hisson?They tried to kill me!”

She rolled her eyes in annoyance. “He wasn’t trying to kill you, just make it look like it. You would have fallen safely, maybe broken your arm at the most. And your father’s name would have been cleared.”

I shook my head, unable to comprehend the logic behind that. My motherknewI was going to be attacked? She agreed for them to make me fall off the balcony andbreak my arm? Not to mention the risk of me dying if something went wrong…

As I stared at her, shocked into speechlessness, she sat back with a pleased huff. She probably thought I was subdued by the revelation.

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