Page 158 of Safe and Sound

“That’s why we named you Ava since it meant life.” Dad gave me a sad smile as he cupped my cheeks. “Through you, Thea lives on.”

Although those words should’ve given me comfort, they didn’t. I’d been raised by the most amazing parents in the world, but at the same time, I’d been denied being with the ones who’d given me life.

Breaking the silence, Dare asked, “Did Christos drive you out of Greece?”

As Mom shook her head, Dad replied, “We couldn’t raise Ava in Greece. They would’ve killed us all. So, we gathered your brothers, and we left with only the clothes on our backs.”

With a sad smile, Mom added, “And the jewelry that Dimitrios had given Thea. It bought us this house, the restaurant, and new identities.”

“Fuck,” Dare once again muttered under his breath. When we all looked at him, he said, “That’s why Gianni couldn’t find anything about the threat Wesley mentioned. He wasn’t looking under the right names.”

“What threat?” I asked.

“He told me when he was stalking you, he found there were people looking for you. I had Gianni search for me, but he couldn’t find anything. I’d given up that he was just bullshitting me. Cocking his head at my parents, he asked, “They weren’t looking for the Carras family, were they?”

Dad exhaled a painful breath. “No. We all received new first names along with the surname of Carras.”

“Would Christos have any reason to believe that Dimitros’s child hadn’t died in the accident?” Dare asked.

“While I brought Ava home, Nikolaos and Georgios set fire to the car. If they searched the ashes, they wouldn’t have found the baby. But if that was the case, I think they would’ve come after her sooner.”

Dare nodded. “That also tracks with Wesley putting Ava’s image on the dark web.” Turning to me, he said, “You look just like your mom. Someone must’ve seen the picture and gotsuspicious. They realized the true Trakos heir was potentially alive.”

The Trakos heir.Iwas an heir to a Greek mafia family. As the realization crashed over me, I staggered back. “No. I’m not the heir.”

“But you are. You’re Dimitros’s daughter.”

“But I don’t want to be. I want nothing to do with the family who killed my parents.”

“You don’t have much of a choice. It’s destined by blood.”

“But why do they want the necklace and not me?” I asked.

“That’s a good question,” Dare replied. “Do you two know anything about the origins of the necklace?”

“Just that it had belonged to Dimetrios’s mother.”

“So Christos wants it back because it was his mom’s?” I asked.

Shaking his head, Dare replied, “I have a feeling it’s more than that. Where is it?”

“Upstairs in the safe,” Mom replied.

“Can you get it for me?”

Mom nodded before rising off the couch. As she disappeared upstairs, we sat in a pained silence. Leaning over, Dare wrapped his arm around me, drawing me against him. I welcomed his strength. It felt like at any moment I was truly going to fall apart.

When Mom returned, she handed the box to Dare. After popping the lid, he took out the necklace. After examining the sparkling sapphires and diamonds, he flipped it over to look at the underside.

I pointed to the spot with the lever. “That scratched me really bad the other night.”

Frowning, Dare began to move the lever back and forth. When it popped up, I gasped. “You broke it,” I lamented.

“I did. But for good reason.” Dare leaned forward over the coffee table before shaking the necklace. A rattling noise came before something clinked on the table.

We all leaned over to peer at what looked like a small silver key. Its embossed design made it look antique.

Dare took it between his fingers and held it up to us. “This is why they want the necklace.”

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