Page 97 of Dangerous Deceit

He grabs my body, and we both roll until I’m pinned underneath him. His hard-on is raging between us, stabbing against my stomach, but his eyes pierce my soul.

“You would rather believe a man who lies to get money,” he says. “Who commits insurance fraud, making people believe he’s their long-lost relative. Who uses you like a whore just to get people to pay for things neither of you need.” He searches me for understanding, but every inch of me is full of anger. “I don’t give a shit what you do, but believing himover me?That’s what fucking hurts, Vi.”

I spit in his face. Any sort of reason escapes me as I lurch forward, trying as hard as I can to bite him, but he pushes himself away and storms down the hallway toward the kitchen. He grabs the candle I made for him and hurls it against the wall. It crashes into a pile of wax and glass. He flips the glass coffee table, and it careens against the wall too, shattering it into a million pieces. I curl into a ball, hiding from the glass.

His eyes reach mine and both of us hold still. Shards of glass. Chunks of wax. Ceramic fragments. The broken remains of a home. There’s a darkness in his eyes I can’t read—guilt, maybe, or sadness—but before I can figure it out, he storms toward the balcony.

“What are you even doing out there?” I demand. “Calling backup so your soldiers can kill me? Because you’re too much of a coward to do it yourself?”

He flips around, rage radiating off of him. “I can’t think straight when I’m around you,” he howls.

His nostrils flare like a predator, and my breath catches in my throat. I slowly rise to my feet. Then he exits to the balcony, locking the door behind him. Out of desperation, out of the sheer will to fight, to do anything so I know hefeelssomething for me, I rush to the door, banging on it and screaming at the top of my lungs.

Kenzo ignores me. He grips the railing as he stares out at the city.

He’s going to leave me alone. Just like my parents.

Maybe he’s right.

Maybe my uncle did something terrible like that. To someone else. Not me though. He could never do that to me.

But even if Kenzo is right, Uncle Jay is still here, still by my side, and that says more to me than anything else.

Kenzo can’t even finish an argument with me.

By the time the balcony door opens, most of the ceramic in the hallway is gone, but the living room is a mess. I refuse to help him clean up his tantrum.

But Kenzo doesn’t even see the broken remains of our fight. His eyes are so focused on me I can feel his gaze like a silk cocoon weaving tightly around my body. My throat constricts.

A light shimmers through his gaze. Maybe it’s hope. I cling to that possibility desperately.

“I have proof, Vi,” he says, his voice gravelly, but calm, like he’s been practicing these words. “You don’t believe me, but I have it on my phone. I recorded the whole conversation.”

My insides churn with fury. I want to tell him recording like that is an invasion of privacy, that Jay—my uncle—could have been lying to Kenzojustto create a superficial bond. I want to tell him what happened in the past doesn’t matter because, if Uncle Jay did do it, he has atoned for his crime by taking care of me my whole life.

And I choose family.

Uncle Jay has never left me.That’sloyalty. I don’t need to hear Kenzo’s recording. It’s just another one of his games. He’s the one manipulating me right now.

“Go to hell,” I say.

I spin around and walk toward one of the guest rooms. I may be locked inside of this penthouse, but I refuse to indulge in this conversation.

“Listen to me,” he commands. Chills run through me. His tone is so different from the carefree, playful Kenzo I walked down the wedding aisle with. That switch of personality runs through him, and I know, no matter what happens, this side—thisdangerousside—will always be there, waiting for me.

Because I keep letting him in.

“I can’t keep letting you or Jay do this,” he says, his voice loud but steady, like he knows he needs to stay calm in orderto keep me still. “I’ve been keeping everyone off of his back and yours, promising I’ll take care of this, but I can’t let you or him fuck us over forever. If you bring him in, we can get through this together, but we have to do somethingnow,Vivian. If we don’t, the rest of the family will get involved. It’s not just about us anymore.”

Vivian.He says my full name like he has some sort of authority over me. Like he thinks he can control me.

“Stop pretending like you care,” I say, spinning around. “You’re nothing but a jealous idiot who is so fucking broken, you want to break down the only bit of hope I have left.” I cross my arms over my chest. “And I refuse, Kenzo. I’m not going to be a broken girl to you anymore.”

But suddenly, I’m in that backseat. Waiting for my parents to come back. Waiting for someone to save me.

You’re not supposed to be here,Uncle Jay had said. Is Kenzo right? Was I really supposed to go inside of the house and be murdered too?

Kenzo’s jaw tightens. “I’m trying to warn you, Vi.”

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