Page 28 of The Obedient Lie
Charlotte clicked her tongue. “You don’t have to lie, Emilia. Not to us. We’re your friends.”
“And you’re an Adams,” Vivienne added. “Don’t forget that. They’re Crows. It’s not the same.”
I laughed under my breath — a single, bitter exhale. “No. It’s not.”
Charlotte cocked her head, sensing the shift.
“They don’t pretend to be anything they’re not,” I said. “They don’t coat their claws in sugar. They don’t smile while they gut you. They just… are what they are.”
“Violent,” Vivienne said bluntly. “Territorial. Unstable.”
“So are half the heirs in this room,” I snapped. “You think August Cavelly hasn’t drowned someone in that ridiculousunderground pool? Or that the Thorne boys didn’t burn a vineyard to the ground last summer to cover evidence?”
Charlotte’s mouth tightened.
I kept going.
“At least the Crows don’t send flowers after. Or lie about who they are just to keep a clean press release.”
Vivienne smirked faintly. “You’re defending them like they’re misunderstood puppies.”
“I’m not,” I said, teeth gritted now. “I’m saying if everyone else gets to play monster in a mask, maybe it’s not a crime to respect the ones who don't bother hiding their teeth.”
Charlotte frowned. “You think they’d do the same for you?”
I blinked. Just once. “I don’t care if they would.”
They stared at me like I’d grown a second head.
Like I’d forgotten my bloodline.
My place.
Maybe I had.
“Just be careful,” Vivienne said, more softly this time. “People already talk.”
“Let them,” I muttered, rising to my feet. My chair scraped against the floor.
“Emilia—”
“I need air,” I cut in.
I didn’t look at them when I walked away. I didn’t want to see what was on their faces — pity, confusion, suspicion. Maybe all three.
The hallway outside was cool and quiet. Too quiet.
And that’s when I saw them.
Kingston and Reid Crow.
Leaning against the marble wall, shoulder to shoulder, identical grins that never quite reached their eyes.
They didn’t speak.
They didn’t need to.
They’d heard everything.
