Page 23 of Ruthless Vengeance
Blood roars in my ears as I slam the file shut, my grip tightening until the edges of the folder crumple in my hands.
My chest rises and falls with each sharp breath, my vision tunneling as the pieces start to slot into place.
The fear in her eyes when she asked if Ben was dead, the hesitation in her voice, the way she refused to meet my gaze…
She wasn’t in shock.
She was hiding something.
I reach for my whisky and down the rest of it in one gulp before slamming the empty glass back down on the table so hard it shatters.
Glass slices into my palm, but I don’t feel the pain. All I can feel is the sharp sting of betrayal as I think about Clara.
Did Tommaso plant her at the bar all those months ago to seduce me? To have me knock her up with a kid to use as a fucking chess piece?
I ball my bloodied hand into a fist as I grind my teeth together.
All this time, have I been nothing more than a pawn in Tommaso’s sick and twisted game?
Every moment Clara and I spent together, every kiss we shared, every time she told me she loved me… Was it nothing but lies?
No, surely, it can’t be.
She stepped in front of that gun in the cabin, willing to sacrifice her own life in order to save the lives of my family.
Unless it was nothing more than an act.
If Ben was working for Tommaso, and Clara knew all along, it makes me wonder what the hell I’ve let into my life, into myfamily.
I don’t know what pisses me off more, the lie itself, or the fact that now, even knowing the truth about her brother’s alliance with Tommaso, I still fucking love her.
I take a sharp breath, trying to push down the fury rising in my chest.
I need to be smart about this because as much as I want to storm home and demand she tell meeverything,I know Clara. She’s stubborn as hell, and she won’t give up information easily, especially if she thinks it might put her or Zoe in danger.
I need to get ahead of this before it gets out of control, before my family pays the ultimate price for my mistake.
The sky has clouded over as I head back to the car, the file in my hand a ticking time bomb.
Clara lied to me, but the question is why.
Was she doing it to protect me, orhim?
Chapter Seven
CLARA
I pacethe room for what feels like the hundredth time, my mind running wild as I wait for Marco to get home. The longer I put off telling him the truth about Ben, the worse this is going to get,especiallyif he hears it from someone else. Because if there’s one thing Marco hates, it’s lies. And I’m standing in the middle of one so big I don’t know how I haven’t suffocated under the weight of it.
I just need to rip off the band aid and hope he can forgive me. Because if he doesn’t, I’m not sure what I’ll do.
As I stand at the window beside Zoe’s crib, I look down at the driveway waiting for his car to appear.
My stomach twists as I glance over at our daughter sleeping in her crib. God, how I envy her innocence.
I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to sleep peacefully again. Even if Marco and I manage to get past this mess with Ben, it won’t be enough to make me forget what’s happened.
Alio lying dead on the floor.
