Page 65 of Arranged with Twins
I remember that moment, where the knife slashed my flesh. “Vincent’s information nearly got me killed.”
The door to my office slams open with such force the frame rattles. Sienna stands in the doorway, pale and visibly shaking, her hand clenched around the edge of the jamb. Her gaze flicks from me to Ilya, then to the folder still in his hand. “Is that true?” Her voice is low and sharp, but it cuts through the room like a blade. “Did I just hear you say my father is planning your murder?”
My stomach knots. I should’ve known she was nearby. I should’ve made sure the door was locked, and she hadn’t followed us down the hall. “Sienna,” I start to say, trying to gauge how much she heard, and how much damage has already been done.
“Answer me, Leo.” She takes a step into the room, chin high, and trembling with fury. “I want to hear you say it. Did my father take money from this Adrian guy? Did he agree to,” Her voice breaks slightly before hardening again. “To have you killed so he could take over your empire through me?”
Her lips wobble from the betrayal she’s only just beginning to understand, and the sight of her, so fierce yet devastated, makes my chest ache. “I was going to tell you?—”
“When?” Her voice rises, brittle and breaking. “When were you going to tell me, Leo?” She storms across the room and snatches the folder from Ilya’s hand, flipping it open with frantic urgency. Page after page of financial transfers and intercepted communications spill out across my desk. “How long were you planning to keep this from me?” Her voice shakes with rage now.
“Until you were out of the first trimester, when the risk of miscarriage drops significantly. I wanted to be sure you could handle the truth.”
“The truth?” She waves the bank statements. “My father is taking money from your enemy? My father is selling information that could get you killed?”
“Yes,” I reply flatly.
Her expression is starting to change as her mood shifts. Her eyes narrow as she look at the documents and then looks at me again. “These could be fabricated.” She throws the papers back on my desk. “This is awfully convenient evidence that appears just when you need to isolate me from my family.”
“I’m not trying to isolate?—”
Before I can finish, Ilya interrupts me to say to her, “Recall the attack at the Ritz, Miss Cooper. Vincent provided the security details that made it possible.”
“Shut the fuck up.” Sienna whirls on him. “This is between me and Leo.”
“Your father made a deal with Adrian behind your back to save his own skin,” I say, moving around the desk toward her. “The marriage treaty was never about protecting your family. It was a strategic distraction while he funneled intelligence to a man who wants me dead.”
“Show me proof.” She backs toward the door. “Real proof, not documents your people could have created.”
“I can’t reveal our sources?—”
“How convenient.” Her laugh is bitter and broken. “You expect me to believe my father is a traitor based on papers I can’t verify?”
“Your father owes Adrian fifteen million dollars and has been paying with intelligence about my operations.” I keep my voice steady despite the anger building in my chest. “Adrian wants me dead, and Vincent is helping him achieve that goal. You could be caught in the crossfire when he faces the consequences of his actions.”
“Father would never hurt me.” She reaches for the door handle. “He’s my father.”
“He’s already hurt you by putting you in Adrian’s crosshairs.” I follow her. “Every detail he’s provided brings Adrian closer to me, and by now, Adrian surely knows how much you mean to me. I’m trying to protect you.”
She snorts harshly. “By lying to me for weeks?” Her voice cracks. “You say you didn’t tell me because you wanted me to be out of the first trimester, but I’ve had no indication of complications. There was no reason not to tell me, except you wanted to wait until I was trapped.” She steps back. “Until leaving would be harder, until I’d be more dependent on you.” She shakes her head. “This is about control, Leo. It always comes back to control with you.”
“This is about survival,” I shoot back. “Yours and our children’s.”
“You made all the decisions for both of us and just assumed I’d go along with it, and now you’ve turned my pregnancy into leverage.”
“That’s not true.”
She stares at me, and her expression shutters. “If you want out of this arrangement, Leo, just say so,” she says quietly, her voice colder now. “You don’t need to turn my parents into monsters to make yourself feel better about walking away.”
“I don’t want out.” The words explode from me. “I want you safe.”
“By keeping me locked in your fortress while you wage war against my family?” She turns on her heel and doesn’t look back. “I won’t be used as leverage in your games.”
“Sienna, wait?—”
“No.” Her voice echoes down the hallway as she storms away. “I need space to think, and I need to talk to my father myself.”
I watch her walk away, every instinct screaming at me to follow as Ilya clears his throat behind me.
