Page 70 of Arranged with Twins
“Get me to Vincent Cooper, or I’ll tear this city apart looking for him myself.”
Ilya nods and steps aside. Twenty minutes later, we’re standing outside the Cooper townhouse with six armed men. I don’t bother knocking. The door splinters under my kick, and we flood into the marble foyer. Katherine screams from the top of the stairs, her hand pressed to her throat in theatrical shock.
“What is the meaning of this? You can’t just?—”
“Where is Vincent?” I scan the first floor, noting the expensive artwork and pristine furniture that Vincent bought with blood money remains unchanged from the last visit... No, there’s an original Matisse that was hanging above the mantle missing, and a faint indication on the wall that it was there. Vincent must be reaching the truly desperate stage to start selling his assets.
“He’s not here. He’s at his office, and I’m calling the police?—”
“Vincent!” I bellow his name loud enough to rattle the windows. “Get down here now, or I start breaking things.”
“There’s no need for—” Katherine tries to say, but she’s interrupted by the sound of footsteps comes from upstairs.
Vincent appears at the top of the staircase, his face pale and his hands shaking. He looks like he’s aged ten years since this morning. “Leo.” His voice cracks on my name. “I can explain?—”
“Your daughter has been kidnapped.” I let each word fall like stones. “Adrian’s men took her off the street an hour ago.”
Katherine’s face goes white. “Kidnapped? That’s impossible. She’s supposed to be?—”
“Safe?” I look between them, noting how Katherine’s concern seems more about appearances than Sienna’s wellbeing. “She was supposed to be safe under my protection, but someone gave Adrian the information he needed to plan this.”
Vincent descends the stairs slowly, gripping the banister like it’s the only thing keeping him upright. “I never wanted this to happen.”
“But you knew it could.” I step closer, and he flinches. “How much did Adrian pay you to sell out your own daughter?”
“It wasn’t supposed to go this far.” He reaches the bottom of the stairs, sweat beading on his forehead despite the cool afternoon air. “Adrian said he just needed information as insurance against your operations. He promised Sienna would never be involved.”
“And you believed him?” The question comes out incredulously. “You believed a man who split from my organization because he was too ruthless even for our world?”
“I had no choice.” His voice rises defensively. “The offshore investments collapsed. We lost everything, Leo. After thirty years of building the Cooper name, everything was gone in six months.”
“So you decided to rebuild it with my blood?”
“I thought I could manage both sides.” He twists his hands. “I planned to take Adrian’s money, provide limited information, and use the marriage alliance to keep you protected. When you paid out for the engagement, I’d use it to pay off Adrian.”
“Limited information?” I pull out my phone and show him photos from the crime scene. “Two of my men are dead becauseAdrian knew exactly when and where to hit Sienna’s detail. That information came from you.”
Katherine descends the stairs with careful steps, her mask of composure slipping. “Vincent, what have you done?”
“What I had to do to save our family.” Vincent turns to her, his voice breaking. “We were going to lose everything—the house, the businesses, and our standing in society. I couldn’t let that happen.”
“So, you traded our daughter instead?” Her voice trembles with theatrical horror, but it doesn’t ring true. Her gaze flicks toward me as though calculating the fallout.
I watch her carefully. “That’s rich coming from the woman who’s been calling Adrian behind Vincent’s back.”
Katherine’s head jerks toward me. “What are you talking about?”
Ilya steps forward from the hallway. “We traced three calls from your private line to a number known to be Adrian’s contact. The first was made the day after the Ritz attack. The most recent was two days ago.”
Her silence is telling. She’s too calm. If she didn’t orchestrate this, she certainly anticipated it. “You weren’t trying to stop this,” I say. “You were trying to control and manage it, just like you always do.”
Katherine recovers quickly, spinning toward Vincent. “You gave him too much. You said Sienna would be protected?—”
“You said we had no choice!” Vincent explodes, finally turning on her. “You were the one who said it would ruin her to be tied to Leo if he went down. You were the one who asked what our options were if the marriage turned scandalous after she seemedto be falling for him. You were afraid she wouldn’t go through with the divorce at the right time.”
They stare at each other as decades of a selfish alliance crumbles between them.
“So which one of you made the final call?” I ask quietly. “Who told Adrian she was fair game?”
