Page 58 of Twisted Lies

His face grows serious. “Are you nervous?”

“Of course.”

“Don’t be. They’ll sense it. There’s nothing to worry about. I won’t let anything happen. This is just a formality, so they know Claire has her own power back. Claire was always an oddball in our world. One of the few women with power. It took her a long time to earn their respect. She had to get her hands dirty, and I know it was hard on her when she lost it.” His words do little to relieve me of my stress, but I don’t have long to dread before the first doorbell sounds. Alex and Claire appear at our sides as other men seem to come out of the woodwork. Some I have never seen before and some I did not realize were even in the house. Claire and Elijah nod at them, and I understand they were part of the family when their father was in charge. This is a show of both old and new power.

Elijah takes my hand, and we inch toward the front door as one of the men opens it and the first couple walks in. I recognize them as Gian Marino and his wife, Stella. I met them at the Costa event.

Stella moves quickly in front of me, pulling me into a hug as if we’ve been friends for years before stepping back with her cat-like smile. I’m taken aback, and I know that was her intent. I need to get my game face on. I’ve already let myself down, and it’s only been a single minute.

“Stella, good to see you. Glad you could come.” I smile at Gian before looking back at his wife. “Let’s find you a drink, and I’ll show you around.”

“That would be great. We must find Claire as well. It’s been too long since I’ve seen her.” Stella says, as if Claire had just gotten back from vacation and not from the death her husband and family played a role in causing. Nodding, I take her to get a drink and find Claire. Claire was only a few feet away from the bar and is more composed as Stella pulls her into a hug.

“Claire, how have you been? You look great. I love the hair color.”

“Oh, thank you so much. I’ve been well. The hair is a product of your husband ruining my life. But tell me how you’ve been? I’ve been dying to catch up.”

I choke on my drink and glance between them. Claire continues to hold her smile while Stella appears to have sucked on a lemon. It only takes a few seconds for Stella to recover. She laughs and starts gossiping about the other wives before they arrive. I can’t decide if I’m glad about the change in topic or not. Either way, I don’t have much to add to the conversation. Instead, I watch Claire and learn.

* * *

ELIJAH

The party is in full swing, and I should be entirely focused on the men in front of me, but my eyes keep searching for Lily. I have this need to make sure she’s okay, that nothing terrible has happened to her. She’s in a room full of vultures of the worst kind.

“Tell us, Elijah, when can we expect your first shipment to go out?” Daniel asks over the rim of his glass. I’m unsurprised they want to know about the guns. My father was known for being the weapon king, amongst other things. While he was involved in multiple products, weapons were his forte. He had a contact no one else had, nor has had since his death. The men he dealt with believed in honor, and they saw no honor in the way his death happened and wouldn’t work with the others. That was my first of several calls when I was back. A few had retired or died, but still had family in the game.

“Soon. I’m finalizing the numbers. By the end of next week.”

“Do we get a discount?” Logan asks, laughing.

Laughing, I take a drink before answering. “It’s double for you.” They all laugh. It’s only a matter of time before I have the whole market cornered with superior products. This is just the start. One by one, I’ll take everything from them, and by the time they realize it, it will be too late. This is my revenge. Not death, but disgrace and loss. They will live with the fact that I’m the one who did it to them. My eyes glance at Lily once more. She’s moved to the other side of the room, talking to a new group, making rounds much the same as Claire. I almost laugh. My sister’s back to her old self. I wish I could be a fly on the wall to the conversations she’s having. I’m sure she’s making everyone feel how she wants them to. She’s waited for this moment as long as I have. Gian changes the topic to something non-business related, and I’m grateful.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, I excuse myself to find Lily, but she’s nowhere to be found. Pulling Claire away from Stella, I quickly ask if she’s seen her, but she says she was walking outside the last time she saw her. Panic grips my chest, and I need to remind myself she may have just needed air. Stepping around people but trying not to appear as frantic as I feel, I race outside and search for her familiar figure.

“You looking for me?” Her voice comes from behind me. Spinning around, I breathe a sigh of relief and let the anger wash away.

“Where have you been?” I demand, stepping closer.

Her eyes harden at my words. “I wasn’t aware I needed your approval to move from one place to another.”

“Now you do,” I snap and know that wasn’t the correct response.

“You’ve been hanging around the wrong people tonight if you think that’s going to work on me,” she hisses, turning her back.

“No. Wait,” I call after her, grabbing her arm and pulling her back. “You’re right. That was a dick statement. I was worried about you,” I add softly. “When I couldn’t find you, I thought something had happened.”

Her stance is still stiff, but at least her eyes are getting a little softer. “The girl who bought the wedding dress was here. I was shocked to see her here, and tonight of all nights. We were chatting and came out here to get some air.”

Alarm bells go off in my head. “You never finished telling me what she looked like or her name. I’m assuming she gave you a name.”

Lily rolls her eyes. “Yes. I got it tonight. She wrote me a note with the dress. It’s Rebecca.”

Everything in my body stalls. My breathing is hitched as I try to put pieces together. Rebecca? It can’t it be. She wouldn’t be that brazen…would she?

“Show me the note.” The urgency in my voice stops her from asking any questions as she leads me to our room to one of her purses thrown in the corner. She seems to dig for hours, trying to find the small piece of paper. She hands it to me with wide eyes.

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