Page 93 of Ruthless Saint

Sun Tzu once said, ‘The whole secret lies in confusing the enemy, so that he cannot fathom our realintent’.And that’s exactly what Dante has done. He’s drip-dropped bits and pieces of information shrouded in deceit and unsaid truths until I no longer could tell what made sense and what didn’t, putting things together where they don’t belong.

My mind is in utter chaos right now, trying to figure out the next steps. But in the midst of chaos, there is always opportunity.

Here’s what I know:

Dante’s mum was friends with someone who looked like me.

They went to the same high school together.

The same high school Dante went to.

Dante has a money clip with the same engraving as the pocket watch I was left with when I was abandoned.

Dante got his money clip from his mum.

The pocket watch might be Dante’s.

Except for the life of me, I can’t figure out why he would lie about the last one. Could he somehow be involved in how I was left as a toddler? I always thought the black jacket I was found in belonged to my father or another adult, but it could have been Dante’s.

Unable to sleep, I slip from under Dante’s arm and slide out of bed. Watching him for what feels like a minute, I try to memorise his features. He looks so peaceful as he sleeps, the angry line between his brows smooth as his eyes flutter beneath his eyelids. There’s only one thing I can do—find out the truth for myself, and there are crumbs now. Crumbs I can follow.

Tiptoeing into the spare bedroom, I make sure not to make a sound as I get dressed in black jeans, a black hoodie and black lace-up boots, swinging on the black jacket that has been on my mind as an afterthought.

Like I said, even in the midst of chaos, there’s always an opportunity. And right now, my opportunity is to go figure out who Elena’s best friend was and why the hell everyone is mistaking me for her.

As silently as possible, I creep down the stairs and out the front door. Jogging down the gravel and taking great care to avoid the floodlights scattered around the front of the property, I creep down to the edge of the driveway while trying to figure out how the hell I’m going to scale the ten-foot wall surrounding the property. I should have really thought this through.

An idea forms in my head as I slow to a walk and then stop altogether. Turning on my heel, I run back to the mansion and stand in front of the large garage door.

“What are you doing out at this time of the night?”

I whip my head to meet Freddie’s suspicious gaze. I put on my biggest smile. “Evening, Frederico.”

His lip twitches up.

“Alessa.”

“From where I’m standing, you have two options,” I claim boldly.

Fredster’s eyebrow lifts up, the expression on his face curious.

“Help me get out of here and back before Dante wakes up.”

“Or?”

I sigh. “I haven’t gotten that far yet, but, Freddie, it’s my only chance. I’m not running away. No one knows where I’m going, and we’ll be back before anyone even realises I was gone. Please, please, please.”

“Oh, I’m going with you now?”

Chewing my lip, I look into his eyes. “I don’t know where the local high school is.”

“You want to go to Blackwood High?” He shudders.

“Just to the library.”

“I’m sure Dante would take you if you’d ask him.”

I hold back the tears threatening to break free. “You know how protective he is. Please, Freddie. He’ll never even know we were gone. I just need five minutes.”

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