Page 82 of The Hunter's Empire

Chapter 19

Zora

"What are you doing?" Roisin asks again. The question isn't angry. If anything, that makes it worse.

I open my mouth, desperately searching for something. Anything, that might soften the blow. Nothing comes. Because there is no explanation that doesn't sound like a lie.

"What is this?" She asks, her voice sharper this time. "Why are you in my father's private room?"

"Roisin, please, just let me explain."

"Then explain." The demand comes immediately. Her eyes never leave mine. "Because right now, Vivienne, it looks like I just walked in on the two of you breaking into my grandfather's locker."

I take a careful step forward. "It's not as simple as that."

"Then make it simple." The disappointment in her voice hurts more than the accusation. "What are you looking for?"

I hesitate. That hesitation is a mistake. I see it the second she notices. Her expression changes. Just slightly but enough.

"You weren't invited into this room." Her gaze shifts toward the electronic bypass device still attached to the keypad.

"You didn't accidentally end up here that day." Another look toward the documents. Then back at me. "You planned this."

Her eyes search my face as though she's seeing me for the first time. Every conversation. Every question. Every moment we spent together. I can practically see her replaying all of it.

"You lied to me."

"Roisin…"

"You lied to me." The hurt in her voice is impossible to miss.

For several seconds she simply stares at me. Then her gaze shifts toward Nico. A different realization follows immediately. One that makes the color drain from her face.

Slowly, she looks back at me. "Who are you? Who are you really, Vivienne?" The use of my fake name feels deliberate. A reminder that she doesn't actually know me. Maybe she never did.

"You sat in my room while I told you things I've never told anyone else." She continues, her voice trembling despite her obvious effort to control it. "You listened to me. You told me I deserved better than this family."

Her eyes drift toward the open locker. "And all this time you were doing this?"

The guilt hits harder than I expect. Because somewhere along the way, Roisin stopped being a mission objective. She became my friend.

Nico steps forward before I can answer. "There are things happening inside this family that you don't know about."

Roisin doesn't even look at him. Her attention remains fixed entirely on me.

"Who are you?" She asks quietly. "Who are either of you?" The question hangs heavily in the room.

For a moment, nobody speaks. The distant music from the celebration drifts faintly through the walls. Somewhere outside, fireworks continue exploding over the lake, completely unaware of the disaster unfolding in this bedroom.

Then everything changes. A deafening siren suddenly erupts throughout the estate. The sound tears through the silence so violently that all three of us flinch.

My heart immediately drops into my stomach. We've been caught. The thought slams into me instantly. I see the same realization flash across Roisin's face.

Nico, however, reacts differently. His attention immediately shifts. He checks his watch.

His expression sharpens. "No."

"What do you mean no?" I stare at him.