Page 55 of Vows of Silence

I sat curled against the headboard with one of the books balanced open across my knees, absently twisting a strand of hair around my finger whilst rereading the same paragraph forwhat was probably the fourth time. My attention wasn’t really on the story. For some reason, today was harder to focus. And it was all because of the cameras.

I had found three more over the past few days—one tucked into the smoke detector above the bathroom door, another hidden behind the vent near the ceiling, and the third had been almost impossible to notice, the tiny lens catching the light only when I shifted position in bed.

Silas must have known I was on the hunt. After all, the cameras were always running. I had to wonder what he thought of my findings.

The strange thing was, I no longer believed he was trying particularly hard to hide that fact from me. In the beginning, I had thought the cameras were there purely for surveillance, another way to control and monitor me. But now… now I wasn’t so sure. Sometimes it felt intentional, like he wanted me to notice things. Wanted me to observe. Wanted me to learn.

But if that was the case, what did he want me to notice? What wasn’t I seeing?

I focused on the book, as though it would suddenly give me the answer I was looking for, when I heard the lock on the basement door click.

I looked up automatically, expecting Silas with dinner or another stack of books. Instead, the heavy door slammed open so violently it cracked against the wall, making me jump hard enough that the book slipped from my hands.

Rafael Falcone stormed into the room.

Fear hit me instantly. Real fear. The kind that tightened every muscle in my body and made my stomach drop painfully. I scrambled backwards across the mattress on instinct, dragging the blanket with me as though cotton could somehow protect me from a man like him.

He glared at me, but barely stopped to pay me much attention. It seemed once he confirmed I was down here, all of his attention was fixed behind him.

“You idiot! You stupid fucking idiot!”

Silas entered the basement a second later, calm in a way that felt almost unnatural beside Rafael’s fury. The silver mask turned briefly towards me, scanning me from head to toe in that now-familiar way of his before returning to his grandfather.

“Do you have any idea what you’ve done?” Rafael barked. “Every police force in the country is looking for her. Adrien Vescari is tearing this city apart trying to find her, and you’re down here playing house like a lovesick child.”

My stomach twisted at the words.

Playing house.

That couldn’t have been further from the truth—and it said a lot about Rafael if this was his version of playing house. But I wasn’t about to open my mouth to correct him. Not when his outburst might lead to my freedom.

Silas gave no visible reaction, but I was beginning to know him well enough to notice the smaller tells now. And his breathing had already changed.

“What the fuck were you thinking, Silas? I said to prevent the fucking marriage, not kidnap the bitch!” Rafael continued furiously, stalking further into the room. “You shouldn’t have touched her. You should have left the girl alone and dealt with the issue. Carbone and Vescari.”

The mask tilted slightly.

“This girl could have been leverage,” Rafael spat. “All you had to do was communicate for once in your fucking life! If you had told her about the real plans Adrien had for her—what her father agreed to, she may have become a useful pawn! She could have worked for us, Silas! Instead, you’ve turned her into a liability because you couldn’t control your own fucking obsession!”

My eyes flicked sharply towards Silas.

Obsession.

“This is your father all over again. I told him to leave Maria alone, and did he listen? Did he fuck. Now where are they both? Dead, Silas, that’s fucking where!”

Silas clenched his fists.

“You’ve put a price on her head, I hope you know that. I suggest you find something new to obsess over, because you won’t be able to keep her forever. You’ve killed her because you couldn’t control yourself. I hope you’re prepared to deal with the fallout.”

My eyes flew wide with panic, and I hated—fuckinghated—that they turned to Silas for reassurance.

He glanced at me briefly and the darkness behind the silver mask seemed to stare straight into my soul. He turned back to Rafael, his chest rising and falling rapidly with his breathing.

This conversation felt very different from what I had expected. Rafael wasn’t speaking about me like a business arrangement gone wrong. He sounded furious with Silas personally, as though taking me had been reckless rather than strategic.

“I saw it,” Rafael hissed. “I fucking saw it. You’ve been distracted for weeks. I call for you, you’re nowhere to be found. You’ve been using our men to cover your tracks, involving them in businessyoushould have been dealing with personally. We’ve lost shipments because of you, Silas, and I’m guessing it’s because you’ve been down here fucking your little toy!”

Delightful.