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The last time I saw Uncle Laurent—well, Laurent Martin—before this, I was at most eight. He had visited while my father was home for a few weeks. He had been so nice to me, even brought me gifts. I can’t remember any tension between them, though he spent most of his time in meetings with my father. What changed?
My mind is reeling.
Another betrayal.
Though my father hasn’t said it, the dots start to connect in my mind. I’ve been trapped in Laurent’s game since the day of the explosion. I thought my father sent him to take care of me, but if he didn’t how did Laurent find me? My throat starts to close.
It was probably all his doing.
Dolores’ death, the death of the staff at the hospital.
All to send me to this hell hole to die? It makes no sense. Why wouldn’t he just kill me? I trusted him. He could have slit my throat on the plane ride over and nobody would know. The more I think about it, the less sense it makes.
Now he’s disappeared.
In the midst of the emotions swirling in my chest, a spark of anger kindles. This is my father’s fault as much as it is Laurent’s. It’s his fault for keeping me out of the loop, for not being honest with me about his life—about thedangersthat existed in our world.
If he had been more open, I wouldn’t be here.
Laurent wouldn’t have been able to trick me like this.
“You lied to me my entire life,” I snap. “You lied and never told me the kind of person you were. The kind of person I would have to become to survive.”
My levy of restraint breaks.
All the horrific shit I endured my first few weeks of Saint Frederic University come rushing back to me. The constant anxiety and terror. The threat of death and danger. Even if he never told me that Laurent was no longer considered family, I would have been more prepared for this place if he was justhonest.
“Lizou, what did you expect me to tell you?”
“Tell me the kind of blood that runs through my veins. Tell me why we moved so much and I was never allowed to see anyone or keep friends. You kept me in the dark for so long, papa, that I became scared of it.” I swallow a sob. “When the darkness was part of me all along.”
He’s angry. “What I do has nothing to do with you, Lizou. You should be grateful I kept you so safe, so far removed from everything. What do you want to hear? That I kill people for a living?” The air evaporates from my lungs and my stomach grows cold. “There’s blood on my hands but none on yours. I protected you from it all because you couldn’t handle it. Clearly, you still can’t.”
“I’m fucking handling it now,Michel. I had to handle it. You’re not allowed to make that decision for me, at all.” The tears start rolling down my cheeks, and I turn my face away so my friends can’t see. “You ruined my life, and now you want me to believe that it was protection.”
“You’re walking a dangerous path.” His voice has dropped to a sinister whisper. “Where is this all coming from? Is it that Duke boy?”
My thoughts skid to a halt.
“What?”
“Don’t play dumb, Lizou. I’ve heard ofallthe notices.”
“The engagement is fake,” I say. “It was just so they wouldn’t kill me.”
There’s a mirthless laugh on the other end. “That’s wonderful. When we are reunited I will be happy to extend my thanks to him for taking care of my darling daughter.”
There isn’t a lick of gratitude in my father’s voice. It’s quite the contrary—he’s disgusted. Alarm bells go off in my head. He’ll thank Alexander with a knife to his throat, and Alexander will accept his thanks with a gun to his head.
This won’t end well.
Alexander and my father are different sides of the same coin—they’re both hellbent on breaking me to their will. I’ll have to figure out a way to outsmart them to get what I truly want.
Freedom.
My father might be the better of the two evils—he didn’tdirectlyput me in this situation. But I don’t trust him anymore than I do Alexander. If I almost escaped my father once, I should be able to do it again. But Alexander won’t let me go.
“How soon will you be able to get me out of here?” I ask, lowering my voice.
