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“Diana shows up to Eros and tells me she’s my mother. Max takes Ava. Niko goes missing. What do we truly know about Diana?” I ask myself.
“What do you mean?” Viktor asks, prompting me to face him.
“Why did she leave? How did she leave?”
I stroll to the couch, and Viktor follows. “I don’t know. Ava has never talked about her.”
We sit. “Is there any way that Diana is Irish?” I ask, even while wondering why I’m asking.
“Do you think she’s working for Cillian?” Viktor asks, his tone as menacing as his facial expression.
“Too many things aren’t adding up. Like how much she hates our father and why.” I ensure Ava isn’t within earshot before adding, “I can’t help the feeling that Diana might be trying to hurt Ava.”
“Do you think Diana is a spy for Cillian?”
I stand and head for the wet bar. “I’m saying we don’t know anything about her. We can’t trust what we don’t know. She’s hiding something. Her comment about Max gave her away. There’s no way Max would have thought to search for Diana. She must have sought him out. Which means she’s been keeping tabs on Ava.” I take two glasses and pour a generous serving. “We know our father didn’t send Diana. Her hatred of us is obvious.”
“Do you think she’s capable of hurting Ava?” Viktor asks, worry surfacing in his tone.
I walk over to the couch and hand Viktor a glass. “I don’t trust her,” I say before taking a drink.
Diana is the worst kind of danger. A danger disguised as love. From what my mother told me, Diana isn’t someone who can be trusted. I need to know more about her, where she’s been, and what she’s been doing for the last two decades. Hopefully, it will give me an idea of where she’s headed because I’ll be damned if I let her hurt Ava.
* * *
The Next Day…
It’s amazing the things you can uncover about someone. I’ve been staring at papers and my laptop for three hours, researching Diana. Diana drained the joint account she shared with Ava’s father the day she left them. It looked like a payoff for the truth to never see the light.
It will break Ava’s heart.
Diana disappeared without a trace. She was off the radar for a few months—a ghost—but then appeared six months later, married to a millionaire old enough to be her father. They were married for about two years before he mysteriously died. She was living a life she couldn’t maintain.
Diana married three more times, with each husband meeting the same fate. The last man was a fraudster who left her with nothing. That was three months ago.
Her return is about money, but it doesn’t explain why she involved Max. If she wants Ava to financially support her, why use Max? Max had nothing to do with Ava.
The more I investigate, the more questions I’m left with.
My cell rings. The screen reads Angus.
I sit straighter. “Hey, what’s up? Everything okay at the mansion?”
“Aye. I’m calling for something else. Where are you?”
“Home. Why?”
“Meet me at Eros. I have something to show you.”
“I’ll be there in fifteen minutes. See you then.”
“Aye.”
I don’t press Angus to tell me why he wants to meet. Obviously, it’s not something that can’t be said over the cell. I gather the papers in front of me and put them in an envelope before locking them in the safe. I then collect my gun and keys before heading out the door.
Diana’s hidden agenda worries me. The not knowing is driving me insane. I have this gut feeling she has something to do with Cillian. I just can’t figure out what or why. They’re connected somehow. I need to know more.
I arrive at Eros and see a few men lingering out front. I park and hand my keys to the nearest one.
