Page 93 of Whispers in the Dark
Including doing something as cruel and vile as trafficking women.
It’s okay. We won’t let it happen.
“But how?” Tears fill her eyes. “How will you stop them?”
The fear in her eyes has my chest squeezing violently.
I should reach for my phone to type, but instead, I sign,My cousins are working with us to put an end to them. We won’t let them gain access to this port. I promise.I press my lips to her temple.I don’t want you worrying about it.
She nods, a tremor running through her as she lifts a shaking hand to adjust her glasses, wiping at her eyes. She blinks away the tears and looks at me. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be so emotional. I want to be here for you whenever you need to get something off your chest that might be weighing you down. It’s just that this is a lot to take in. And I think…” She bites down on her bottom lip and closes her eyes. “Mauro, I think I need to—”
Her phone vibrates on the table, and both of us glance toward it. She reaches for it, and the instant she sees the name on the screen, she jumps from my lap. “I’m sorry. It’s my dad. He doesn’t usually call this late. I have to take this.” Before I can respond, she presses the phone to her ear. “Hi, Dad.” She’s already moving toward the stairs. “Yes, of course.”
She disappears upstairs, and the faint click of the bedroom door closing behind her confirms she’s in the bedroom.
I remain seated for a beat too long, staring into the fire. I exhale and push to my feet, drifting to the koi pond. I twist open the canister and scatter pellets across the surface. I watch as the fish appear, greedily nibbling at pieces before disappearing back into the darkness.
The surface stills, swallowing the last ripples. My reflection wavers there, caught between the gentle light from the flames and the deep shadows.
But it’s too late. I see it.
The beast that stares back at me.
One who is unworthy of love.
Unworthy of Alina.
Chapter twenty-three
Alina
“You look happy,” Scarlett says, her fingers tugging at the knot of the pink apron around her waist.
“Do I?” I reach up to my face, realizing I’m smiling like a goddamn idiot. I shake the smile off, but just as quickly it reappears.
“Yeah, you do.” Madeleine steps to my side, dropping a bin of dishes into the sink.
We’d spent the afternoon volunteering at St. Elizabeth Jean’s Center for Women and Children, elbow-deep in prep work for their annual fundraiser—an event Cecilia Alarie herself runs every year. With it just a couple of days away, the three of us offered to help in the kitchen, freeing the staff to focus on the final details.
Madeleine nudges my shoulder, her smile knowing. “Being in love suits you.”
The word hits harder than I expected.
I bite down on my bottom lip, my chest tightening as a single thought echoes through me.
I can’t be in love.
Not when it’s against the rules because this marriage is only temporary. Something I’ve been consistently having to remind myself…
And not when I’ve been lying to Mauro about everything.
That thought alone sends guilt swirling inside me like a relentless storm.
But I know what I need to do to make everything right.
I just hope it’s not too late.
“I heard Mauro whisked you off to Paris last weekend.” Scarlett playfully bumps her shoulder with mine, and I quickly shake myself out of my head.
