Page 56 of Silver Sinner

While watching Maddie, my mind wanders. I can't help but feel like Pierce isn't entirely truthful when he claims to work in real estate. He's incredibly rich, given the weight of the pendant that now rests around my neck, and he's always dressed exceptionally well. Moses follows him around like some kind of guard, and that tattoo he has is incredibly impressive. As a memorial, it's sweet to think about—but when I include it with everything else, there's still a mysterious air around that man.

In truth, I don't know that much about him. Every detail he gives me almost feels… vague. I mull over everything from criminal to liar, but there's nothing I can come up with that would change how I feel in my heart. Regardless of who or what he is, he saved Maddie's life. That earns him buckets of forgiveness.

Speaking of…

I glance at my phone. The only message on the screen is the order confirmation from the Chinese takeout downstairs.

Amy hasn't texted me since our last fight, and I miss the sound of her voice. It's a tough line to draw given that she had my daughter around drugs, but I miss her. She's exactly the person I would spill all of this excitement about Pierce to, including how I'm pretty sure I'm falling in love with him after the best sex of my life. Instead, those thoughts stay bottled up and with it comes a curl of loneliness.

"Mommy?" Maddie slides the paper back. "What about your parents?"

I gaze down at the sheet, swallowing back my dislike of the assholes who birthed me. "Well… my mom was called Hilary, and my dad was called Brent."

Maddie obediently scribbles in the names.

"And their parents?"

"I don't know, sweetie. I'm sorry."

"Awwwwh." She whines loudly. "But I want a big tree!"

"I know. Unfortunately, we have a very small family."

Maddie immediately frowns. "Can you take me to the library?"

"What for?"

"To look people up!"

"You can't look up random people, baby. That's not how family trees work."

"I know that," she snaps. "I can look you up and then look Grandma up!"

My heart stills in my chest. That's the first time Maddie's ever referred to my parents, let alone called that woman 'grandma'. How do I tell a six-year-old that her grandparents were more interested in booze and cocaine than their own daughter?

I'm saved by several knocks at the door that force me to stand even as my heart lurches into my chest. Despite knowing it's the dinner I ordered from downstairs, every knock at the door still sends a tremor down my spine just in case I'm going to find Trik standing on the other side again.

I ruffle Maddie's hair, much to her dislike, and hurry to the door.

"Hi, thank you so much for bringing it up," I say as I pull the door open. "How much⁠—"

A solid fist slams into my face with such force that I immediately crash back into the coat rack with a raggeded gasp. Spots dance in front of my eyes while hot, throbbing pain explodes through my nose and rattles across my skull. Hooks from the coat rack dig into my back, stabbing into my shoulder and forcing me to twist to one side.

Another punch catches me on the jaw and I crash to the floor with barely a noise, completely stunned from the force of the blow. Heavy boots thunder past me and then two hands grab my shirt and drag me upward.

"Where's the fucking money?" A male voice bellows through the bright green ski mask covering the stranger's face. As my head lolls back, I glimpse two other people; one with a blue ski mask and the other with a yellow. They're both heading toward the lounge, and that sends alarms crashing through my mind.

Maddie!

I start to struggle, throwing out one hand and twisting out of the grasp of my assailant. "Madeline!"

Her terrified screams immediately surge from the lounge and I kick out at my attacker, slamming my foot into his ankle while scrambling up. Blood pours from my nose and drips into my mouth as I run but I only make it three steps before I'm tackled to the ground by the weight of the guy wearing the green mask.

"Oh no you don't," he snarls, dragging me around by the hair.

I raise my hands and start frantically beating him with my open palms, slapping his face and his shoulders, then his arms and wrists as I try to fight him off with everything I have.

"Get off me! Get the fuck off me! Get off, get off, get off!" I don't stop. I can't. Maddie's screams cut through the air like a siren, turning my blood cold. Nausea twists in my gut.