The cozy café smelled of freshly brewed coffee and cinnamon pastries, but I couldn’t enjoy it. Not when Aiden was sitting across from me, his eyes darting toward the windows like he expected Victor to burst in at any moment. His usual cocky smirk was gone, replaced with something I rarely saw—fear.
“I didn’t know where else to meet,” he muttered, stirring his untouched coffee. “The mansion isn’t safe to talk anymore.”
I folded my hands on the table, my heart racing. “What’s going on, Aiden? Why do you look like someone’s about to shoot you?”
He leaned closer, lowering his voice. “Because I’m scared, Lila. For you. For all of us.”
The vulnerability in his tone made my chest tighten. Aiden was always the carefree one, the one who could charm his way out of anything. Seeing him like this felt… wrong.
“Why?” I asked, keeping my voice steady. “What’s Victor planning?”
He hesitated, running a hand through his dark hair. “You don’t get it. My father doesn’t just control us—he pits us against each other. Always has. He’s obsessed with loyalty, but the only loyalty he cares about is to him. He’ll do whatever it takes to keep that control.”
I frowned, leaning closer. “What do you mean he pits you against each other?”
Aiden sighed, his gaze fixed on the table. “When we were kids, he used to make us compete for everything—his approval, his attention, even basic things like food. And if we didn’t ‘earn’ it…” He trailed off, his jaw tightening. “Let’s just say we learned early on not to cross him.”
My stomach churned at the thought. “That’s horrible.”
“Yeah, well, it got worse as we got older,” he continued. “He started using people against us. Evelyn… she was just the beginning.”
The mention of her name made me sit up straighter. “What do you mean? What did he do to Evelyn?”
Aiden’s eyes flicked to mine, and I could see the conflict in them. “He used her to test us. To see how far we’d go for him. And when she became too much of a distraction…” He looked away, his voice dropping. “He made her disappear.”
I felt my blood run cold. “Are you saying Victor killed her?”
“I don’t know,” he admitted, his voice trembling. “But I do know this: if you keep digging, you’ll be next. He won’t let anyone get in the way of his plans.”
I swallowed hard, trying to steady my breathing. “Then why are you telling me this? If he’s so dangerous, why not stay out of it?”
“Because I care about you, Lila,” Aiden said, his voice raw. “And I can’t stand the thought of him hurting you. But you have to stop. Promise me you’ll stop.”
I hesitated, my mind spinning with everything he’d just told me. How could I promise him that when I was so close to finding the truth?
“I can’t promise that,” I said softly. “I need to know what happened to Evelyn.”
Aiden’s face hardened, and he leaned back in his chair. “Then you’re putting yourself in his crosshairs. And I don’t know if I can protect you.”
The brothers were tearing apart at the seams, and I could feel it every time I stepped into the mansion. That evening, their shouts echoed down the hall as I approached the sitting room.
“You’re the reason she’s a target!” Aiden’s voice boomed, full of anger.
“I didn’t drag her into this,” Grayson shot back, his tone colder than ice.
“You didn’t keep her out of it, either,” Aiden spat. “She’s risking everything because of you. Do you even care?”
I peeked into the room, my heart aching at the sight of the two of them squaring off, fists clenched and eyes blazing. Asher stood between them, looking like he’d aged ten years in a day.
“Enough,” Asher said, his voice firm. “This isn’t helping.”
Aiden ignored him, stepping closer to Grayson. “You think just because you’re the oldest, you get to play God? You don’t get to decide who gets hurt, Grayson.”
Grayson’s jaw tightened, but he didn’t say anything. His silence spoke volumes.
“I’m done,” Aiden muttered, storming past me without even noticing I was there.
I hesitated before stepping into the room. “What’s going on?”
Asher sighed, running a hand down his face. “What isn’t?”
Grayson didn’t even look at me as he left the room, his footsteps heavy on the floor.
The next day, I tried to shake off the tension as I walked through the school hallway, but it clung to me like a second skin.
“Lila.”
I froze at the sound of Victor’s voice. Turning slowly, I saw him standing by the lockers, his polished demeanor as unnerving as ever.
“Victor,” I said, forcing my voice to stay calm. “What are you doing here?”
“Checking in,” he said, his smile not reaching his eyes. “I had a feeling you might need some guidance.”
“I don’t need anything from you,” I snapped.
His smile faltered, and his eyes hardened. “Be careful, Lila. You’re walking a very thin line.”
I crossed my arms, refusing to back down. “Is that a threat?”
“An ultimatum,” he corrected. “Leave my sons alone, or your family will pay the price.”