~ Lilliana's POV
I didn't scream as another bullet grazed past me. As I pressed myself into a corner of the room, a tile pushed open. I slid to the side and found a revolver hidden inside. Nothing else was there, only the last hope of survival. My breathing quickened as I pressed further into the wall, holding the gun tight, hearing the footsteps outside the room.
Then, the door pushed open.
Christian stormed inside, surrounded by two guards. He was pissed off, and when he looked at the shattered window, he turned to me.
"Did you see them?" he barked out.
"No," I managed to speak, slowly standing up, gun still in hand.
He crossed over the room and yanked the revolver from me. "Who the fuck gave you this?"
I said nothing as he held it up to the light and recognized it instantly. "Eva's," he muttered. "Of course."
I watched him get angrier with each second, but I didn't back down. "Someone tried to kill me, Christian. Maybe next time, they won't miss."
His eyes flared. "Maybe next time, you won't be alone." He leaned closer. "From now on, you will sleep in my room. With me."
I tried to protest, but he grabbed my wrist. "Until I figure out who's behind this," he said, gritting his teeth, "You don't move without me knowing."
~In The Next Morning
My body was stiff and frozen because of the lack of sleep and the continuous sitting in the armchairs. I went back to my room to change, only to freeze at the sound of drawers sliding open.
Someone was inside the room. I grabbed a broom from the cleaning lady's table and moved through the doorway. A figure rummaged through Eva's drawer.
"Hey!" I shouted, raising the broom.
The person ran while I chased them out in the hall, broom raised, rage burning inside me.
Then, someone blocked my path.
Elizabeth.
Her hand was pressed on the wall as she stood tall in front of me, as if she were waiting. "Lose something, Mrs. Esposito?" She said coldly.
I lowered the broom an inch, glaring at her. "Who was in my room?"
"Routine security check," she said with a smirk. "You're new. We have to make sure you're not hiding anything... suspicious."
"You expect me to believe that?"
"No." Her eyes moved over me. "But I expect you to be smart enough to let it go."
Christian showed up minutes later, irritated and annoyed. I told him everything, but he didn't pay much attention to it, as if I were dreaming.
"You're being paranoid," he buttoned his shirt, speaking to me. "No one's going to risk breaking into the house twice."
"You didn't see them. I did."
"Fine. I'll assign someone to keep an eye on you. Happy?"
"I'd be happier with a straight answer."
He leaned closer to me, brushing a strand behind my ear. "You want answers? Earn them."
And just like that, he was gone.
Later that day, Matteo arrived and called me to Christian's study. He looked like mafia royalty with disappointment in his eyes.
"You're not cut out for this life," he said first.
"Neither was Eva," I shot back at him.
He chuckled, eyes dark. "Eva was smarter. She knew how to play the game."
I said nothing as he stood up and walked to the desk, pouring a second glass of scotch. "Christian... he's reckless. Ambitious. But, he needs grounding. Someone on the inside to keep him sane."
I frowned at him. "You want me to spy on your own nephew?"
"Think about it." He didn't stop me from leaving, but I knew I had to if I had the wish to live a long life. Christian wouldn't waste a second if he knew I was conspiring with his uncle.
~ At Night
Elizabeth cornered me just outside the dining hall, her perfume suffocating. "You're prettier than I expected," she said, her eyes gleaming evilly. "A little soft for a place like this, though."
I kept walking, ignoring her.
She rushed to me and walked side-by-side with me. "You do know he doesn't care about you, right? You're just filling in a slot. A name to sign his inheritance."
I stopped and snapped at her. "And what are you, exactly?"
A smirk curved on her lips. "I'm the one he trusts. The one who's always in the room when you're not."
~A while later
While Christian was on a call, I had the chance to plug Eva's USB into my tablet, and then I opened the folder next to her audio file. Inside it were transaction logs and amounts transferred to offshore accounts, all connecting to someone listed only as "V."
The last file was a single line of text.
"Someone from the inside is leaking information to the Colombos."
My stomach twisted as my heart sank. The Colombos were Esposito's oldest rivals. If this is true, then we are on a ticking bomb.
My phone buzzed with an unknown number and a caller ID.
I answered, and a man's voice filled the silence. "Lilliana."
"Who is this?"
"Your sister didn't die for love," he said. "She died because she got too close."
"Alessandro?" My heart was thundering inside my chest while I desperately waited for his response. But he didn't respond for a moment.
But then. "You're already being watched. Be careful of who you trust."
The line then went dead while I stood there. I still had the phone pressed tight to my ear, my mind racing. But then, the soft click of a gun behind me woke me.
I turned slowly and found Elizabeth, holding a silencer-equipped pistol in her hand, standing in the doorway. Her eyes were gleaming with something similar to amusement and hunger.
"Christian said to keep an eye on you," she said, stepping inside. "He didn't say I had to be gentle."
And then, she closed the door behind her.
