Page 70 of Brutal Crown

I don’t know where they’re taking me.

But I know I won’t beg.

We reach the stairs. I stumble down them, almost falling, my breath ragged and my hair loose around my face.

The air thickens as we near the entrance of the main house. The murmurs behind us are louder now.

“What will they do to her?”

“She should have just closed her legs.”

“There’s something terribly wrong with this house.”

The whispers crawl over my skin like insects, each one more cutting than the last. Every step I take feels like a death sentence. I glance over my shoulder, just once. The maids following us have doubled in number.

The hallway opens into the atrium, and that’s when I see them.

More staff. More eyes.

I spot the butlers standing rigid near the marble pillars. My eyes meet those of the gardener. He’s seen me with Marco in the garden a few times. Now he leans against the wall, arms crossed like he’s been expecting this moment.

More guards stand at the base of the grand staircase. Some look impassive; others have their lips curled in disapproval.

Renzo yanks me forward, and I stumble again. My leg is still aching from earlier, but I don’t dare show pain.

There’s a hush as I’m dragged through the main entrance hall into the main living room, where we meet more people and eyes. I didn’t even know the house held this many staff.

That’s when I spot Marta. She’s standing near a wall, her hand clutched around the locket she always wears. Her eyes lock with mine, and the soft and stricken look on her face almostbreaks me. She doesn’t move or say a word, but I see the slight tremble in her mouth and the way her eyes are glossed over.

I look away with a clench of my jaw.

Standing a few feet away from her is Allegra. Her mouth twists into a cruel little smile when I am dragged past her. “All that pride, Lia. Pretending like you’re better than us.” She shakes her head. “Turns out you’re just like the rest of the whores.”

Her words hit harder than they should. Allegra, who used to borrow my lotion and my comb, who used to sneak sweets into my apron pocket when I had long shifts. I thought I knew her.

Betrayal burns in my throat.

Paula stands silently behind Allegra. Her eyes narrow when they meet mine, and for a second, I brace myself for whatever venom she’ll spill from her lips.

But what I find there isn’t hate exactly. It’s… something else. A look I can’t read. A twitch in her jaw, a tightness in her expression that makes her look uncertain. Like she doesn’t know what to feel. Like a part of her wishes this wasn’t happening.

I wonder if she knows the test kit belonged to her, but I can’t think about what she might feel about that.

I feel the eyes of the entire house press in from every direction.

Judging.

Watching.

Waiting to watch me fall apart.

The crowd parts as I’m taken to the center of the living room. Everyone lines up along the sides like spectators at an execution. I spot Zia Clara seated near the front of the room, a smug expression on her face. Three other aunts, distant relatives of the Romanos, stand just beside her, their expressions venomous. And there’s Olga, standing beside them with a cold and murderous look on her face.

The Romanos aren’t here. So who summoned me?

I’m flung onto the cold marble floor. The impact sends a crack of pain through my elbow. I scramble up onto my knees, my heart pounding so hard I feel sick. The room bursts into accusations, with me on my knees before everyone.

“She seduced the masters.”