Page 67 of Silent Schemes

My baby sister, sweet Maya, who still believes in good things, being shaped into a killer.

Having her innocence stripped away layer by layer until there's nothing left but sharp edges and dead eyes.

What I was.

What I'm supposed to be.

What I can never be again after Varrick.

"You're thinking too loud." His voice comes from behind me, rough with sleep and something else.

Concern, maybe. Or possession.

I don't turn, keeping my eyes on the city below. "Just enjoying the view."

"Liar." His arms come around me from behind, and I hate how I instantly relax into him, how my body recognizes his as home. "You're pulling away again. Have been for three days."

He's too perceptive.

He sees too much, knows me too well.

It's going to get us both killed.

"I'm right here," I say, but we both know physical proximity isn't what he means.

"Your body is. The rest of you is already halfway out the door." He turns me to face him, and those dark eyes see straight through every defense I'm desperately trying to reconstruct. "What did your father do? What new threat did he make?"

"Nothing. There's been no contact."

His eyes narrow, reading the fear I can't quite hide. "And that scares you more than his threats would."

Damn him for being right.

My father’s silence is more terrifying than his rage.

It means he's planning something, or he knows something, or both.

Two weeks without word from him or Vincent is unprecedented.

The calm before a storm that will destroy everything we've built in this penthouse, this bubble of impossible happiness.

"He's never gone this long without checking in," I admit, turning back to the coffee, needing something to do with my hands. "Vincent usually contacts me every few days. This silence... it's wrong."

"Maybe they're giving you space to work."

I laugh, bitter and sharp. "That’s rich. My father doesn't give space. He takes it. Controls it. This is something else."

My phone buzzes on the counter, making us both tense.

Unknown number, but I recognize the pattern—three rings, hang up, call back.

Family code.

My blood turns to ice.

"I need to take this," I say.

Varrick releases me immediately, but I can feel his attention, sharp as a blade.