Page 84 of Silent Schemes

I splash cold water on my face, trying to wash away the conversation, the threats, the impossibility of it all.

In the mirror, I look for traces of the woman my father created—the perfect weapon, the dutiful daughter, the killer without conscience.

But all I see is someone caught between two worlds, two loves, two futures that can't coexist.

"Bad news?" Varrick's voice makes me jump.

He's leaning against the bathroom doorframe, all sleep-mussed hair and dangerous eyes.

Even fresh from bed, he radiates menace.

It's what first attracted me to him—that promise of violence beneath expensive suits.

"Just my father checking in," I say, forcing casualness into my voice.

He moves into the bathroom, crowds my space in that way of his that should feel threatening but instead feels safe. "What does daddy dearest want?"

"Progress report. He's getting impatient."

"Good. Impatient men make mistakes." He reaches for me, but I slip past him, needing distance to think.

To plan.

To figure out how to save him without destroying everything else.

In the bedroom, I pull on his shirt from last night.

It smells like him—gunpowder and expensive cologne and that underlying scent that's purely Varrick.

The baby will know this smell, I think.

Will recognize its father by scent before sight.

"The charity gala tonight," I say, aiming for casual. "You're still going?"

"Have to. It's a command performance for all the families. Plus, the mayor will be there. Good opportunity to remind him whose family really runs this city." He's watching me in the mirror as he buttons his shirt. "Why?"

I turn to face him, weighing my options.

I can't tell him about my father’s test directly—that reveals too much, puts Maya at risk.

But I can't let him walk into an ambush either.

"Just... be careful. The Rosetti family lost face after that warehouse incident. They might try something."

His eyes narrow, reading between the lines like he always does.

It's what makes him dangerous—not just the violence he's capable of, but the intelligence behind it. "You know something specific."

"I know they're angry. I know they're desperate. I know desperate people do stupid things."

He's crossing to me now with that predatory grace that has basically made him king of Vancouver's underworld.

His father doesn’t mean shit anymore

Everyone knows Varrick is really the one with the reins, even if the old bastard is still alive.

"What aren't you telling me?"