Page 88 of Silent Schemes

We make it to the penthouse just ahead of the police arriving.

The elevator ride is silent, tension thick enough to choke on.

The moment we're inside, he pours himself a drink, downs it, pours another.

The whiskey is Macallan 18, his favorite, and I wonder if this will be the last time I watch him drink it.

"Talk," he says, not looking at me.

"My father set it up. A test. To see if I'd warn you."

"And you did." He's still not looking at me. "Why?"

"You know why."

Now he turns, and his face is carved from stone. "Do I? Because from where I stand, you're still playing both sides. Still dancing to Daddy’s tune."

"I warned you!"

"You gave me enough to survive but not enough to avoid it entirely. That's not choosing me, Sienna. That's hedging your bets."

The glass flies past my head, shatters against the wall.

I don't flinch.

I can't.

My father and Vincent trained that out of me years ago.

"You knew they were coming." Not a question.

"Yes."

"Your father?"

"A test. To see if I'd let you die."

"You failed his test."

"I passed yours."

He crosses the room in three strides, backs me against his desk.

His hand comes to my throat, not squeezing, just resting there.

A reminder of how easily he could end this—end me.

"I can't protect you if you keep silently scheming behind my back."

"I'm not playing anymore," I insist, my hands coming up to cover his. "I chose you. In that kitchen, after the Rosetti job, I chose you."

"Prove it."

The words tumble out before I can stop them. "Bastian. When I met him, I gave him intel. About Will. His safe houses, his patterns, everything. My father was threatening Maya, and I—" My voice cracks. "I betrayed Will to keep my cover, to protectmy sister. But it was killing me because I knew what it would do to you."

His hand tightens slightly. "Will is like a father to me."

"I know. But it was him or you. And I chose you. I'll always choose you now."