Page 92 of The Obedient Lie

Luca tilted his head. “Now, Emilia.”

There was something dangerous in the way he said my name. Not loud. Not cruel. Just… final. Like a line had been drawn and I was the only one standing on the edge of it.

I reached for the phone.

My fingers hovered over Griffin’s name before I tappedcall. The screen lit up.

Bastion’s hand was still at my side, the heat of it seeping through my leggings like a brand. Luca stood at the foot of the bed, still and coiled.

The phone rang once.

Twice.

“You better not be calling to say you’re late,” Griffin barked, his tone already impatient.

I swallowed. “I’m not coming.”

Silence. One long, incredulous beat.

Then his voice cracked like a whip through the speaker. “Excuse me?”

“I changed my plans,” I said, forcing my voice steady. “I’m flying out with someone else.”

His laugh was sharp. “With who? Don’t tell me?—”

He cut himself off, but only long enough to reload. “You’ve got to bekiddingme, Em. You’re ditching the Caplan jet to fly with those psychopaths?”

My jaw clenched.

“This is what you’re doing now? Throwing tantrums to get attention? Acting like you’re available because your brother has paused the merger?”

I felt the shift in the room before I saw it.

Luca moved first. One step forward. Quiet. Dangerous. His jaw locked.

Then Bastion’s hand moved from my thigh to my phone. Not to take it. Just… there. Hovering.

Griffin kept going.

“I mean, God, Emilia. Do you even hear yourself?”

His voice was louder now—mocking. Cruel in that familiar way Griffin always used when he didn’t get what he wanted.

“You really think they give a shit about you? You think they’re different?” he sneered. “Please. Everyone knows how easy it is to get a legacy girl on her back. Even the Crows know that. Probably already passed you around once.”

I froze.

Bastion went completely still beside me.

Luca didn’t move—but the tension in the room thickened like smoke.

Griffin kept going.

“And don’t forget,” he added, voice dripping with venom, “your brother and my family arestillin negotiations. So don’t be stupid and take anything they give you, keep your legs closed. Because we are all the same.”

That was the last thing I let him say.

I hitend.