Page 92 of Thorns of Silence

It was Grandma.

Reina’s not responding. Tell her I have a dress for her to wear. She’s not wearing black to her own wedding.

My eyes fell on the dress in question. Black. Elegant. Beautiful. Definitely not appropriate for a wedding.

Yet, Reina was nowhere to be found. Then I remembered.

She left with Amon. My stomach sank. If Amon had her, there was no way he’d bring her here to be married off to another man—his brother, no less. I saw the way he’d watched her the entire night. The way he beat up that bartender. The way he glared at his brother.

Yeah, he wasn’t going to let his brother have her. I should have known.

I headed back to the kitchen where Raven and Athena were chuckling, staring at a TikTok video. I leaned against the doorframe and just watched them, knowing that this would be goodbye.

I’d have to run with or without Reina, and my sixth sense warned it’d be without her.

Those damned Leone brothers were always meddling in our lives, but I knew my sister could handle Amon. She wasn’t a pushover. Maybe she and Amon would even find a way back to each other. The way he watched her—like she was the only one in the room—had to count for something. Reina wasn’t over him either.

Raven’s eyes lifted from her screen, finding mine. The name fit her perfectly, the tint to her hair holding midnight-blue hues through its strands.

“You okay?” she signed.

I nodded with a forced smile on my face, and my gaze traveled over the small kitchen that had taken us through many family meals over the years. I didn’t trust my hands not to shake or my eyes to betray me, so I just mouthed a soundless, “Good night.”

Almost as if she sensed this was goodbye, she came up and hugged me. My eyes darted to Athena who was still lost in the TikTok world. I personally didn’t see the appeal in those videos, but I also knew I was in the minority there.

With one last squeeze, I turned and made my way into my bedroom.

I reached for my phone and messaged Grandma.

I need to see you. Tonight.

In my closet, I found my packed bag already waiting. Just as I pulled it out and started shoving some of my toiletries into it, my phone lit up again. It was Grandma’s reply.

I just saw you.

I typed my response, anger simmering through my veins.

You’ll see me again, or I’ll tell Papà about our secret.

Then, to ensure she understood I meant business, I sent another message.

Tonight.

I watched the bubbles on the screen appear and disappear. Again and again, until the reply came in, surprisingly short.

Ok.

I padded back into my sister’s room and lowered to my knees by her bed. She had a box of keepsakes stashed with our runaway money. It was only ten thousand. It wasn’t enough, but it was something. Then I returned to my own room and grabbed my bag and my counterfeit passport. When Grandma had taken me to the clinic in New York, she’d insisted we couldn’t travel under our real identities.

Getting changed out of my dress, I scribbled a note for my friends, explaining what I couldn’t in person. The foolish mistake I’d made five years ago, falling for the mysterious stranger who promised me everything and gave me nothing. He vowed there was nobody else, but then that very same person had chosen Reina over me. I couldn’t be his second choice.

I couldn’t tell them about the baby. Not yet.

I left the note on my desk where they were sure to see it, and with my bag slung over my shoulder and money in my wallet, I peered into the hallway. Athena and Raven had gone to bed, meaning it was time to go.

The first stop would be to see my grandmother who was staying at the Waldorf Astoria Versailles. Only the best for her. I shook my head. It no longer mattered. I needed to get answers and more money out of her. Then, I’d scour this earth for my child.

I’d right the wrong. One way or another, I’d find my baby.