Page 97 of Twisted Trust

Levi’s fingers twitch against my palm and when I look up, there’s a strange expression on his face.

“Levi?”

“About that… I wanted to confirm it before I said anything.”

“Oh God.” My stomach suddenly grows cold and tight. “He’s dead, isn’t he?”

“No, Maeve. He’s not dead.” Levi lightly touches my cheek. “He’s alive.”

“Alive?” The dread is swiftly replaced with relief. “Where is he?”

“Maeve…” Levi takes my hand and guides me toward the bed where we both sit.

“Just tell me.”

Digging in his pocket, he pulls out his phone and quickly scrolls to a picture which he then shows me.

Cameron is standing near Marcella and Elio. Behind them is a dining table and beyond that looks like the familiar lights and colors of a casino. My heart begins to pound as my eyes dart from Cameron to Marcella. “Levi… what’s going on?”

“Your neighbor and friend Cameron is my cousin, Antony.”

His words hit like a truck and for a few seconds, I stare at him like he just spoke to me in an incredible language. “What?”

“You never showed me a picture of Cameron so I didn’t know until now.”

“I… he never liked having his picture taken. I thought it was just a privacy thing but… what do you mean Cameron is Antony?”

“I don’t have all the answers yet so I don’t know why, but AntonyisCameron. He’s been watching you for years, and if I had to guess, he’s likely responsible for intercepting the letter you sent to Marcella. I also think he’s the one who sent men to lie to you about my being dead.”

This makesnosense.

“And George was working for him.”

“Mylandlord?”

“Yes. He’s the cause of…” Levi flexes his knuckles. “He won’t harm you again, but while we spoke, he told me was a Red Serpent and he’d been working with Antony for quite a while. Just to keep an eye on you.”

“But…” My thoughts jumble, tripping over Levi’s words and repeating them. “I don’t understand. This doesn’t make any sense. Cameron is my friend. We went to the movies together, we had dinner. He helped me unclog my toilet, took care of Scott when I was working late. He was just some normal guy! I don’t?—”

“I know.” Levi interrupts gently and cups my face with his warm hand. “He was keeping you close. Making you trust him.”

“Butwhy?”

“I can’t say for sure, but I think it’s about his desire for power. He learned about you five years ago and set you up to take the fall for the explosion. It would have painted me in an irredeemable light, but I was in a coma for three weeks, which delayed his plan, and he couldn’t have you turn up at the hospital as the loving girlfriend so he told you I was dead. Made you run. I’m assuming that he then learned about Scott.”

My stomach rolls so I press my hand flat to it. “Scott…”

“Yes. I’m working now under the assumption that he guessed I was Scott’s father and he’s been wanting to hold that over me if I ever got close to taking power, but until recently, he had a clear shot to Don.”

“Until we met again,” I whisper hoarsely.

“Exactly. Cameron vanished around the same time because he couldn’t reveal himself, and I think that’s why assassins have been trying to split us up since. And when it failed, he tried to kill us at the airport. With me gone, Antony’s path to power would be without hindrance.”

It’s a lot to process.

Almost too much.

My eyes glaze over as I try to merge these two people in my mind—kind, loving Cameron with the cold, calculating Antony. How can they be the same person? Levi quietly shows me a few more pictures of Cameron—no, Antony—and the pieces slowly start to slip into place. “He was at the dinner with your parents?”