Chapter 15 - THE HOUSE WITH NO SAFE ROOMS
Maeve wanted distance.
Elias wanted security.
Security won.
Temporarily.
Finn remained at St. Catherine’s under guard.
Maeve returned to the Marchetti estate only because Gabriel informed her Victor Sanz had obtained the address of her apartment.
“I will stay until Finn can leave rehab.”
Maeve said.
“Nothing more.”
Elias nodded.
“No pressure.”
She looked at him.
“That phrase sounds strange coming from you.”
“I am learning.”
The house felt different now that she knew everything.
Elias no longer used the wheelchair.
It remained folded in a storage room.
Maeve passed it once and stopped.
She hated that object.
Not because of disability.
Because of deception.
Elias found her there.
“I should burn it.”
Maeve looked at him.
“That would be dramatic.”
“I have been accused of that.”
“By everyone?”
“Mostly my uncle.”
She almost smiled.
Then her expression hardened.
“What exactly does Victor Sanz want?”
“My territory.”
“Meaning?”
“Companies.”
“No.”
Maeve folded her arms.
“The other thing.”
Elias studied her.
“You don’t want details.”
“I married you under a false identity.”
She answered.
“My standards for uncomfortable information have changed.”
Elias sighed.
“My family controls certain transportation routes.”
“For legal goods?”
“Sometimes.”
Maeve stared at him.
“Drugs?”
“No.”
“Guns?”
“No.”
“People?”
His face went cold.
“Never.”
She believed him.
That disturbed her.
“What then?”
“Money.”
“Protection.”
“Access.”
“Influence.”
Maeve nodded slowly.
“So Victor wants your throne.”
Elias’s expression shifted.
“I do not call it that.”
“Other people do.”
“Yes.”
“And he thinks I am a weakness.”
“Yes.”
Maeve looked away.
“Maybe I am.”
Elias stepped closer.
“No.”
“You revealed you could walk because of me.”
“Yes.”
“You moved security because of Finn.”
“Yes.”
“Your enemies noticed.”
“Yes.”
Maeve turned.
“Then I am.”
Elias’s voice lowered.
“You are not responsible for decisions I make.”
“You said loyalty cannot be forced.”
“I did.”
“Neither can sacrifice.”
The words stopped him.
Maeve continued.
“Do not burn down your life proving you care about mine.”
Elias looked at her for a long moment.
“What if I want a different life?”
She stared.
He did not explain.
Later that evening, Maeve called Finn.
He sounded stronger.
He complained about hospital food.
That meant he was improving.
At ten, the house alarm chirped once.
Then stopped.
Maeve looked up from her book.
A second chirp.
Silence.
She stepped into the hallway.
No guards.
That was wrong.
She walked toward the stairs.
A lamp near the entrance had been knocked over.
Her heart began pounding.
“Elias?”
No answer.
She reached for her phone.
No signal.
Then she heard a door close downstairs.
Maeve backed toward the bedroom.
A figure appeared at the end of the corridor.
One of Elias’s guards.
He raised both hands.
“Mrs. Marchetti.”
She exhaled.
“What happened?”
“System malfunction.”
Maeve studied him.
She knew the night guards.
Not this one.
“What’s your name?”
He paused.
Wrong answer.
Maeve ran.
The man lunged.
She slammed the bedroom door and locked it.
He hit the other side.
Maeve dragged a chair beneath the handle.
Her phone still showed no signal.
The private landline.
She reached for it.
Dead.
The door shook.
Once.
Twice.
Then silence.
Maeve stopped breathing.
A voice came from the adjoining sitting room.
“You always were clever.”
Sienna stepped from the shadows.
Maeve stared at her.
“What are you doing here?”
May you like
Sienna smiled.
“Taking my life back.”
