Chapter 41

LINDA'S POV

I felt like the walls were closing in around me with every word from him tightening the noose.

My thoughts raced in a thousand different directions, searching for something, anything, to say.

Then, suddenly, I saw her.

Aria stood up from her seat, her posture calm and confident, as if she had no worries at all. It looked like she was about to step out, maybe to take a phone call.

I watched the way she moved with that irritating grace, her head held high. I suddenly felt a flash of anger flare up inside me.

How dare she look so calm, so sure of herself when everything around me was falling apart? How could she walk around with that self-assured smile, as if she owned the world?

And in that moment, I knew what I had to do.

“I know why the necklace is here,” I blurted out, turning back to Dante, who was still glaring at me, waiting for an answer.

His eyes narrowed as he spoke in a low and dangerous tone. “Then go on,” he snapped, “explain it to me, Linda.”

I hesitated for a m