ROBERT'S POV
The news hit me like a punch to the gut. Richard's fingerprints. It felt as if all the air had been sucked out of the room, leaving me gasping for breath. Since Richard’s death, life had been nothing short of a relentless whirlwind. First it was Odette trying to seduce me and get me to betray the Vanderbilts, then it was Ariana's disappearance and subsequent amnesia, learning of Richard’s blackmail, the gun, and then LaSalle. It was a roller coaster I couldn’t seem to get off. How do I solve all our problems? What do I do to make things right again?
I steadied myself, forcing a calm façade. Ariana needed me to be strong. They all did.
“I'm going
ARIANA'S POVI gasped, feeling as though the floor had been ripped out from beneath me. I had not been expecting this despite my mother's reactions."Murdered?" I whispered, barely able to get the word out. "How do you know it was murder?"Her eyes were red and swollen from crying. "Anita was gunned down in broad daylight," she said, her voice hollow and distant.Rob stood up abruptly, running a hand through his hair as he began to pace. "This only proves that Richard was involved in something big," he said, agitation clear in his voice. "And Anita was taken out because she knew too much."
ROBERT'S POVI was happy. Tonight was the best night of my life. Inside of me I was feeling happiness I had never imagined possible. Ariana and I had finally had one passionate night together without Flora's ghost looming over us.Her head lay on my chest, her breathing soft and rhythmic. I ran my fingers through her hair absentmindedly, lost in fantasies, my mind running wild with passion. The memories of the last time we had made love like this suddenly surged up in my mind, unbidden. I could still remember vividly had quickly everything had turned sour because of my silly mistake. I had whispered the wrong name—Flora. I shook my head now to clear that away from my mind, willing th
ARIANA'S POVJosh looked shocked at my question, his mouth opening and closing as if he couldn't quite find the words. He stammered, “Yes... yes, that's the number. How do you know that?”Rob was on his feet instantly, rushing to my side. “Ariana, how do you know it?” He demanded, his eyes filled with a mix of concern and excitement.Everyone in the room seemed to be holding their breath. I could feel sweat beginning to form on my forehead, my palms clammy. I swallowed hard, trying to gather my thoughts.“I... I remember driving down there,” I said slowly. “I got out of
ROBERT'S POVI stood frozen, Ariana's words echoing in my mind. “It was because of you, Rob… it was you… I drove to Maple Street because of you!” The room seemed to close in around me, the air thick with a mixture of shock and confusion. I couldn't move, couldn't speak. My heart pounded in my chest, a painful thud against my ribs. Finally, I managed to find my voice, though it came out as a whisper. “Ariana, what do you mean by that? Why did you drive there because of me?”She took a shaky breath, her eyes locking onto mine. “I remember it clearly now. I received a call from someone. They said if I didn't
ARIANA'S POV “Get down!” Rob yelled, pushing me behind a nearby car. I could feel his fear matching my own. My breathing was ragged, my heart pounding in my chest.“Rob, what’s happening? Why did this happen?” I asked, my voice barely a whisper, trembling with fear.He held me tightly, his own fear evident in his eyes. “I don’t know, but we need to stay hidden until I can figure it out.”We crouched behind the car, and I watched as Rob fumbled for his phone, his hands shaking. He dial
ARIANA'S POV Odette.It was Odette. My head was swooning and I almost lost my balance. I tightened my hold on Rob and let my gaze rest on the face of the woman walking towards me. She seemed to be a reporter as she was wielding a microphone. My breathing was ragged. It was Odette. Odette had abducted me. I remembered, the two of us had had a conversation. It was foggy but I could still feel the suffocating feeling I had felt that day when I raised my head up and found Odette looking down at me. I remembered the shock that reverberated through me. The question in my voice. The unbelief. The skepticism.The pres
ROBERT'S POV My mind was reeling from Ariana's revelation. Odette. It was Odette all along. Hearing the confirmation from Ariana’s lips, seeing the horror in her eyes, made everything painfully real. We had suspected her involvement, but this...this was worse than I imagined. While I was relieved that Ariana was beginning to recover her memories, a part of me worried about what else she might remember. What if it changed everything for us? What if the memories that came flooding back were too painful, too overwhelming for her to bear? Would she retreat into herself? And then there was the fear, gnawing at the edges of my mind, that she might remember something about us—about me—that would change how she saw me, how she felt about us.
ROBERT'S POV The next morning, I woke up with a sense of foreboding in my mind. I wished I didn't have to wake up. I wanted to continue laying down there close to Ariana, feeling her skin on me, cocooned away from the harsh realities and from this maze that seemed to have no end.I laid there and watched Ariana stir awake beside me. I knew I would have to tell her what Sylvia had found out no matter how unpleasant it would be. I sighed thankfully that Ariana didn't really remember Richard."Ari," I said softly, brushing a strand of hair from her face. She blinked up at me, her eyes still heavy with sleep."Morning," she murmured."Morning," I replied, managing a small smile. "There's something we need to talk about." It was best to get it over with it. We had to hit the ground running. She sat up, sensing the seriousness in my tone. "What is it?"I took a deep breath, steadying myself. "Sylvia called last night. She spoke to her contact in Evanston. Apparently, Anita went to the pol