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The Devil She Knows 83
CamilleLeif drives down the country road at a medium pace, keeping his gaze ahead but still looking around the woodland area.Alessio and I are in the back seat of the car. He's holding my hand in his lap the way he has been since we left Boston yesterday afternoon.We stayed at a beautiful hotel in L.A. last night I would have loved to enjoy. But the ominous feeling in my heart forbade me.We're on Highway 74. The route that will lead us to the lake house. One of the holiday homes owned by the Butyrskayas, and the first on Leif's list to visit. We drove onto this road about half an hour ago, and I think we're close to our destination. We're meeting Lucca Dyshekov there. He owns the property now, and Leif says he still uses the grounds to train his falcons.My stomach is in knots of anxiety and fear. Alessio's touch is the only thing anchoring me to this world, keeping me sane."We're nearly there." Leif looks back at us and returns his gaze to the road. "We're probably about five mi
The Devil She Knows 84
Camille.The house is beautifully decorated with a look of an old world meeting the modern, but nothing is coming to me. We head upstairs and look around the rooms before then we go back downstairs doing the same thing.Other than feeling like I should kick my shoes off, light up the fireplace, and relax in front of it with a steaming mug of something hot, I feel nothing more than that sensation of familiarity.Alessio opens the back door, and we go outside, heading toward the lake.When I look toward the wood, something catches my attention and I stop. It's two twisted-looking oak trees standing opposite each other. Thick vines wrap around the branches, which grow high and wide like they're reaching for the sky.I turn, and so does Alessio."What is it?" he asks."There." I point. "There's something about those trees."I'm walking toward them before he answers. He follows, falling in step with me.The closer I get, the stranger I feel. No longer feeling that sense of familiarity, but
The Devil She Knows 85
AlessioI make my way upstairs to my bedroom with a heavy heart.Camille's sobs filled me the moment I turned the corner to get up the stairs.We've been back for the last two days, and her tears haven't ceased. I don't expect them to. What Camille has been through is beyond anything I could have imagined. Or expected.I've been with her all day, but I had a quick errand to run that took about an hour. It was already nightfall when I left, and she was asleep. I'd hoped she would continue to sleep because she hasn't in days.I keep asking myself what I actually expected from that trip but come up with a blank every time.Truthfully, in my heart, if I'd known that trip to L.A. was going to destroy my wife the way it has, I would never have gone.I would have sailed her across the globe and hidden her away from the certain pain, devastation, and despair.Regardless to the answers we received, and the mystery solved regarding the Butyrskayas, I never would have traded that for her demise
The Devil She Knows 86
AlessioIt seems like I only closed my eyes for a moment before my phone rings and I wake up to bright sunlight beaming through the window.Camille is still out cold on my chest. When I slide her off me and onto the pillow, she doesn't stir.I grab my phone, answering straightaway when I see it's Leif calling.I pray he tells me they found Uther."Hey," I greet him."Morning, are you up?""I am now. What's going on?"He pauses for a moment and then sighs. "It's your father. He's just woken up and is asking for you."-------------------When I walk through the hospital doors, I don't know if I should walk fast or slow. Or just turn back and go home.I don't even know how the fuck my father knows I'm here.Or alive.To him, I should be dead and no longer a concern of his. How did he suddenly wake up from a five-month coma we were told he wouldn't make it back from?And ask for me? Me, of all the people.What about fucking Richard? His fucking beloved. Or my other brothers. Surely, he wa
The Devil She Knows 87
CamilleI gaze at Alessio sitting on the beach in the distance, smoking.He doesn't smoke often, and not like this.This broken version of him where he looks like the lost boy again.The last few days have been terrible for the both of us. First for me. Then for him.He returned from the hospital a few hours ago and told me what happened with his father.I didn't know what broke him more—finding out the truth and not being able to do anything about it, or watching his father die and knowing it's the end.Both were too much. Like everything else.To say I'm still a mess is putting it lightly, but I know I need to be there for him now. The way he has been for me.The last few days have been like none other. I previously thought the day my mother killed herself was the worst day of my life. Seeing the bones of the family I forgot in that grave was beyond that. I don't think I'd ever be able to explain to anyone how I felt then. And how I feel now.The memory I relived is still slicing th
The Devil She Knows 88
CamilleI'm pregnant. Me.No wonder I've been throwing up and I can barely keep water down. That was the only clue, and it suddenly emerged over the last few days.I'm pregnant. There's a baby inside me.I feel bad for being in shock, and I feel bad for not feeling happier. Then I start to freak. Alessio said he didn't want kids. But that was before. When... when he hated me. He doesn't hate me now, but how do I tell him?Will he be happy or mad at me for being careless?"Camille," Jayce calls from the car parked paces away from me on the driveway. I don't even remember he was waiting for me, or seeing him. "Are you okay?""Yes. Sorry." I make my way toward him, and he opens the door for me to get inside the car."You look pale. Are you sure you should be going anywhere?""Yes. I'm fine." I'm not fine. I feel like I'm going to throw up again, and I'm sure that will be because of nerves."Okay. Just checking. The boss will have my head if I take his wife out when she's sick.""Don't wo
The Devil She Knows 89
Alessio"I'll be with you in a few hours." I balance my phone between my ear and shoulder while I pick up the last contract document from the pile on my desk."Try not to stay at work too long," Leif says, his voice sounding raspy over the phone. It still holds that melancholic tone I feel. "Losing yourself in work isn't always best.""I know. I still feel off." I swivel my chair around and gaze out the window toward the skyline. Rain is falling, so outside is a little darker than it should be for this time of day. It suits the sullen mood I can't seem to shake."I feel the same, my boy. I've been questioning my actions and decision to keep you a secret since we found out the truth. I can't express how guilty I feel about that.""Uncle, you rescued me from certain death. Of course, you were in the right for keeping me a secret." I know if I were him, I would have done the same thing. And I pray I'll never be in that position. "I owe you my life, and I still think of you as my father.
The Devil She Knows 90
Alessio"Leif..."A creak sounds outside the door. Another follows, and another.It's footsteps on the floorboards. Since it's not coming from the front entrance, I know it's not Zakh or Malik, so it must be someone else who's already here.Readying my gun, I get up and charge through the door. Whoever the fuck is here, and isn't supposed to be, is going to die a very painful death.I move out into the hallway, looking around frantically to see who it is but find nothing.When I turn around, something sharp enters my neck; then there's a tinging pain that feels like I'm being stung by a bee.I touch the spot and feel... a fucking dart?I pull it out and look at the sharp needle at the end, quickly realizing when spots speckle my vision that it's a tranquilizer. Like the kind our enforcers use when they want to bring people in for interrogation. Before my mind can truly register what's happening, my arms go numb then limp at my side.This can't be an ordinary tranq. I'd be out like a l
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The Devil She Knows Epilogue
Camille"It's going to be so strange coming back after the summer and not seeing you," Lorelai says, sitting straighter."I know. I was thinking that the other day."We're under the tree on Raventhorn's campus. I'm waiting for Alessio to pick me up, and she's waiting for Dmitri. This is the first of many dates her father has arranged with him, and I know she's not happy about it.Although she's smiling, I also know she's still putting on a brave face because of Zakh. By now, everyone knows what he did and that he's basically being hunted.Lorelai and I haven't spoken about it much, but I know she's hurting deeply."You know you'll still see me, right?" I smile. "I just won't be at college for a year." Today, I did my deferment for next year. I'm due in January, but I have no plans to walk around campus in my pregnant state. We have another month of classes before the summer. By the time I get back, I'll be just over five months pregnant. I plan to resume my course the year after next
The Devil She Knows 96
CamilleThe next two days are awful, but Alessio is still with us.I've been sitting next to his bedside watching him fight for his life and hoping he'll come back to me.I pay attention to every sound on his monitors and watch for signs of anything and everything when the nurses and doctors check his vitals.I continue praying as the next day passes with the same results.His words keep ringing through my mind.We're not done yet, we're not done yet, we're not done yet.I just hope he knows I'm with him. Wherever he is, that's where I am, too.Heart, body, mind, and soul. He always had me long before I knew I'd given myself to him.Two weeks slip by and Alessio is still the same. I feel like I'm dancing on the edge of insanity.The doctors have kindly arranged for me to sleep next to him when I can, so I stay all night.Everyone is hoping he'll pull through and wake up soon, so everything has been put on hold, including Leif and Evgeni's funerals.On Friday night, I fall asleep next
The Devil She Knows 95
CamilleI look around frantically, not knowing what the hell to do but thinking this is an opening. A possible chance to escape, just like the one Dad told me to find. I just have to summon courage and look for my chance.We tear down the road off the building site, and then we're on a country road with the woods on either side.The sound of a motorcycle rips through the air. A sound I will never forget.The lazy day I remember at Raventhorn fills my head with the image of me sitting next to Lorelai by the tree, watching the motorcyclist rebel drive onto the campus.He's here again.I look behind me and see Alessio on his motorcycle tearing down the road. He's fought death to come and save me. I also spot Malik's car not far behind.Alessio shoots the wheels of the car. The tires blow, making Richard lose control of the vehicle.We run off the road, fly through the air for a few seconds, then land with a heavy thud on the ground. The car still has a lot of speed on it though, so it ke
The Devil She Knows 94
CamilleMy heart has been smashed into so many pieces it's impossible to count them all. It's no different to all the grains of sand in this world.My mind and body are disconnected, and my soul weeps for losing the love of my life. All that is left of me is an empty shell with nothing but a void inside.The only thing I can feel is the spark of life created with love in my belly, calling to me to stay alive. But I've already failed as a mother because there's nothing I can do.In my terror and grief, I'm here sitting on the floor of the bedroom I was taken to after Mira killed Dad, feeling sorry for myself.I don't know what this place is. It seems like Mira conducts something medical here. Apart from the armed guards, on my way up I saw offices and labs with clinical staff. I also saw other storage rooms and bedrooms like this.We're on the third floor, so quite high up with no possible way of escape. If I were to even try, I'm sure this shitty tunic Mira forced me to wear would get
The Devil She Knows 93
AlessioEverything is gray.I'm not sure if I'm alive or dead, or in a dream.My mind searches around the gray nothingness and the vast expanse of the void before me.I feel nothing at first, then something warm caresses my cheek. My name is spoken, soft and sweet, and I wonder if it's her.Camille. Did I make it? Did I find her? Did I save her?My wife.My eyes flutter open, but the grayness that looks like thick smoke prevents me from seeing anything. Then a light that's far too bright shines down on me, and I blink rapidly.At first, the ceiling of my living room comes into focus, then a man's face hovers before me.It's Leif's on-call doctor, Dr. O'Brien.Leif...Camille...At the thought of their names, reality crashes into my mind and I bolt up."Easy, there," Dr. O'Brien says, laying a heavy hand on my chest and pushing me back down. I'm on the sofa, and a quick glance at the bandage wrapped around my body suggests I took a hit in the blast.Gytha moves toward me, with worry in
The Devil She Knows 92
CamilleA chill rushes over me. "What do you mean? What did she do to me?""Even though she wasn't ethically allowed to be your therapist, she gave you medication to stop you from remembering."I cover my mouth, holding in the wave of shock that's ripping me apart. I can't believe what I'm hearing. Only God knows how hard I tried to remember, but I was never going to be able to because Mira was suppressing my memories with medication. I was such a fool to believe she was the person she portrayed to be. She was never the fucking motherly figure. All along, she was my enemy."You allowed her to do that to me.""I had no choice. She did everything she could to control our lives and make sure you didn't remember what happened. But the nightmares were always a worry even when they went away.""She told me it was my brain's way of trying to remember.""It was, and we feared you'd see something to trigger those memories. Or you'd just remember everything by some miracle. The whole thing torm
The Devil She Knows 91
CamilleI roll my head to the side and groan. Someone strokes my cheek, and I open my eyes.At first, my vision is hazy, but when everything comes into focus, I find myself staring at a gray concrete wall. The light around me reminds me of the kind you'd use for a storage room.My cheek is stroked again, and I turn my head to find Dad hovering over me. He has a long beard, blood-shot eyes, and his face looks like someone did a number on him.We're on the floor, and my head is nestled in his lap. It takes me a moment for my brain to connect and remember. Remember all he did and what he took from me. My family and my life.The instant I remember, I scream and jump out of his hold."Get away from me!" The panic in my voice is mixed with rage and fear."Camille, please."I back away into a wall, crashing hard against the surface. Then I notice the real problem we've found ourselves in.We're in some sort of cell, and while I am free, there are chains attached to Dad's ankles, keeping him
The Devil She Knows 90
Alessio"Leif..."A creak sounds outside the door. Another follows, and another.It's footsteps on the floorboards. Since it's not coming from the front entrance, I know it's not Zakh or Malik, so it must be someone else who's already here.Readying my gun, I get up and charge through the door. Whoever the fuck is here, and isn't supposed to be, is going to die a very painful death.I move out into the hallway, looking around frantically to see who it is but find nothing.When I turn around, something sharp enters my neck; then there's a tinging pain that feels like I'm being stung by a bee.I touch the spot and feel... a fucking dart?I pull it out and look at the sharp needle at the end, quickly realizing when spots speckle my vision that it's a tranquilizer. Like the kind our enforcers use when they want to bring people in for interrogation. Before my mind can truly register what's happening, my arms go numb then limp at my side.This can't be an ordinary tranq. I'd be out like a l
The Devil She Knows 89
Alessio"I'll be with you in a few hours." I balance my phone between my ear and shoulder while I pick up the last contract document from the pile on my desk."Try not to stay at work too long," Leif says, his voice sounding raspy over the phone. It still holds that melancholic tone I feel. "Losing yourself in work isn't always best.""I know. I still feel off." I swivel my chair around and gaze out the window toward the skyline. Rain is falling, so outside is a little darker than it should be for this time of day. It suits the sullen mood I can't seem to shake."I feel the same, my boy. I've been questioning my actions and decision to keep you a secret since we found out the truth. I can't express how guilty I feel about that.""Uncle, you rescued me from certain death. Of course, you were in the right for keeping me a secret." I know if I were him, I would have done the same thing. And I pray I'll never be in that position. "I owe you my life, and I still think of you as my father.
