Semua Bab WHERE LIGHT MEETS DARK: Bab 71 - Bab 80

The air was heavy in the evening.Lily sat on the vanity, staring into the mirror. But it wasn't Lily staring back. It was Ina. The sly smile, the defying glint in her eyes — the piece of her that wouldn't be controlled.Her phone rang.A message from Brenna James:Watch your back. Brigs is monitoring all. Get evidence, but don't screw up.Lily gulped. "I know," she panted hoarsely, staring into Ina's mirror image.But just as she could have replied, another message came.And don't forget, child — if you fall, everything falls with you.Lily put down the phone.Someone knocked at the door."Madam," the butler murmured outside. "Your presence is needed in the study."She quickly brushed away any feeling from her face, bristling into the perfect mask of calm.She entered the spacious study — and stopped.Vandaulf sat there, bracingly rigid, and facing him sat his private investigator.Her heart skipped a beat."Lily," Vandaulf said in a low, unreadable voice. "Sit down."She sat down slo

While that, Brigs took a seat beside Vandaulf in the study."She's got something to hide," Brigs whispered hesitantly.Vandaulf's eyes flashed up. "That isn't true, Dad."Brigs didn't bat an eyelid. "Your wife isn't as pure as she makes herself out to be."Vandaulf's fists cramped into tight fists on the armrest of the chair. "How can you insinuate such a thing?"Brigs breathed, stirring the amber liquid in his glass. "Because I've been keeping an eye on her. Longer than you have.""That's paranoia," Vandaulf shot back. "You don't trust anyone.""And that's the way I want to live," Brigs replied curtly. He poured them each a shot, pushed a glass across to his son. "Drink. Listen."Vandaulf accepted the glass hesitantly but wouldn't take a sip. His gaze still fixed on his father's face.Brigs slouched forward. "There are whispers. Footsteps in the dark. Strange calls on the estate line. A woman on the grounds who is not your wife… and yet…" His eyes twinkled. "She looks like her."Vanda

Leaning back in his armchair, Brigs Carlston cast a foreboding elongated shadow all over the mahogany walls of the study as the desk lamp shone brightly. He stirred the drink, amber in color, in the glass and narrowed his eyes, looking at the wall as though in consideration. Dark laughter shook his head. "Tsk, tsk… Roosevelt James' daughter is smarter than I thought she was. She has been hunting for evidence."He placed his drink on the desk with a loud click."She knows it was something more than an accident. But to know and to be able to show are two other things, little girl."With a slow, deliberate motion, Brigs stood up from the chair and walked to the opposite side of the room. His fingertips touched the cold surface of an old cabinet—a reminder of lost secrets. He bent down, pressing his thumb into a hidden panel beneath the cabinet. There was a tiny click, and a panel of the wooden floor creaked open to show a hidden vault.Brigs breathed deeply, his eyes shining with evil

Brigs spun toward her, his grin growing wider. "Ah. There it is." He fell again, his gaze fixed on her like a predator's gaze on wounded prey. "That hesitation. That doubt. That fear."Lily's heart pounded against her head, but she would not give in to him."Kill me then," she gasped. "If you really believe that I am so cowardly, kill me."Brigs chuckled. "Oh, Lily. Why would I ever hurt you when so much enjoyment is had playing games with you?"Her breath caught as he leaned in close, lips on the edge of her ear. "You're in a war you'll lose."She swallowed hard, mouth dry. "I shall never surrender."Brigs stepped back, eyes crinkling at the deep grinning lines. "Oh, I'm waiting with bated breath.".He addressed his guards. "Bring them down. Make them comfortable."Lily's stomach sank.Lower floors. Dungeon under manor.An arm tugged her arm, flame searing from her shoulder. She was being dragged away once more, metal's hold on her wrists as the guards are taken off into shadows.Van

The night drew its breath in anticipation.Vandaulf loomed over her, a dark silhouette against the silver glow pouring through the leaves. His features remained unguessed, his stance noncommittal neither friendly nor unfriendly. Far behind them, Brigs' men screamed distant, their boots pounding the earth like war drums.Ina's grip on the stolen gun was a vise. Her body hurt, her lungs seared, but she would not fall now. Not now that she had come so far.She recoiled.Vandaulf copied her."You hesitate," he said. His voice was not loud, but it sliced the night like a blade.Ina's heart pounded in her chest. "I don't hesitate.""Then why not shoot?"Her hands trembled on the icy metal of the gun.She could.She should.Vandaulf was Brigs' son. His blood. His heir. He had stood on the other side for so long it was as though to hold a knife in the blade to have any trust in him now.And yet—He had come alone. Without a gun. Without guards.Either desperate or idiotic.Or perhaps both."I