My first instinct was to deny it.Remind him Ariana was merely a pawn.The queen I’d use to destroy the king.
But that was no longer the case.
“I was wrong about her,” I admitted.
“How so?”
I leaned back, staring at the ceiling for a moment before meeting his gaze.So much had happened since I’d spoken to him about my plan.So much had changed.
“Before I took her, I hated what she represented.The dresses.The galas.The easy life.I thought she’d chosen it.That shelovedit and didn’t care who she had to step on to live that lifestyle.”
I swallowed hard, cursing myself for not seeing it all before.Now that I knew the truth, it was so fucking obvious.
“She’s not that woman.Every smile.Every laugh.It was just an act.A part she had to play to survive.”
“Survive?”Blake pressed.
I slowly nodded.“He’s been torturing her.Beating her.Assaulting her.Controlling every part of her fucking existence.”My voice cracked, my blood boiling with every word.“She’s not his wife.She’s his goddamn property.And I was too fucking blinded by my hatred to see it.”
Blake’s jaw tightened.
He may have been involved in questionable activities from time to time.May have had no problem disposing of a body or cleaning a crime scene.But there was one thing we could both agree on.We despised anyone who harmed a woman or child.
“So what happens now?”he asked.
“Now I tell her the truth.”I shifted my gaze to the monitor to see Ariana still sleeping, the faint rise and fall of her chest providing me some semblance of comfort.“And pray she doesn’t hate me beyond repair.”
“And Victor?”
“What about him?”
“I can leak rumors about his involvement in his wife’s disappearance to the press.Feed them some noise.Let public opinion do its thing.”
I shook my head.“He deserves more than a scandal or ruined reputation.He needs to understand how it feels to beg for mercy, only to have his pleas fall on deaf ears.Just like Ariana’s did for so long.I want him to suffer.And even when I think he’s suffered enough, I want him to suffer more.For Ariana.And for Sarah.”
He considered my statement for several long moments.When he spoke again, his voice was softer.More concerned.
“This path you’re about to go down… There’s no going back.There’s a difference between taking a life to protect someone, and taking a life out of vengeance.If you do this, itwillchange you.I just want to make sure you understand the stakes.That you’ll have to live with it for the rest of your life.Is she worth it?”
“Of course she is.Sarah’s my daughter.”
He gave me a knowing look.“I wasn’t talking about Sarah.”He glanced at the monitor where Ariana’s peaceful face filled the screen.“Issheworth it?”
There wasn’t even a question in my mind.
“Without a fucking doubt.”
He nodded a single determined nod.“Then that’s good enough for me.”
ChapterFive
Ariana
Waking came in fragments, like a film reel sputtering in and out of focus.
First was the pounding.A heavy throb at the base of my skull that pulsed in rhythm with every sluggish beat of my heart.My stomach cramped, sour and tight, the bitter taste of bile thick on my tongue.My knee burned like it had been branded, the pain sparking sharper each time I moved.
The low hum of something sounded in the background, steady and mechanical.The heater maybe.Then something I hadn’t heard in days cut through the silence.The rumble of an airplane flying overhead.Like I was near some sort of civilization.Not hidden away in a mountain cabin like a helpless lamb awaiting slaughter.
