“Aww, don’t be sad,” she scoffed. “Now we both get what we want. I get the family business, and you get to be free of it. And your newfound husband and all the horrid things I’m sure he would have done over the years are no longer your problem.”
“Because you’re going to kill me,” I snapped, “just like you killed Dad!”
Yes, Gaven could be cruel, but at the very least he was honest about it. Jackie was a fucking snake and I hadn’t seen her until it was too late.
“Don’t worry,” she said. Her pleasant, satisfied tone only fueled my rage. Her features were a mask of pleasure. Her eyes glittered with amusement as she looked back at me. Smug—she was so fucking smug because she’d finally found a way to getwhat she wanted. “I’ll give you a head start to get away. We aresisters,after all.” She flicked her fingers towards the door and began counting. “Ten … nine … eight…”
Biting down the urge to throw up, I turned and ran. I didn’t stop, didn’t detour, sprinting out the door to make my final move as a Price Heir.To run.
I knew the moment she reached the end of her countdown because a shrill, blood-curdling scream echoed throughout the house. She was a good actress, I had to give her that. Anyone who heard it would no doubt go running towards who they assumed was a victim. I bit down harder, blood filling my mouth as I sprinted.
Weak, my mind hissed. My sister could have the family business. I didn’t give a shit about that. But Gaven … he was mine. He told me as much. If I ran now, then they would all assume I was the culprit. He would be safe. I couldn’t even think of coming back, of proving my innocence. All I could do was flee. It was all I was good at, apparently.
I heard doors opening on the upper floors, but I slowed to a stop next to the front door as I spotted something on the hallway table. It was one of the notepads that had been included in the wedding gifts. A pen lay next to it. It was like kismet. Before I could stop myself, I paused, realizing the knife was in my hand. I dropped it onto the table next to the pad and with shaking fingers, I wrote four words.
Four words I hoped would make things better.
Tears raced down my face. I was an idiot for considering I could find happiness in this life. Those last moments of hope with him had been nothing more than a fairytale. Happily ever after was never meant to be for me.
Despite everything—my feelings, hopes, dreams, and desires—I was nothing more than a mafia princess who’d sold hersoul to the devil. A devil I was now prepared to do anything to protect. What a fool I’d been.
Chapter 23
Gaven
Iwas used to death. I’d dealt it out enough times in my lifetime that it had ceased to affect me the same way it might an average man. This was something entirely different. I’d known the victim. I’d been hisfriend. His demise meant that the future was changing. All of my plans needed to be adjusted.
His death meant I’d missed something, and I was not a man whomissedthings.
Raffaello's blood was everywhere. It was soaked into the carpet beneath my feet in a gruesome puddle that had dried overnight. "Sir?" One of the Price guards approached me carefully.
"Have you found her yet?" I demanded as I stared down, unseeing, at the brown dried blood.
"No, sir … there was, um, a note left." My head jerked up and I spun toward the man. “It was by the front door, along with…” He didn’t have to say what it was left next to. He held up a plastic bag with a bloodied knife inside.Fuck.
The man looked decidedly uncomfortable, but I didn't give a shit. I reached for the piece of paper in his hand and snatched it away. I prayed it was an explanation. An excuse for her disappearance wouldn’t mean she wouldn’t be punished, but itmight, at the very least, provide some insight into the events that had taken place while I’d been asleep.
It was a short note. Nothing spectacular and nothing with a goddamn explanation. It was four simple words.
I'm sorry, Gaven. — Angel
She was sorry? Fucking sorry? Where the fuck did her ‘sorry’ come into this clusterfuck of a morning?I threw the paper down, cursing as I turned back toward the soiled office.
"Gaven?"
I stiffened at the sound of Jackie's voice. "Not now,” I snapped.
The sound of a feminine inhale reached my ears.Fuck.I'd nearly forgotten. Raffaello hadn't just left Angel behind when the poor bastard had been murdered sometime in the night, he'd left his other daughter as well, and now, I had no fucking clue what to do. I was an assassin, not a family man. Angel and Raffaello were both supposed to ease me into the role. Angel, with her body, to carry my seed and bear my heir. Raffaello, to guide my hand in their businesses. Now, here I was, thrown with no remorse from the fucking universe, right into the flames.
"I'm sorry to bother you," Jackie said, her voice quiet but firm, "but I've just been informed that forensics on the weapon came back."
My body jolted and I turned to face her. She looked pointedly at the bag the guard was holding. They’d already taken it to forensics and brought it back? That seemed highly suspicious. I narrowed my eyes on her.
"They came to you?" I demanded. I'd told those bastards that I was the head of the Price Family now. They were meant to come tome,not her.
She nodded. Despite the ordeal of the morning, the death of her father, and the grief I figured she must be feeling, Jacquelina Price remained impassive. Or professional might have been the better term. Dressed in a pair of Louboutin heels, a black pencil skirt, and a charcoal blouse—she looked ready to attend an important business meetinganda funeral. I eyed her and her attire curiously. Was it just because she’d been raised in the Price household, or was there another reason for her composure?
Jackie held out a file for me and without a second thought, I took it, flipped it open, and scanned the documents. My jaw clenched as I read the words. "Tell them to do it again," I snapped, shutting the file. "There's been a mistake."
