Page 54 of The Twisted Beats

“She was a child star at sixteen, but you didn’t recognize her when you saw her in front of her own home. She’s at her brother’s concert and some guy namedCallumcalls her Lilyand vixen while you’re talking to her, and you can’t work out the connection.”

I shake my head. “I didn’t watch TV then, so I didn’t know who she was. And who is this Callum you think I should know?”

“You should know him. You’ve been a financial backer for two of his bands.”

“I’ve never worked with anyone named Callum.”

“That’s because he does business under his stage name.” Andrew raises his eyebrows and waits for it to hit me.

“Which is?”

“Cash Mayze.”

Electrical shock waves reverberate inside me. “Callum is Cash, the lead singer of Mayhem?”

“I’m afraid so. But to give some credit, nobody knows him as Callum. He goes by Cash, and legal documents use his LLC. That’s why you’ve never seen his birth name, Callum. It’s been reported the only person allowed to call him Callum is Livianna.”

I swallow hard, afraid to ask my next question. “Did they date?”

“I’d say.” Andrew pulls out his phone and does something on it. “You’re the smartest guy I know when it comes to business. I can’t say the same when it comes to the woman you’re dating.”

“How do you know all this?”

“I’m a huge fan of Mayhem and have followed them for years.”

With this information, my mind goes blank and my body goes numb. I had no idea, and it’s been right in front of me the entire time.

How did I miss it?

Andrew holds his phone out to me. “Mayhem just took home six Grammys in February for this album. There’s not a critic, tabloid, or person out there that knows the story ofLivianna and Cash who doesn’t believe every song is based on their relationship.”

I take his cell phone and stare down at the screen. On it is a picture of the cover of their last record album, “Forget Paris.”

My jaw twitches and I roll my eyes. Very apropos given the moment.

The image on the album is of a big red heart with one black lily next to a white lily. In the interweaving stems is the money symbol $.

In the bottom corner, written in script, are the words,For My Vixen.Other than that part, the fucking cover is a replica of the tattoo on her chest.

My hands shake and my vision blurs. She lied to me about what it meant.

How many other lies has she told me?

I thought we had a solid foundation built on trust. It’s now I realize I know little about Livianna Hemings. At least not the real Livianna.

The woman I know is someone I connected with in Paris. Back in the States, I’m her secret—someone she wants no one to know about. With that realization, my illusion of her shatters.

Chapter Twelve

LIVIANNA/LILY

Then

Vicious Refusals & Dangerous Promises

Sometimes the sweetest touch is just the prettiest way to shatter you.

Callum slides off me and sits. “Lily, I want to have sex with you, but…”