"Understood." I stepped back, nodding.
But as I turned, I caught Emilio's eye. He edged closer, his movements deliberate.
"Agent Thomas," Emilio murmured, a knowing look crossing his features. "Beatrice won't say it, but I will."
"Oh?" I kept my voice neutral, but my pulse quickened. “Say what?”
"Victoria once had an affair," Emilio confided, his tone even. "The family was scandalized—still is. It’s the real reason Isla was never allowed to be with me—because of her mother’s history. The family wouldn’t allow it, and Victoria knew this because they wouldn’t allow it for her. They wouldn’t allow the scandal it would become."
"Scandal, huh? Would it be enough to kill?"
"Who knows?" He shrugged, his eyes dark pools of implication. "But secrets like that have a way of surfacing at the worst times."
"Thanks, Emilio." I nodded, storing away the information.
"A scandal?" I murmured to myself, the word tasting bitter on my tongue. The echoes of Emilio's words hummed in my ears like a swarm of agitated bees. Victoria, with her seemingly impeccable reputation, was now cloaked in the shadows of a clandestine past. Could that love affair be the skeleton rattling behind closed doors, enough to push her over the edge?
"Family honor," I continued, half-aloud, "can be a noose as much as a badge." My eyes scanned the elegant crowd, roving over faces that held smiles just a fraction too tight. Each one could be a mask, including my old friends Amy, Jen, Michelle, and Kara.
"Mom?" Olivia appeared at my side, her voice thin with concern. "You're pacing."
"Am I?" I hadn't realized my feet betraying the churn of thoughts within. "Just mulling over some details."
I turned back to the room, my gaze resting on Victoria. There she was, a portrait of poise, but the air around her seemed to crackle with latent energy. Was it possible? Had her secret love, once exposed, ignited a firestorm of disgrace so fierce it could drive her to silence Isla forever? Had she done the same to Mark?
"Rage," I whispered, the hint of a theory taking root. "Fear of humiliation driven rage…." My mind raced back to Isla's case files. If Victoria mirrored that same poisonous hate, could it explain the inexplicable?
"Victoria," I said under my breath, fixing the name in my mind like a target. Was she capable of something like that?
I never got to finish the thought.
BAM
The doors suddenly slammed open with a violence that sent a shiver down my spine. Marcus Cole stormed into the room, his presence like a live wire sparking uncontrollable reactions. Fear and confusion spread through the guests faster than wildfire.
"Marcus!" Victoria gasped, an electric jolt in the word itself. Confusion was evident on her face as she screamed. “It’s him, it’s him. The one who murdered my Isla. And he’s got a gun!”
Her words made the room erupt into chaos as everyone reacted simultaneously.
Chairs clattered against the polished floor as bodies lurched backward, creating a sea of panic that I found myself adrift in. The screams bounced off the walls, each echo a hammer strike to my calm. But calm I remained.
"Stay close," I murmured to Olivia, my voice a life raft in the chaos.
My eyes locked onto Marcus, taking in the graying temples and the shadowed eyes that scanned the room with such intensity it could cut glass.
"Easy there," I said quietly as I edged forward, my hand signaling others to give him space. "Let's talk, Marcus."
Chapter33
Marcus Cole wasa statue of desperation in the center of the room, gun clutched in his trembling hand, its metallic surface catching the scant light that seeped through the blinds. The air, thick with tropical humidity, seemed to congeal around us, stifling any movement. Olivia's eyes flickered to mine—a silent plea.
"Mom…." Her voice was a thread, nearly lost in the charged stillness.
"Stay calm," I mouthed back, my heart pounding against the confines of my practical blazer. The subtle smile that usually played on my lips had vanished, replaced by a determined line. My gaze never wavered from her, projecting every ounce of assurance I could muster.
"Nobody moves." Marcus's voice was ragged, serrated with pain and anger. His finger twitched on the trigger.
"Marcus," I said, stepping sideways, inching closer to Olivia under the guise of steadiness. "Talk to me."
