My fault. My fault. My fault.
I curled into myself on the floor, surrounded by Isabella's flowers, another victim of the Bellante family's violence. The irony wasn't lost on me—finding refuge in a dead woman's garden while my editor's body cooled in a morgue drawer.
"I got him killed," I whispered to the orchids, the words dissolving into the humid air.
The darkness swallowed everything after that.
27
Ellie
I couldn't tear myeyes from the door Sabine had disappeared through. No footsteps echoed on the stairs. Maybe she'd gone to the solarium. She'd been disappearing there with her books lately, curled up under that huge monstera like it could shield her from everything.
My chest felt hollow. We should have protected Mark somehow. But he wasn't even our client. Not our responsibility. Still—
Cam's warm fingers found my chin, tilting my face up to meet her eyes. They were steady, certain, everything I wasn't feeling.
"She'll be okay," Cam said. "She just needs time."
I wanted to believe her. God, I wanted to. But time wouldn't erase what happened. Time wouldn't bring Mark back from whatever the Bellantes had done to him. Time wouldn't wash away the betrayal Sabine felt.
I nodded anyway. What else could I do?
"We need to figure out what Mark knew." Kara's voice pulled me back to the problem at hand.
Kara's voice went flat, all emotion tucked away behind her professional mask. "So if they tortured Mark... why? What did he know?"
Alex tensed beside me. "Did you tell him where—"
"I told him nothing," Kara cut her off. "He knew we were going to pick up her belongings at her condo, then taking her to a secure location."
Cam leaned forward, elbow on her knee. "Where did he get our contact info in the first place?"
Kara rubbed her temple. "From Leo in Philly. Alex's suggestion." She glanced at Alex, who stared back impassively. "I called him, told him I was looking for new contracts, asked him to let me know if he heard of anything in this neck of the woods. When Mark reached out, Leo gave him our number."
"Which number?" Alex pressed, her voice tight.
"Company number." Kara's jaw clenched. "Tracks back to the company, not my name."
My stomach dropped as the pieces clicked together. "But Mark knew our names."
The words fell into silence. No one moved. I watched their faces as they processed what I'd said. Cam's eyes narrowed. Kara's lips pressed into a thin line, which told me everything about how bad this was.
If Mark had our full names and the Bellantes made him talk—which they would have—they could trace us back to the company. They could connect Kara and me to Alex. They could unravel everything we'd built.
I thought of Sabine, already shattered by Mark's death. She didn't know yet that his death might be just the beginning.
Kara's knuckles whitened around her mug. "He did have our names. Can't convince a man to let you take custody of his prized reporter without letting him see some ID. What was I supposed to do about that?" She waited, then added, "Doesn't matter... your people don't have our names, right Alex?"
Alex stood by the window, her silhouette sharp against the darkness outside. She didn't turn around. Didn't even seem to hear the question.
"Right, Alex?" Kara's voice could have cut glass.
Alex flinched, turning back to us. "What?"
Kara's jaw tightened. I could practically hear her teeth grinding. "Does anyone on your end have our names?"
"No." Alex shook her head. "Matteo said I needed security after Mamma was killed. I said I knew a group who could do it. He said get their info over to David." She paused, then clarified, "The family accountant. I gave David the company name and contact info off the business card. He didn't ask for more."
