She's dressed like she always used to be; prim, polished, high heels clicking against my old hardwood floor. I remember it back then, it felt like her way of telling us she was too good for us. Her smile is still cruel, but her eyes, they're colder than I remember.
"Leona, you poor thing. You really think you've made it, huh?" she says, voice full of scorn. "Just because you've got a rich boy on your arm. I saw the news. You looked so proud."
My body stiffens with rage. "You've went missing for almost two years, not a word from you, not even after I called when Darius was diagnosed. You never came. Never even called. Now you're showing up because of some news?" I scoff, "some mother you are. Looking at you makes me sick."
"Oh shut up, you twat. I couldnt care less about your little love affair," she says, waving her hand. "I came to give you a task."
I stare, speechless.
"You're going to sabotage Aaron Rutherford's inheritance. I'm tearing that little egotistic maniac down and you're going to help me," she cocks her to the side, regarding me in a manner I could only describe as sadistic, "you're going to be my little insider to destroy him."
A sharp, bitter laugh erupts from me. "Why the hell would I do that?" My eyes are watery, but I blink to keep them in check.
She steps closer, smile sharpening. "Because the woman he loved most, his beloved mother was murdered by none other than your own father."
My breath catches. I go still.
"You're lying."
"Am I?" she says lightly. "Your precious father was a hired assassin. Clean. Untraceable. He was only doing his job."
My whole body goes numb. I can't move. I can't breathe. I don't know if to scream or cry, so I do nothing.
"If Aaron finds out," she continues, "he'll kill you. And your brother. He won't care about whatever fantasy you've built in that empty head of yours."
My voice is barely above a whisper. "Why are you doing this?"
She smiles, haughtily. "Because I'm married to the head of Rutherford's rival company. We're taking them down. From the inside."
"Of course, you are," I say bitterly.
She turns to the man beside her. "Roughen this place up. Make sure she understands what's at stake."
The man steps forward. I brace myself.
He hits me and my head jerks to the side, a sharp sting burns across my cheek.
He raises his hand again but before he can hit me, the door blasts open.
And then he's literally flying across the room. He crashes into the wall with a bone-shattering thud and drops like dead weight.
It's Aaron, he found me.
He's on the man in a second, raining punches down with a fury I've never seen in anyone before.
A blow to the ribs. Another to the face. Blood splatters across the floor. The man groans, curling in on himself but his knuckles don't stop, even after the man stops moving.
Aaron's chest heaves as he stands over him, eyes blazing like hellfire, his breath coming in short, animalistic bursts.
Then he turns to me.
His face shifts instantly, the rage is gone, replaced with horror. He rushes to my side, fingers trembling as he undoes the knots at my wrists and ankles.
"Leona. Are you okay?" His voice breaks on my name.
I fall into him, shaking. "How... how did you find me?"
Before he can answer, the sound sirens fill our ears. The shrill wail of police approaching floods the room.
The man on the floor starts crawling away, he stumbles to his feet and runs out.
Aaron moves to stop him, but I grab his arm, desperate. "Stay with me."
He looks down at me and softens. "Of course." He wraps me in his arms, pressing me against his chest like he'll protect me from the whole world.
I bury my face into him. But my mind won't stop spinning.
My mother. Her confession. Her warning. My… father.
And Aaron, kind, dangerous, powerful Damien. How am I supposed to betray the one man I might be falling for?