Page 75 of Hers To Keep
I don’t know why Bass felt the need to discuss all of that with Jade, when it was only hours before that I’d told him, but I guess that’s a conversation for another day. I kept out what happened the night of my uncle’s dinner party and the fate of her father Chandler. I know Scarlett would hate to have Jade find out this way, and although I now know Scarlett has also discovered it was her stepbrother Roman, Jade’s biological brother, who killed their own father, she’ll soon have to tell her herself. At least now she knows it wasn’t me.
It wasn’t until the night of Chaz’s death that I found out Roman’s connection to Scarlett. I always thought he was just another one of my uncle’s loyal minions, but then I came to findhe’s actually been working for Marchesi this whole time. This is all just too fucking twisted.
“So Macallan, Marchesi, whatever the fuck his name is now, wants revenge on Wesley for his sister’s death.” We all nod but Jade still doesn’t seem convinced we’re telling the truth. “Okay, but why? Why does he need Scarlett to act like she’s on Wesley’s side?”
“Because my uncle is blinded by his obsession with her. He told Scarlett that she reminds him of Gianna, and Wesley was in love with Gianna. So in some weird, twisted, and fucked up way, he’s replacing Gianna with Scarlett.” Her eyes widen at my words, glimpses of fear taking over her earlier anger as she looks between the three of us.
“Then we need to get her the fuck out of there,” she says, standing up and walking toward me. The look in her eyes is lethal. “You need to get her the fuck out of there, Horseman.”
I nod in agreement, stepping forward and closing the space between us, and to my surprise she doesn’t even flinch. “And I will, we will, but first we need her to do what Marchesi asks of her. He wants to bring Wesley down so he must have a plan. Once we find out what that is, we can use it to destroy them both.”
“And how will we do that?” she asks, not sounding so convinced.
“I have someone on the inside,” I say looking at Bass and I know he knows exactly who I am talking about.
Chapter
Forty-Two
SCARLETT
The first time I came to this vile place, it was under the pretense that Ace was keeping another secret from me. Wesley knew I had my suspicions and jealous insecurities. That I was unwilling to trust Ace, and he used it to his advantage. He used my reluctance to accept the authenticity of my relationship with Ace and planted a seed of doubt within me. It worked.
I came here that night to spy on Ace, coerced by his uncle to find out if he was doing something against him, but what I found was so much worse. What happened to me because of it I’ll never forget.
That’s what Wesley’s counting on, what he hopes will happen. Every day I’m here, I’ll be reminded of the events that transpired that night. I was drugged and kissed against my will. I’ll be reminded of who it was that put me here, who it is that holds all the power, and there is nothing I can do about it.
As I walk through the same metal door as that God awful night,down the same hollow hallway, I cringe at the memory, but I remind myself I need to focus on my goal. I can’t let my mind be consumed with horrible memories. Wesley might believe I have once again fallen victim to his futile threats and willingly accepted to come work for him, but that’s a lie. Franco Marchesi might also believe that his threat to expose the truth about Wesley being Ace’s father, and his threat to ruin him is the reason I’ve accepted to be his double agent, but that’s also a lie.
I’m here of my free will, and free will is what’s important. It is what they both threaten to take away from me. I won’t let them get away with it, because I swore to tear this world apart from the inside, and inside is exactly where I stand.
Mark my words, these devils will fall, fall from the highest peak of their ivory towers, and I will rise above the ashes of this place they once called home, the place I will burn to the ground, only to watch it turn to ash beneath my feet.
“Serena!” shouts a voice from behind me, startling me out of my daze. The familiar long corridor I walked through that first day looks exactly the same, buzzing with girls running back and forth getting ready for show time. I turn to see who it was that called me by the name I gave that night, my middle name Serena. Behind me I find Cruz, the guy who helped me get dressed and ready for the stage, rushing toward me.
“Serena?” my mother asks, appearing from behind him, an equally beguiling look covering her face. I knew she would be here but seeing her again so happy and carefree in her element, sends a wave of fury through me. There is no one more at fault for my misfortunes than her. I will make sure that she also pays for her sins and the pain she has caused me and those around me.
“Yes, this is Serena,” Cruz says, wrapping his arms around me in a tight hug. “She came in one night a few months back and caused a riot with her gorgeous face and that killer body. But I never saw or heard of her again. Where did you go, love?” he asks, directing his attention back to me.
“I was here by mistake,” I mutter, not explaining any further, unsure of what I’d say.
“Of course you were,” another familiar face, or two, says as they enter and stand beside my mother. “Serena here is actually Scarlett Steele, Wallace Servite’s current plaything,” Remi sneers, clearly upset at my being here. I met Remi and her sister Lexi that same night as well, when I was put into the same cage as them and left to hang over the crowd of vile men, like a piece of meat ready to be bought and devoured. After that I was taken to Macallan, and I never saw them again.
“Previous plaything, Remi,” I scoff, turning to the bolder one of the pair of gorgeous twins. She’s dressed in a black lace bodysuit, with a wired, under-bust corset around her middle. Her dark brown hair is half pinned up, half slick straight down her back. Her twin Lexi is not only identical to her but wearing the same outfit in white.
“I see he finally came to his senses,” Remi mocks, and fuck if she isn’t pissing me off.Who the fuck is this bitch, and why does she know so much about Ace and me?
I’m about to ask her just that when we’re interrupted by Cruz. “Wait, Scarlett Steele?” Cruz asks, looking between my mother and me. “As in…”
“Yes, Cruz,” my mother says, jumping into the conversation. “As in Scarlett here is my daughter, and she’s finally come to join her mother in her line of work.”
“Replace, but it’s all the same,” I scoff sarcastically, and Lilith is not amused. At least that’s a win for me. The group turns to face her, confused looks directed at her and my comment. I guess this is news to them.
“Yes, I will leave my position here at The Gallows moving permanently to some of the other establishments of more prestige,” my mother says, acting as if her demotion is something to be proud of, or at all her choice.
“Oh dear mother, just admit it. Wesley grew tired of the oldversion and has traded you in for a newer model.” My snide comment causes Cruz and the girls to chuckle but they’re quick to cover their mouths at my mother’s hateful reaction.
Today she’s dressed in a tight black, strapless corset dress, her breasts practically pushed up to sit right underneath her chin, while the skirt is skintight, ending just below her knees. Her hair is straightened and slick, darker than it was the other day, almost equally black as mine, and her eyes, darkened with a smokey eye shadow making the green color appear brighter. They shoot daggers in my direction, and I know I’ve struck a nerve.