Where the Lies Begins

“Before you go, how about I offer you something?” he asked with a quiet smirk. Isa raised a brow, confused and irritated, trying to figure out what he meant.

She rose to her feet and brushed the dust from her clothes. “And what would that be?”

He reached for her face and gently tilted it toward her neck. Isa pulled back immediately and glared at him. Embarrassment flushed through her. She hated anyone touching her without permission, especially a stranger surrounded by his pack of boys.

“Do you even know what you’re playing with?” Isa asked. Her tone held more warning than question. The man looked impressed rather than threatened.

“That makes it even more interesting,” he murmured. “I love your boldness.”

He turned to one of the boys and yanked him closer by the back of his neck. “Bring the first aid kit. And when you’re done with that, you already know what you owe me.”

Fear struck the boy’s eyes. He nodded, rushed out, then returned with a small white box. The man opened it, took a gauze, soaked it with alcohol, and leaned close to Isa.

The sting hit her lip, but that wasn’t what made her flinch. His fingers brushed her skin. It was soft and careful, a strange contrast to his cold voice. She shifted her face away and let her eyes fall on the boys behind him. Their earlier abuse replayed in her mind with painful clarity.

She swallowed the humiliation and curled her hands into fists.

He dropped the used gauze into a metal box and covered the small cut with a tiny bandage. Isa didn’t thank him. She didn’t see this as kindness, only as a tiny repayment for what his boys had done.

“So you’re Raven D?” she asked.

“Yes.” He nodded without hesitation.

“I never asked you to treat me,” she said. “And let me make something clear. Your boys won’t get away with what they did. None of you will.”

His eyes almost smiled. There was something familiar about them under the mask, something she couldn’t place. She pushed the thought away. She didn’t care enough to figure it out.

Whispers rose behind him. She knew they were mocking her again. He picked up her gun and examined it with interest.

“This is a real one,” he said. “Where did you get it?”

Isa replied with dry sarcasm. “Protection.”

“Seems like your protection failed.” He held the gun out toward her. She reached for it immediately, but he lifted it just above her fingertips at the last second.

She expected that. She stomped the tip of her heel onto his shoe. A low groan escaped him before he could swallow it. Isa snatched the gun from his loosened grip.

Her eyes swept over every person in the room. None of them looked worried. They should have been. She walked out, her anger growing hotter with every step. They would all pay. Even him.

Once she reached her car, her phone vibrated. A message from Elena.

I forgot to tell you, sweetie. He offered me ten million dollars for it. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. You’ll be living with me and your new family from now on.

Isa screamed so loudly it echoed through the car. She slammed the steering wheel again and again. Her mother had always been greedy, but this felt older and deeper than greed. This was betrayal.

She smacked her lips together, accidentally brushing the cut on her lip. Pain shot through her mouth. She drove to the nearest bar and slumped into her usual seat.

“Isabelle, you look terrible. Don’t tell me you fought again,” the bartender laughed. He poured her favorite whiskey into a tumbler.

“Minding your business is wise,” she snapped before taking a long burning gulp.

“Rough day?”

Isa nodded. She passed the empty cup back to him. Viktor’s warning replayed in her head, reminding her that one mistake meant her mother’s death.

Drink after drink went down until the room began to sway.

“No more,” she said and pushed the glass away.

Raven D’s eyes haunted her mind. That green glow. That masked face. The way his boys had touched her like she was nothing.

She headed back to the house. The car was still there. A motorcycle now sat beside it. Her head spun as she reached for her gun.

The boys stepped out with the girl from earlier. She wasn’t laughing anymore. She struggled desperately as they dragged her out of the house.

Isa watched. She waited. The moment they drove off, she followed.

They moved slow at first, unaware. They stopped at another house and kicked the girl out. Isa didn’t care about the girl. Not now. Not tonight.

She waited for them to leave again. Then she pressed her foot against the gas and followed. When the road turned quiet, she slammed into them.

They screamed in shock.

Good.

She hit them again. Harder this time. Her adrenaline spiked. She loved the chaos. She felt alive.

With the next hit, their car spun off the road and slammed into a billboard. Isa cheered as she jumped out.

She walked toward the wreckage and saw three boys unconscious. One remained awake, barely. It was the one who had slapped her.

His eyes widened with terror when he saw her.

Isa didn’t say a word. She pulled out her gun, flipped it, and smashed the butt of it into his face again and again until he blacked out.

“Worthless,” she muttered and walked away.

Her phone buzzed. Another message from Elena.

Come home now. I sent the address. You didn’t respond.

Isa groaned and rushed to her car. Her heart raced for reasons she didn’t understand.

When she reached the location, two uniformed men approached her.

“Who are you, miss? Why are you here?”

“My mom told me she lives here,” Isa said, showing her phone. “She sent me the address.”

“Who is your mom?”

“Elena. Just let me in. I don’t have time for this.”

The men exchanged looks. She began to feel unsure. Was her mom’s new husband this rich? That wedding didn’t match this level of wealth.

Her head spun. Her vision blurred. She tried to stay upright, but her body failed.

“Miss? Can you hear me?”

That was the last thing she remembered.

…

“Wake up.”

Isa groaned. The bed felt cloud-soft beneath her. Her body felt lighter, almost healed.

“You reek,” Elena’s voice snapped. “Wake up.”

“Mom, let me sleep,” Isa mumbled.

Elena tapped her repeatedly. Isa finally opened her eyes. For a moment she smiled, thinking the entire day had been a nightmare.

But when she looked around, her smile vanished.

A different room. Beautiful. Expensive. Too perfect to be theirs.

“Where am I?” she whispered.

“In your new bedroom,” Elena said. “Now tell me where you got these wounds. Did you get into a fight?”

Isa ignored her and took in the room. Black and gold walls. A massive chandelier. Paintings. A vanity table. A queen sized bed that made her old one look like a childhood toy.

Elena tapped her shoulder again. “You were carried in drunk. You slept the entire night.”

Isa rolled away. “It’s none of your business, Mom.”

“Stop acting like that. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about selling the house.”

“I don’t care anymore,” Isa said. “I just need money so I can move out.”

Elena laughed softly and flashed her wedding ring.

“Don’t be angry. And don’t be shocked when you meet your new family. Go shower. We have something interesting to tell you downstairs.”

She left the room. Isa sighed deeply and reached for her phone.

A message from Viktor.

Her stomach dropped.

Remember, princessa. Your thirty days start now. Kill the senator’s son, or your mother dies.

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