All of them turned me down.
No one would dare help me to touch the Ormans..
Finally, I called an old friend–retired now, living in Italy, far removed from this world.
“The Ormans don’t break contracts,” he told me. “You keep pressing, and they’ll view you as the liability. And when that happens, they won’t hesitate.”
“I can’t just let her go.”
“You may have to,” he said softly. “If she’s smart–and
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she is they won’t hurt her. She’ll work. She’ll stay useful. That’s how she survives.”
“But she’s my sister.”
He sighed. “Then trust her to take care of herself. She’s in now. That life is real. The Ormans don’t waste time or
resources on anyone they don’t see value in. She has value. That’s her shield.”
I sat in silence after the call ended, phone still pressed to
my ear.
It was his way of telling me to let go. And maybe… maybe some part of me already knew.
If I kept pressing, they would get tired of it. And when they did, they’d kill Kaia just to end the noise.
And I’d lose her… not just by choice, but for real. Forever.
I stared out the window, watching as snow blanketed New York in thick, heavy silence.
It was colder than usual this year. The kind of cold that crept beneath your skin and settled in your bones.
And I wondered- What was it like in Mexico?
Was Kaia warm? Had she settled in? Was the new job what she hoped it would be?
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8
Asher’s POV
I closed my eyes for a second. When I opened them, I saw Sylvie. She was standing at the front gate, lingering like she had something to hide.
Sylvie. It all started when I brought her home.
The threats/came shortly after Ary died. Anonymous messages. Warnings. Demands. Protect Sylvie, or Kaia pays the price.
And now I couldn’t stop wondering–what if I hadn’t brought Sylvie home? What if I hadn’t believed I could manage both? Protect Kaia, run the empire, keep everything from falling apart?
Would Kaia still be here?
Sylvie slipped out into the dark, disappearing behind the hedges.
I frowned. Suspicion prickled through me. So I followed.
It wasn’t long before I heard voices—low, angry.
“You don’t get to threaten me,” Sylvie hissed. “I gave you what you asked for!”
“And now I want more,” another woman snapped. “Or I’ll tell them the truth—that you’re not Ary’s daughter. That you threatened to turn them in. You want to keep playing innocent? Pay up.”
“They won’t believe you. Not after all these years. I’m family now.”
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“Family?” The woman laughed bitterly. “What about me? I’m your mother. I lied for you. I built this for you.”
“You’re not my mother,” Sylvie spat. “I am a Renner now!”
((
There was a long pause. Then the woman whispered, Wait until I tell them you answered Kaia’s final call. Let’s see if Asher still forgives you after that.”
My blood ran cold. So she… did answer Kaia’s call?
“You wouldn’t dare,” Sylvie hissed.
“I have the video,” the woman growled. “You walking into that pool. And letting Kaia take the blame.”
“You filmed me?” Sylvie lunged–shoved the woman, slapped her hard across the face.
Streetlight caught her face in that moment, and I froze.
I had never seen her like that before. Twisted. Rabid. Not crying or afraid–furious. Ugly. Unhinged.
A monster in my sister’s clothes. And suddenly, it was all clear.
Kaia hadn’t lied. She hadn’t overreacted. She wasn’t
spoiled or jealous or dramatic.
She had warned me. Warned me about this. About Sylvie.
And I hadn’t listened.
I should have stormed over there and demanded answers from Sylvie.
But what was the point? No answer she gave would bring
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Kaia back.
Kaia had cried and begged and pleaded for me to believe her. I’d looked her in the eyes and chosen someone else. Again and again.
Her own family had turned their back on her.
And now as I stood here, watching the girl I chose over her destroy everything.
But I knew I had no right to stop Sylvie. No right to blame her.
Because I’d paved the road she walked on. Stone by stone. Decision by decision.
I was her partner in this crime.
…
I don’t remember how I got inside.
One moment I was outside in the snow, and the next, I was collapsing onto the sofa, my legs giving out beneath me like they were hollowed from the inside.
My chest burned. My hands wouldn’t stop shaking.
“Asher?” Jace’s voice came from somewhere behind me. “What the hell happened? You don’t look like yourself.”
I sat there, trying to breathe.
“I feel like I’ve done everything wrong,” I murmured finally. “All of it. What if… what if the things we thought were true were never the truth? What if the lies we swore were lies… were actually real?”
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Jace froze. “What the fuck are you talking about?” He sounded panicked. Nervous. “Noah’s been acting strange, and now you-? You’re the oldest, Asher. You don’t get to fall apart. We count on you.”
I turned my head, just slightly. “Sylvie lied.”
“What?”
“She twisted everything,” I whispered. “Kaia didn’t lie. She didn’t bully her. It was Sylvie… all along. She made us believe Kaia was the villain.”
Jace stared at me, blood draining from his face. “You’re saying—Kaia… she was telling the truth?”
I didn’t answer. I couldn’t. The guilt was too loud in my
chest.
I pushed off the couch and walked upstairs, each step heavier than the last.
In my room, I rifled through drawers until I found it–the small velvet box.
Inside, the necklace sparkled like frost.
A delicate string of diamonds I’d bought in Paris. I told myself it was this year’s birthday gift for Kaia, that it would be a peace offering. Something to bridge the gap
between us.
But it sat there, untouched. Still perfect. Still meaningless.
Now I would never get the chance to give it to her.
Because she was gone. And not in the way people mean when someone moves away or cuts contact.
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She was gone. Gone in the way that meant we’d never get her back. Gone in the way that meant I would live the rest of my life with this necklace in a drawer and the sound of her voice, the truth of it, echoing in my ears–too late.
