Chapter 108 

I was pacing in my room. I had summoned Emilia, and she stood by the door, arms crossed. 

Victoria had entered Dominic’s domain, an estate with cameras, gates, and more guards than a presidential convoy. Yet sh walked in like she belonged. No alarms. No raised voices. 

No resistance. 

Which meant only one thing: someone let her in. 

More than one betrayal was unfolding here. The people closest to Dominic… they didn’t fear him as much as they pretended to. 

I turned to Emilia, my eyes narrowed as I studied her. She didn’t meet my gaze. Just stared ahead, her expression carefully blank. 

“You work for Mikael?” I asked. 

Her lips didn’t move for a second. Then, calmly, she said, “No.” 

I took a step forward. “But you know who does.” 

Another pause. 

“That’s not a question I can answer,” she replied evenly. 

“You didn’t say no.” 

She looked at me then, finally. “Because I don’t lie to you. Not outright.” 

“That’s comforting,” I muttered, dragging a hand down my face. My body still ached from last night, from everything. Emotionally, physically I was a knot pulled too tight. 

I crossed the room again, pacing. “Why would anyone in this house want her here? Unless they wanted me to hear something.” 

“She didn’t lie either,” Emilia said quietly. “She just told you what Dominic couldn’t.” 

That made me stop. 

I turned slowly, looking at her again. “You believe her.” 

“I didn’t say that.” 

“But you do.” 

Emilia’s arms dropped slightly, her shoulders sagging like the weight was finally catching up. “I believe she wants something. But I also believe she gave you a choice.tye enemy of your enemy should be your friend and Dominic is your enemy, don’t let his little gestures deceive you.” 

My heart pounded. 

“I don’t know who to believe anymore.” 

“Then don’t,” she said simply. “Don’t trust anyone. Not me. Not him. Not her. Just watch. Listen. Move wisely.” 

I stared at her, words caught behind my teeth. The silence stretched between us like a wire. 

Then I asked quietly, “Can Victoria come here again?” 

Emilia blinked once. 

“You mean-” 

“You can help me go out, right?” I said. “To meet her somewhere else or for me to just go out.” 

She hesitated… but nodded. 

“If you’re sure,” she said, voice low. “I’ll make it happen.” 

I took a shaky breath. “I don’t want to run,” I added quickly, voice just above a whisper. “I just need… air. Fresh air. To feel like I’m not being smothered by walls and guards and eyes.” 

Emilia looked at me, really looked at me this time. Her usual mask slipped, just a little, and what I saw wasn’t judgment. It was something softer. Sadder. 

“You’ve been through a lot,” she said. “And this 

Successfully unlocked! 

I nodded, swallowing past the tightness in my cake the going bad. The mansion, the guards, Dominic always watching–then pretending he’s not. And Victoria showing up like it was normal.” 

My voice cracked. “I need to get away from all this. Just for a little while.” 

Emilia’s gaze dropped to the floor for a moment, her thoughts unreadable. Then she lifted her chin and gave a single, quiet 

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Chapter 108 

nod. 

“Tomorrow,” she said. “I’ll arrange everything. But only for an hour or two. And it has to be early. Before everyone’s awake.” 

I blinked at her, heart thudding. “You’ll really help me?” 

“Yes.” Her voice was firm. “But if anything happens if anything feels off you leave. You walk away. You don’t ask questions.” I didn’t know whether to cry or hug her. 

“Thank you,” I breathed. 

Emilia stepped forward, adjusting the tray she’d brought in earlier, untouched and going cold. “Get some rest. You’ll need your strength.” 

As she turned to leave, I grabbed her hand, holding it tightly. “You trust her, don’t you? Victoria.” 

She didn’t answer right away. 

“I think Victoria knows more than she lets on,” Emilia said softly. “And I think she hates Dominic enough to finally tell the truth. Whether that makes her trustworthy… I can’t say.” 

I nodded once, slowly. 

When she left the room, the silence that followed wasn’t comforting–it was thick, pressing. I stared out the window at the inky blackness beyond the glass, a hundred questions swarming inside my skull. 

Tomorrow. 

Just a few hours of breathing space. 

And maybe, finally, a few answers. 

**** 

Was I scared? 

Yes. Very. 

But I was more tired than anything else. Tired of feeling like a shadow in someone else’s world. Tired of waking up wondering who was lying to me next. 

I was dressed simply–trousers, a tank top beneath a grey hoodie. The hood was up, my hair tucked inside. No jewelry. No perfume. No Dominic’s necklace. 

Just me. 

Emilia moved silently ahead of me through the dim tunnel beneath the estate. It smelled faintly of damp earth and old stone, the floor uneven and the air thick with the weight of secrets. 

“This exit isn’t used anymore,” she said quietly, her voice echoing faintly in the tight space. “But it’s safe. It comes out behind the closed flower shop on Hollows Street. There’s a side gate. Take a cab from there.” 

I nodded, heart pounding. 

Emilia stopped near the metal grate at the end. She turned to me, her face unreadable in the shadows. 

“Be back soon,” she murmured. “No detours. No second guesses.” 

“I won’t,” I said. “Thank you.” 

She didn’t smile, but she placed a hand on my shoulder for just a second before unlocking the grate and pulling it open. 

Fresh air hit my face like a gift. 

The sun was barely up–early morning light casting long, sleepy shadows across the alley. A stray dog barked in the distance. A trash can clattered somewhere down the street. 

And for the first time in weeks, I felt like I could breathe. 

No eyes. 

No guards. 

No Dominic. 

I stepped out and walked quickly toward the sidewalk, trying not to look like someone who was escaping a gilded cage. The streets of Hollows were quiet at this hour. Early workers. Newspaper vendors. Old women sweeping the front of their shops. It was almost… normal. 

I kept my head low and flagged down the first yellow cab I saw. It rolled to a gentle stop beside me, the driver–a middle- aged man with graying stubble–lowered the window and gave me a once–over. 

“Where to, Miss?” 

“Linden Park Avenue,” I said, slipping into the back seat. “By the bakery on 6th.” 

Chapter 108 

He gave a nod and pulled off. 

I slumped slightly into the seat, watching the world roll past the windows. The city wasn’t awake yet not fully. 

But it wasn’t sleeping either. And in this strange in–between, I felt invisible. 

Free. 

Time to see her. 

Carmen. 

My best friend. 

The one person I hadn’t seen or spoken to since everything began. 

The only person I had left from my old life. 

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