Chapter 5

ESME

The Valentis were supposed to be a small-time nuisance. They were a local gang, little more than street thugs, so what does that have to do with Julian?

Julian’s eyes go wide.

"What? No. I don't know any Valentis! I don't know what you're talking about."

"The tracker says differently," Mateo says, tossing a small, magnetic black box onto the dining table. It skitters across the wood and stops right in front of Julian’s plate.

"This was tucked under the rear wheel well. High-end tech. The kind the Valentis use to shadow trucks before a hit."

Judging from my dad's face, Julian isn't leaving here in one piece unless I do something.

"He didn't know!" I shout, standing up. "Dad, look at him! He doesn't know anything!"

"Sit down, Esme!" he roars, rounding the table.

Julian, still confused, tries to push his chair away, but Mateo’s hands are already on his shoulders, pinning him down.

"I swear, I don't know what that is!" Julian is crying now—real, ugly tears of terror. "I just parked my car at the campus lot like I always do. Anyone could have put that there!"

Oh God, oh God. Lorenzo is the only one who hasn't moved.

He’s still leaning back, watching the scene with curiosity. He looks at me, and I see the truth in his eyes. He’s just happy the boy is ruined.

"He’s not one of them!" I scream, stepping between my father and Julian.

"Move, Esme," Dad says, his voice dropping to a deadly whisper. "If he brought a tracker here, he brought a target to our heads."

"Check his phone," Grandpa says from the head of the table. He hasn't stopped eating, but his eyes are like flint. "If he’s a Valenti, he’s not working alone."

Mateo reaches into Julian’s pocket and rips out his phone. Julian is shaking so hard the lilies he brought have fallen to the floor, getting crushed under Mateo’s boots.

"He’s a student!" I plead, looking at Lorenzo. "Lorenzo, tell them! You know he’s just a regular guy!"

Lorenzo tilts his head. "Well..."

"Lorenzo!"

Mateo forces him into unlocking his phone, then scrolls for three seconds before his face goes dark.

"Boss," Mateo says, handing the phone to my father. "He’s got photos of the warehouse on 4th Street. Sent them to an encrypted number ten minutes ago."

My blood runs cold. I look at Julian. He looks like he’s about to have a heart attack.

"I didn't... I didn't send anything," Julian whispers, looking at me with pure desperation. "Esme, help me. Please."

I look at the phone in my father’s hand. I know Julian is innocent. I know someone—Lorenzo or the Valentis themselves—must have hacked him. But in this house, evidence is a death sentence.

"Take him to the basement," Dad commands.

"Esme! Please! I didn't do anything! Esme!" Julian’s scream as Mateo and another guard haul him out of the room.

The sound of his desperation makes my stomach turn. My eyes are stinging, blurring with tears. I look at Lorenzo. He’s still sitting there, calm, watching me with those satisfied eyes.

He’s won. He’s turned my only piece of normal life into shit.

But I won't sit still and watch Julian suffer for something he knows nothing about.

I lunged. I grab Lorenzo by the collar and drag him away, making a beeline for the hallway.

He follows like some obedient puppy, grinning from ear to ear as I shove him into the wall.

"Stop this game," I hiss, my face inches from his. "I know you did this. I know you hacked that phone. I know you planted that tracker."

Lorenzo tilts his head, his hands sliding to my waist. "You have a lot of faith in a boy you met in a library, Esme. Maybe he’s just a better liar than you."

"Shut up!" I shake him, my voice trembling. "Fix this. Now. Go in there and tell them it was a mistake. Tell them the tech was glitched. I don't care what lie you use, but you get him out of that basement."

"And why would I do that? The lamb is exactly where he belongs."

I lean in, spitting the first thing that comes to my head. "Because if you don't, I’m walking back into that dining room. I’ll look Grandpa in the eye, and I’ll tell him you raped me in that boutique today."

Lorenzo freezes, caught off guard. "Raped? Seriously?"

"Try me," I snap. "In this family, Grandpa cares about business and loyalty. If I tell him you forced yourself on his granddaughter, you won't be a stray anymore, Lorenzo. You’ll be a dead man. Fix it. Now."

~~~~~~

Three hours later.

I’m sitting on the bottom step of the grand staircase, bouncing my knees impatiently, waiting for some good news.

I feel sick. I’m fidgeting, checking the time, waiting for Lorenzo to come out and tell me he fixed it. I keep telling myself I did what I had to do to save an innocent guy.

The basement door finally creaks open.

Mateo walks out first, grim, wiping his hands on a rag. He doesn't even look at me as he passes, but he mutters loud enough for me to hear. "Kid confessed. He’s a Valenti scout."

"Wait, wait, wait, that can't be right!" I snap, grabbing him by his collar and jerking him back.

Mateo doesn't even flinch. He looks down at my hand like it’s a nuisance, expression completely blank. "The boy talked, Esme. He’s not some random student from a library. He was sent by the Valentis to get close to you. He admitted to everything."

My grip goes slack, and my hand drops to my side. My heart is thudding against my ribs, making me feel dizzy.

Confessed? No, that’s impossible. Julian didn't even know what a scout was.

"He’s lying," I whisper, though the words feel weak even to me. "You probably beat a confession out of him. You made him say it."

"Believe what you want," Mateo grunts, finally turning away. "But the boss is satisfied. The kid stays in the basement until we decide how to finish him."

I stand there, frozen on the stairs, feeling like the world just tilted on its axis. All that guilt, the crying, the threats I made to Lorenzo—it was all for a lie? I feel a pair of eyes on me.

I look up.

Lorenzo is leaning against the second-floor railing, watching me with an "I told you so" look written all over his face.

He’s holding Julian’s wallet in one hand and a burner phone in the other. "He’s been working the campus for the Valentis for a year. He was never your friend. He was just waiting for the right time to get a tracker past our gate."

I twist my lips, speechless, and turn around to leave, but he catches me, spinning me back around. He pins me against the banister, his face inches from mine.

"Where are you going? We’re not done. You threatened me for being a traitor. You called me a rapist to save a guy who was setting us up to be killed." He leans in closer, his grip on my arm tightening just enough to let me know he’s not playing anymore.

"So tell me, Esme... how are you going to apologize for what you did?