로그인Eliana
“Get your hands off me,” I spat, shoving Julian away. He staggered a few steps back, crashing into someone. I didn't wait to see the look on his face. My heels tuner and I pushed through the crowd to get away from him. Someone's elbow hit my shoulder, a drink spilled near my feet, I couldn't breathe.
What if he told Serena? He knew now. He definitely knew.
My throat clogged up and my vision blu
Eliana"I believe you."Three words. He said them looking directly at me, his hands still covering mine on the table.But his eyes said something else entirely. They flickered warily at me, his brows furrowed and I knew, I knew that look."You... You do?" I asked, arching my brows."I'll tell them not to press charges so don't worry about it. All that matters is-""I didn't steal it," I insisted, pulling my hands away from him."Lia, all that matters is that you're fine. I don't care about the cold wallet," he said tiredly.I knew that look. That was the thing that hollowed me out from the inside, standing there in that interrogation room under the fluorescent lights. I knew that look because I had seen it before, on a younger version of his face, in a different room, a
Theodore.My phone buzzed against the table.I ignored it."-which means the Seattle projections need to account for the time zone differences when we're scheduling the client calls, otherwise we're looking at a problem-"It buzzed again. It was the security men back at my penthouse. I had left Eliana back at the penthouse. My brow furrowed. Did something happen? I pushed back from the table mid-sentence, held up a hand toward the people in the conference room. "Excuse me,""What happened?" I demanded once I was in the corridor."Sir." He muttered. "There has been a breach at the penthouse. Someone accessed your uh... safe in the study. We've recovered the property and the individual involved is currently at the police station. They're requesting your presence."That made no sense. Who could have gotten past
Eliana"Who's after you?" I yanked my arm out of his grip. "Damon, who-""It doesn't matter." He was moving through my apartment, checking the windows, keeping his body below the sill when he looked out. "Just close the blinds. Close them right now.""I'm not doing anything until you tell me what's happening."He turned from the window and looked at me with something wild in his eyes, and then he crossed to my dining table and dropped the box he'd been carrying under his arm. It hit the wood with a heavy, solid sound.He flipped it open and my eyes narrowed at the small device inside it. It looked like nothing, like something you'd pass over completely if you didn't know what you were looking at.I knew what I was looking at."Damon." My voice came out very quiet and shaky. A nervous laugh fell from my lips and I glanced up at him. "Tell
ElianaI had no idea how long I stood in front of that safe, but it was quite a while.It had been long enough for Theo's voice in the hallway to wind down, for the call to end and his footsteps to move toward the kitchen. Bright sunlight filtered into the study and I repeated the passcode of the safe in my head.The numbers of Serena's birthday. I was standing at the edge of something I could never come back from, for both decisions and yet my hand never lifted.I thought about my mother hugging me tightly, Serena's voice saying 'final warning'. All the walls were closing in from every direction until the only door left was this one, this room, this safe, this betrayal.My hand wouldn't lift. I dropped the painting in its position, turned around and walked out, pulling the study door shut behind me without looking back.There was only one w
ElianaMy phone rang while my mother's hand was still moving through my hair.Theodore.I stared at his name on the screen and felt my chest tighten painfully. I answered before the second ring because not answering would have worried him and the last thing I needed right now was Theodore Blackwell arriving at this care home in full crisis mode."Where are you, flower? You aren't home," he murmured.I looked at my mother's hand resting on top of mine. "The care home.""I'll be there in twenty minutes.""Theo, you don't have to-""Nineteen minutes then," He said gruffly and hung up.Serena was gone by the time his car pulled up. I had watched from the window as her sleek black car slid away from the curb and disappeared around the corner. Only then had I gone to the bathroom and run col
Eliana"Oh, now we can add harassment to the list of your crimes I guess,," Serena chuckled, the phone still raised at me. "There's quite a list already. Slut, thief, gold digger and now, harassment too. This fits beautifully."I let go of Claire who gave a small whimper and quickly rushed back into the room, putting myself between her and my mother's bed. My arms spread out to shield mom from whatever video she was working with. "Put the phone down."Serena smiled and stepped left. I moved in with her. She stepped right and I matched it, keeping my body between that camera and the woman lying in the bed behind me."Is everything alright, Eliana?""Hi Mrs Ashcroft," Serena said cheerily and I hoped to God that mom wouldn't remember who she was."Everything's fine, Mom." I lied through my teeth."It really is." Sere
Theodore"We found them, sir."The words came through my phone at 6:47 AM, just as the first rays of sunlight were breaking through Eliana's bedroom window. Her chest rose and fell softly as she slept, looking more at peace than I had seen her last night.
TheodoreThe whiskey burned going down my throat but did nothing to dull the words still ringing in my head."Maybe I'm tired of you thinking you can fix everything. I have a life outside of you, Theodore. Not everything can be solved by your money or you
Eliana"Seriously though, what were you two talking about?" Serena's hissed, her eyes darting between me and Leslie."Oh, nothing important." Leslie waved a dismissive hand, her lips still pulled in that ridiculous smile. "Just ran into each other and tho
Eliana"Is that what you think this is?" His voice was deadly quiet."I don't know what this is!" Tears burned my eyes but I blinked them back. "I don't know anything anymore except that I'm suffocating and I need you to back off!"Th







