Chapter 19 - The Price of the Plan

The quiet that followed was overwhelming. Ava’s eyes darted to the window, as though looking for air that wasn’t poisoned by old betrayals.

Finally, she whispered, “What if I refuse?”

“Then Nathaniel stays behind bars. Forever.”

Her breath hitched. “You wouldn’t”

“I don’t have to do anything,” I interrupted coldly. “Charles will make sure of it.”

Ava sat down again, her shoulders shaking. “You’re cruel.”

“I’m honest.”

For a few minutes, neither of us spoke. I let her anger settle, watching as she fought between pride and desperation.

Then she whispered, “What if he never forgives me for this?”

I looked at her, and for once, I didn’t lie. “He already forgave you the day he was taken away. You just don’t know it yet.”

Her eyes glistened. “You really loved him.”

“I did.”

“Then why didn’t you fight for him?”

“I did,” I said softly. “You just didn’t see the way I lost.”

She looked at me differently nowless like an enemy, more like a mirror of her own weakness.

“What do you need me to do?” she asked.

I leaned forward, dropping my voice. “There’s a hidden vault in Charles’s private office. You’ll need a codehis mother’s birth year paired with the date of his proposal to Victoria. Inside that room, you’ll find a red package with Nathaniel’s name written across it.”

“And if he catches me?”

I met her eyes steadily. “Then you’ll both die trying to protect what’s left of the truth.”

She swallowed hard. “Why do I feel like this is more than just a will?”

Because it was. But she didn’t need to know that. Not yet.

Then something strange happened. She smiled, just weakly.

“I never thought we’d be on the same side.”

“We’re not,” I said quietly. “We’re just fighting the same enemy.”

The clock on the wall ticked loudly between us. Time was running out for her, for me, for Nathaniel.

Ava finally stood, brushing a stray tear from her face. “I’ll do it. But if you’re lying to me if this is some twisted trap”

“It’s not,” I cut in. “I want Charles ruined as much as you do.”

She nodded slowly, turning toward the door. But then she stopped and looked back at me.

“You said you loved Nathaniel once,” she muttered. “Do you still?”

I paused, then whispered, “Every day.”

When she left, the room felt too empty. I sat there, looking at the untouched coffee between us, thinking if I’d just made the biggest mistake of my life or the smartest move yet.

Then I heard it.

A soft creak from the corner window. A tiny image in the glass.

I froze.

There was someone outside. Watching.

I moved toward the curtains, my heart racing. A shadow moved just beyond the glasstall, lean, intentional.

“Who’s there?” I asked.

No answer. Just the faint sound of boots against the ground below.

My throat tightened. I recognized that walk. That's quiet.

Silas.

The last man I wanted was near this plan.

I drew the blinds shut, my heart beating in my chest. If he’d heard even half of what we said, everything could fall before it started.

I picked up my phone with shaky fingers and called the only number that mattered.

“She agreed,” I whispered when the line linked.

A low, cold voice answered, “Good. Then you know what comes next.”

I paused. “Silas was outside.”

There was silence on the line. Then, “If he knows, kill the plan. Immediately.”

I swallowed hard. “It’s too late for that.”

The voice sighed. “Then make sure he doesn’t reach her first.”

I hung up, my heart racing.

Outside, the low hum of an engine started.

He was leaving but not for long.

I turned toward the empty chair Ava had occupied minutes ago.

“You think you’re walking into his office for the truth,” I whispered under my breath, “but you’re walking into something much darker.”

My hand tightened around the table’s edge.

There were things even Charles didn’t know. Secrets buried deeper than any vault.

And if Silas found them before I did, we’d all burn for i

The headlights outside flashed once before disappearing into the dark, and I whispered to myself, trembling, “God help us… he knows.”

“I stood beside him through every storm,” I continued. “Through every scandal, every lie, every night he drank himself numb because he couldn’t stand what Charles made him do. And then you came along, and suddenly… Suddenly, he found light again. You gave him something I never could.”

Her eyes softened slightly, but I didn’t want her sympathy.

“So yes, I want revenge,” I said angrily. “But not just on Charles. On all of them. Everyone who took from me what I loved most.”

Ava’s voice shook. “Then why come to me?”

“Because you’re the only one who can finish what I started.”