Page 23 of Vows of Silence

My father knew.

He knew what Adrien was. He knew what this marriage meant. He knew this wasn’t romance or family honour or whatever pretty lie my mother had tried to dress it in.

He knew.

And he had still said yes.

“Wednesday was your deadline,” Rafael said. “You missed it.”

“I did not miss it. There was interference at the docks.”

“Yes. There was,” Rafael’s voice sharpened. “Because Adrien had men sniffing around a shipment that didn’t belong to him yet.”

“Yet?” my father echoed.

A horrible pause followed. Even from beneath the couch, I felt Rafael smile.

“Don’t act slow. It doesn’t suit you. You think you’re the only one dealing with the Vescari family?”

Silas moved then. Only slightly. One step. That was all.

One quiet, measured step deeper into the office.

My entire body went rigid again.

He passed close enough that I saw the leather of his gloves. His hand hung at his side, fingers relaxed, but there was nothing soft about him. Nothing human.

The hem of his jacket shifted as he stopped near the secret bookcase, and then he turned, giving himself the perfect view of me hiding under the sofa.

His head cocked to the side once more, glaring in my direction before looking back at the two men at the desk.

Rafael turned on my father. “Open it.”

But Dad hesitated, casting a nervous look around the room.

“Now.”

For a second, no one moved.

Then my father crossed the room, each footstep slow and reluctant. I heard the familiar mechanical click, and the bookcase shifted open.

My pulse hammered so loudly I was certain they could hear it.

If I had hidden in there, I would have been trapped. Found. Cornered between filing cabinets and safes with nowhere to run.

Luca had saved me.

Again.

“Where is the Vescari contract?” Rafael demanded.

“It’s secure, Rafael. You don’t need to worry about any of this. I—”

“Where?”

Dad sighed heavily. “It’s in the safe.”

“Open it.”