Page 198 of Heartless Sinner

No one said a fucking word.

Every smile. Every kiss. The night in the Oval Office.

All of them had been built on lies.

My world tilted on its axis as I realized that the Fawn I loved was the one who had helped put a bullet in my father’s chest.

Forty-Nine

Daphne

My heart broke when Adelina pulled away from me, dropping her arms to her sides, as if my touch burned her.

Her sudden distance felt worse than anything President Byron would do to me.

She could barely meet my eyes. “Is it true?” she whispered, her voice trembling.

I covered my mouth as a whimper escaped. I wanted to lie, to deny everything, but I couldn’t keep doing that to her. Or to Brooks.

I looked at President Byron. He kept glancing between Adelina and the exit, as if calculating his next move.

Cory stood beside his father, staring him down, his mouth pulled tight with unease.

Then I looked at Bellamonte. My stomach roiled.

He looked damn near satisfied as he watched me fall apart. If the asshole couldn’t force me to marry his son, destroying me was the next best thing for him.

Secret Service agents had spread out around the Red Room, several stationed between me and the doors with their hands resting near their holsters.

I’m not just the daughter of the enemy now.

I am the enemy.

And Brooks? He stood dead still, not hurling a single word of accusation. Not asking one question.

“Get her out of my sight,” the president ordered. “You can thank the fact that my daughter loves you for why I’m not throwing you in a cell for treason right now.”

“I’ll take her,” Brooks said quietly.

He crossed the room toward me. Through my tears, I made out the two flag pins on his lapel. They were crooked now.

The quietness of his voice was more terrifying than if he’d screamed.

He closed his hand around my elbow, not painful enough to make me flinch but firm enough that I couldn’t mistake it for a choice.

“Act fucking normal,” he said on our way to the door.

His grip loosened just enough to lace our fingers together before we stepped into the hallway.

Staffers, guests, and Secret Service agents lined the hall, clearly waiting for someone to leave the room. They quickly pretended not to stare as we passed.

The second we were out of sight, he dropped my hand and grabbed my elbow again, harder this time.

I gathered the skirt of my gown in one hand and hurried to match his pace. My heels clicked through the halls until he steered me outside toward a waiting black sedan.

The driver hurried out to open the door.

“I’ve got it,” Brooks told him.