The room seemed to shrink as Andrea's question hung in the air. His piercing gaze felt like it was burning through me, and I struggled to keep my breathing steady.
Betrayal wasn't a word to take lightly in this family; I'd seen enough to understand that.
"No," I said firmly, forcing myself to meet his eyes. "I'm not one of those people."
Andrea leaned back in his chair, studying me with an intensity that made my skin crawl. "Good," he said after a moment, a faint smile playing on his lips. "Because I'd hate for you to end up like the others."
The threat was clear, even if it was unspoken.
"What do you want from me?" I asked, my voice as steady as I could manage.
Andrea swirled the whiskey in his glass, his eyes never leaving mine. "Loyalty," he said. "Obedience. And most importantly, understanding."
"Understanding of what?"
He smirked, setting the glass down on the desk. "That this family operates on trust. Without it, we fall apart. And when people dig where they shouldn't, that trust is broken."
My stomach twisted. He knew something, or at least suspected.
"I don't know what you think I've done," I said, keeping my tone calm. "But I haven't betrayed anyone."
Andrea rose from his chair, walking around the desk until he was standing in front of me. He rested his hands on the arms of the chair, leaning in so close that I could smell the whiskey on his breath.
"Let me make something very clear," he said, his voice low and dangerous. "If you so much as step out of line, you won't just be putting yourself in danger. You'll be putting your mother in danger, too. And I know how much she means to you."
His words sent a wave of cold fear through me, but I refused to let him see it. Instead, I nodded. "I understand."
"Good." He straightened, adjusting his suit jacket. "You can go now. But remember, Tiana, I'm always watching."
I stood on shaky legs and left the study, my mind racing. If Andrea was always watching, I had to be more careful than ever. The stakes had just been raised, and my mother's life was on the line.
The rest of the day passed in a haze. I tried to go about my usual routine, but every noise, every shadow, made me jump. I couldn't stop replaying the conversation with Andrea in my head, wondering how much he knew and how far he was willing to go to protect the family's secrets.
When night fell, I made my way back to the library. I knew it was a risk, but I couldn't leave things unfinished. The ledger had answers, and I needed them.
The library was dark and silent when I arrived, and I moved quickly, retrieving the book from its hiding place. I flipped to the page with my mother's name, scanning the entries for more information.
There it was: another note beneath her name.
"Contact monitored. Evidence inconclusive. Further surveillance required."
My heart sank. They didn't trust her, but they hadn't acted against her yet. That meant there was still time—time to protect her, to find a way out of this mess.
I turned the page, searching for more. That's when I saw another name I recognized: mine.
The entry was dated just a few weeks ago.
"Potential risk. Monitored closely. No action yet."
My blood ran cold. They were watching me, too. And they hadn't decided what to do with me yet.
"Looking for something?"
The voice behind me made me jump, and I spun around to see Peter standing in the doorway. His expression was calm, but there was a dangerous edge to his smile.
"I was just…" I stammered, quickly closing the book.
"Just what?" he asked, stepping into the room.
I clutched the ledger to my chest, trying to come up with an excuse. But Peter's eyes flicked to the book, and his smile widened.
"Ah," he said. "I see you've found something interesting."
"It's just a book," I said, backing away.
Peter chuckled, shaking his head. "Tiana, Tiana. Do you think I don't know what's in that book? Do you think I don't know what you've been doing?"
I didn't answer, my mind racing for a way out.
Peter moved closer, his eyes glinting with amusement. "You've always been curious, haven't you? Always poking your nose where it doesn't belong."
"What do you want, Peter?" I demanded, my voice shaking.
"I want to know what you plan to do with that information," he said, gesturing to the book.
"Nothing," I said quickly. "I just found it by accident. I wasn't going to do anything with it."
Peter raised an eyebrow, clearly not believing me. "You know, curiosity can be dangerous," he said. "Especially in this family."
"I'm not trying to betray anyone," I said. "I just want to understand."
He studied me for a moment, then nodded. "Fair enough. But let me give you a piece of advice: if you want to survive in this family, you need to learn when to stop asking questions."
With that, he turned and walked away, leaving me shaken but determined.
The next morning, I decided to confront my mother again. I found her in the garden, tending to the flowers with a distant look in her eyes.
"Mom," I said, approaching her.
She turned to me, her expression softening. "Tiana. Are you okay?"
"No," I said. "I'm not. I found my name in the ledger."
Her face paled, and she set down the gardening tools. "What did it say?"
"They think I'm a risk," I said. "They're watching me. And you."
My mother sighed, rubbing her temples. "I was afraid of this," she said. "You've drawn their attention, Tiana. And that's dangerous."
"I didn't mean to," I said. "But now that I have, we need to do something. We can't just sit back and let them control us."
"What can we do?" she asked, her voice filled with despair. "They're too powerful. They have eyes and ears everywhere."
I thought about it, my mind racing. There had to be a way out—a way to escape their grasp.
"What about Dad?" I asked. "If they came after him because he tried to leave, then maybe he had a plan. Maybe he left something behind that can help us."
My mother hesitated, then nodded slowly. "He did have a plan," she said. "But I don't know if it's still possible. He had documents, evidence of the family's crimes. He wanted to use it as leverage to get us out."
"Where are the documents?" I asked.
"They're hidden," she said. "But if we go looking for them, we'll be putting ourselves in even more danger."
"We're already in danger," I said. "If we don't do something, they'll destroy us."
My mother looked at me, her eyes filled with a mixture of fear and determination. "You're right," she said. "We don't have a choice. But we have to be careful, Tiana. One wrong move, and it's over."
I nodded, my resolve hardening. "Then let's find the documents," I said. "And let's bring them down."
That night, we began our search. My mother led me to a hidden compartment in the floor of her room, where my father had supposedly hidden the documents.
The compartment was empty.
Panic set in as we realized that someone else must have found them. But who? And what had they done with the evidence?
As we tried to piece it together, a noise outside the room made us freeze. Footsteps.
"Hide," my mother whispered, pushing me toward the closet.
I ducked inside, my heart pounding as the door opened.
"Tiana?" Andrea's voice called out.
My mother stepped forward, blocking his view of the compartment. "She's not here," she said.
Andrea's eyes narrowed. "Is that so?"
I held my breath, praying he wouldn't search the room.
But instead, he smiled. "Give her a message for me," he said. "Tell her time is running out."
With that, he left, and I emerged from the closet, more determined than ever to uncover the truth and take back control of our lives.