Chapter 112 Chapter 112
Hailey’s POV
I stood in the hallway, watching Sophia scream at me to leave, her face red with rage and grief. Every instinct told me to walk away, to avoid the confrontation.
But I couldn’t. Not when there was a chance Sophia might discover her mother’s journals. Not when I was so close to understanding what Elena had known about the traitor in Damien’s organization.
“I said GET OUT!” Sophia screamed again, her voice cracking with emotion.
“No,” I said calmly, standing my ground.
Sophia’s eyes widened with shock. “What did you just say to me?”
“I said no,” I repeated, my voice steady.
“Nobody is supposed to be in this room. That includes you, Sophia. Your father sealed it for a reason.”
“This was my MOTHER’S room!” Sophia shrieked, moving closer to me. “I have every right to be here! More right than you’ll ever have!”
“Your mother is dead,” I said bluntly, and I saw Sophia flinch like I’d slapped her. “This room was sealed by Damien. Neither of us should be in here.”
“How DARE you…” Sophia started.
“I don’t care about your feelings right now,” I interrupted, my voice hardening. “For all we know, you could be in here trying to
orchestrate another shootout. Looking for information to give to your Morelli friends. Planning another attack that will get more people killed.”
Sophia’s face went pale. “I would never….”
“Wouldn’t you?” I challenged. “You already did it once. You brought Tyler into our home. You gave him access codes and information. You helped the Morellis kill nineteen guards and nearly kill the rest of us. Why should anyone trust you now?”
“That was different! I didn’t know…”Sophia’s voice was rising to a hysterical pitch.
“You didn’t know because you didn’t WANT to know,” I said coldly. “You were so obsessed with getting rid of me that you ignored every warning sign. And now Marco is dead because of you.”
“STOP IT!” Sophia screamed, tears streaming down her face.
“Why? Because the truth hurts?” I pressed on, guilt-tripping her deliberately to make her leave. “Because you can’t face what you’ve done? You’re in here crying about your mother, but Benita is downstairs mourning the man she loved. The man YOU got killed.”
“I said STOP!” Sophia rushed at me, her hand raised like she was going to hit me.
I stood my ground, not flinching, staring her down.
But before Sophia could actually strike, two voices rang out from the hallway.
“Touch her and you’re dead.”
Benita and my mother appeared, moving to stand on either side of me. Benita’s expression was cold and deadly, while my mother looked like a protective lioness ready to attack.
“You want to hit my daughter?” my mother said, her voice dangerously calm. “Go ahead. Try it. And Benita and I will beat you up so badly they won’t recognize your face. Then we’ll leave to an untraceable island to spend the rest of our days in peace.”
“We have nothing to lose,” Benita added, her voice flat and emotionless. “You already took everything that mattered from me. What’s one more crime?”
Sophia looked between the three of us, her hand still raised, her whole body shaking with rage and fear.
Then she lowered her hand and let out a sound that was half sob, half scream.
“I hate all of you,” she said, her voice breaking. “I hate you so much.”
She shoved past us and ran down the hallway, her footsteps heavy and uneven.
Louis appeared in the doorway of Elena’s room, looking between us with concern. “I should go make sure she’s okay…”
“Let her go,” my mother said firmly. “She needs to cool off before anyone tries to talk to her.”
Louis hesitated, then nodded and closed Elena’s room door, locking it carefully.
After he left, my mother turned to me with worried eyes. “Hailey, are you alright? Did she hurt you?”
“I’m fine, Mom,” I said, though my heart was still racing from the confrontation. “Thank you for showing up when you did.”
“We heard the screaming,” Benita said. “Figured you might need backup.”
My mother looked at me searchingly for another moment, then seemed satisfied I was truly okay. “I’m going to go make some tea. This house is too stressful. Everyone needs to calm down.”
She walked away, leaving Benita and me alone in the hallway.
I looked at my best friend, seeing the hollowness in her eyes, the way grief had carved her features into something harder and sadder.
This was my chance. I needed to learn how to pick locks so I could get back into Elena’s room without raising suspicion.
“Benita,” I said quietly. “Can I ask you something?”
“What?” she asked, her voice still flat.
“Can you teach me that skill?” I asked carefully. “The one where you can unlock doors with a bobby pin?”
Benita’s expression changed immediately. Her eyes filled with tears, and she turned away from me.
“Why would you ask me that?” she said, her voice thick with emotion.
I hadn’t expected this reaction. “I just thought it might be useful to know….”
“Marco taught me that skill,” Benita interrupted, her voice breaking completely now. “When we first started dating. He said every woman should know how to get herself out of a locked room, just in case. We spent an entire afternoon practicing on different locks in the compound. He was so patient with me, showing me the exact angle to hold the pin, how to feel for the mechanism…”
She trailed off, her shoulders shaking with silent sobs.
Oh no. I’d stepped right into a painful memory without realizing it.
“Benita, I’m so sorry,” I said, moving closer to her. “I didn’t know. I wouldn’t have asked if I’d known it would hurt you.”
“Everything hurts,” Benita said quietly, her voice raw with grief. “Every memory. Every skill he taught me. Every joke we shared. Every place we went together. It all hurts now. It all reminds me that he’s gone and never coming back.”
I put my arms around her, and she collapsed against me, crying into my shoulder the way she’d done so many times since Marco’s death.
“I’m so sorry,” I repeated, holding her tight. “I’m so, so sorry.”
We stood there in the hallway for several long minutes, Benita crying while I tried to offer whatever comfort I could, feeling guilty for bringing up something that caused her so much pain.
Finally, she pulled away, wiping at her eyes with the back of her hand.
“Why do you need to know how to pick locks anyway?” she asked, her voice still rough but more controlled now.
I hesitated, trying to think of a believable excuse that wouldn’t reveal the real reason. “Just… for safety, I guess. Like Marco said. In case I ever need to get out of a locked room.”
It was weak, and I could see Benita didn’t entirely believe me, but she was too emotionally drained to push for more information.
My heart sank. I didn’t have weeks. I needed to get back into Elena’s room as soon as possible.
“Could you maybe just… show me the basics?” I asked, trying not to sound too desperate. “Just so I understand how it works?”