Chapter 121 Chapter 121
Hailey’s POV
I stared at Sophia as she held up that pink sapphire pendant, her voice cold and venomous as she swore her oath against me.
For a moment there, I’d actually been feeling sorry for her. Seeing her cry over her mother’s jewelry, hearing about the promise Elena had made that she never got to keep, it had touched something in me despite everything.
But of course Sophia had to ruin it. Had to turn a moment of vulnerability into another attack, another threat.
I looked at the sapphire glowing in her hand, then met her eyes.
“I feel pity for you, Sophia,” I said, my voice steady.
Her eyes widened with surprise and anger. “I don’t want your pity….”
“You should focus your energy on bringing justice for your mother,” I interrupted. “Instead of trying to take me down. Instead of wasting your time on revenge against someone who never did anything to hurt you.”
“You’re the injustice!” Sophia shot back, her voice rising. “You’re tarnishing her name just by being here! By trying to replace her!”
“I don’t know everything yet,” I said carefully, “but if you think your mother lived happily in these walls, then you must have been blinded by your love for her.”
Sophia’s face went pale, then flushed red with rage. “What are you talking about?”
“Your mother was afraid here,” I said. “Worried. Something was wrong, and she knew it. Maybe instead of hating me, you should be asking why she died.”
“Get out,” Sophia said, her voice shaking. “Walk away. Now.”
I held her gaze for another moment, then turned and left Elena’s room.
I heard the door slam and lock behind me as I walked down the hallway, my heart pounding.
I’d said too much. Revealed too much. But I couldn’t help it. Sophia’s blind devotion to her mother’s memory, her refusal to see that maybe Elena’s fears had been justified, it was infuriating.
I went straight to my room and locked the door, needing space to think, to process everything that had just happened.
I pulled out my phone and opened the browser, not really sure what I was looking for. Just needing a distraction from the confrontation with Sophia, from Vincent’s cryptic warnings, from everything pressing in on me.
I scrolled through news sites, looking for anything about the Morellis, about the ongoing conflict between the families.
That’s when I saw it.
A headline with a photo that made my blood run cold.
“Local Businessman Luca Morelli Funds Scholarships for Underprivileged Students”
The article showed Luca, the same Luca who’d attacked the compound, who’d nearly killed us, who’d shot Marco standing in front of my college, smiling for the camera as he handed over a large ceremonial check.
He was funding scholarships. At my school. Playing the philanthropist, the generous benefactor, the pillar of the community.
And everyone was praising him for it.
I felt sick.
This man had murdered Marco. Had led the attack that killed seventeen guards. Had terrorized my family and me.
And here he was, being celebrated. Getting positive press coverage. Living without any consequences for what he’d done.
The injustice of it burned in my chest. Marco was dead, or at least everyone thought he was dead and Luca was out there smiling for cameras and accepting accolades.
I was still staring at the photo, feeling rage and helplessness in equal measure, when there was a knock at my door.
“Come in,” I called, quickly closing the browser.
The door opened and Benita walked in, closing it behind her. She looked exhausted and frustrated.
“You okay?” I asked.
“Louis is giving me trouble,” Benita said, sitting heavily on the edge of my bed.
“What kind of trouble?”
“He keeps trying to talk to me,” Benita said, her voice tight with irritation. “Keeps showing up wherever I am. Asking if I’m okay, if I need anything, if I want company. It’s constant.”
“I think he likes you,” I said gently.
Benita’s head snapped up. “What?”
“Louis,” I said. “I think he has feelings for you. The way he looks at you, the way he’s always trying to be near you…”
“No,” Benita said firmly, shaking her head. “No, that’s not happening. I don’t care if he likes me. I don’t care about his feelings.”
“Benita….”
“Marco is dead!” Benita interrupted, her voice breaking. “Marco is dead and buried and gone, and Louis thinks he can just… what? Step in? Take his place? Be my next boyfriend?”
“I don’t think that’s what he’s trying to do,” I said carefully.
“Then what is he trying to do?” Benita demanded. “Because from where I’m sitting, it feels like he’s circling like a vulture, waiting for me to be vulnerable enough to accept attention from anyone.”
She stood up and started pacing, her hands clenched into fists.
“I want to turn him down,” Benita said. “Firmly. Make it clear that I’m not interested and never will be.”
“That’s your right,” I said. “If you’re not interested, you should tell him.”
“But that’s not enough,” Benita continued, her voice taking on a desperate edge. “I can’t stay here, Hailey. I can’t keep living in this house with Louis hovering around me, with Sophia glaring at me like I’m responsible for everything, with guards and guns and constant fear.”
“What are you saying?” I asked, though I already knew.
“I want to leave,” Benita said, stopping her pacing to look at me directly. “With your mother. Barbara mentioned once that she was thinking about leaving, about going somewhere safer. A different town, away from all this violence and chaos.”
My heart sank. “Benita…..”
“I have to,” Benita said, tears starting to fall. “I can’t heal here. I can’t move forward. Every corner of this place reminds me of Marco. Every guard I see makes me think of him. I need to get away, go somewhere new, somewhere I can breathe without feeling like I’m drowning in grief.”