Chapter 134 Rat and snakes
Third Person POV - Diana
The apartment smelled terrible like mold and desperation.
Diana sat on the edge of a sagging mattress, her phone clutched in her trembling hands, surrounded by peeling wallpaper and water-stained ceilings.
This was what her life had become.
A run-down studio in the worst part of Brooklyn. No electricity after six PM because she couldn't pay the bill. No heat. Barely any food.
All her money was frozen. Her accounts were locked pending federal investigation.
The fabricated evidence against Gavin had backfired spectacularly. The prosecutors had torn it apart in hours, and now they were coming after her instead.
Obstruction of justice. Evidence tampering. Conspiracy.
She was facing serious prison time.
And she had nowhere to run. She'd tried calling Jason. Five times in the past two days.
It went straight to voicemail every time. He'd abandoned her. The moment things went south, he'd disappeared.
Probably back to Zeus. Back to Colombia where the law couldn't touch him.
Leaving her to face the consequences alone.
She tried his number again anyway.
Nothing.
"Coward," she muttered.
She scrolled through her contacts. Most of them were useless now. Friends who'd stopped returning her calls the moment her name appeared in connection with a murder investigation.
Business associates who'd blocked her number.
Family who'd disowned her years ago.
There was one number left.
Sophia Valdez.
Diana stared at it for a long moment.
Sophia had promised to help. Had said the plan to frame Gavin was foolproof. Had assured Diana that once Gavin was arrested, Sophia would use her family's connections to make Diana's legal troubles disappear.
But Sophia hadn't answered her calls either. Not for three days.
Diana's finger hovered over the call button.
This was her last option. Her only option.
She pressed it.
The phone rang. Once. Twice. Three times.
Four times.
Five.
Diana was about to hang up when the line connected.
"Hello, Diana."
Sophia's voice sounded smooth and amused. Relief flooded through Diana so intensely she almost started crying.
"Sophia. Thank God. I've been trying to reach you..."
"I know."
"The plan failed. Gavin's lawyers tore apart the evidence in hours. The prosecutors are coming after me instead. I need your help. You promised you'd help."
"Did I?" Sophia sounded thoughtful. "I don't recall making any promises."
Diana's stomach dropped. "What? No, you said...you told me your family would protect me. You said..."
"I said a lot of things, Diana. Doesn't mean I meant them."
"But..."
"You were useful for a time. A convenient tool. Someone angry enough at Gavin to do whatever it took to hurt him." Sophia's voice was casual. Like she was discussing the weather. "But tools are disposable once they've served their purpose."
"No." Diana's voice cracked. "No, that's not...we had a deal!"
"We had an arrangement. One that benefited me far more than it benefited you." Sophia laughed. Soft and cruel. "Trusting me was your first issue. But you're more foolish than I thought if you believed I'd actually help you."
Diana's hand tightened on the phone. "What about Melissa?"
The words came out before she could stop them.
There was a pause on the other end.
"What about her?" Sophia asked.
"I heard she's in Colombia." Diana's voice shook. "You said she was just plan B. Something to fall back on if framing Gavin didn't work. Why is she in Colombia?"
Sophia laughed again. Longer this time. Genuinely amused.
"Oh, Diana. Sweet, naive Diana. Melissa was never plan B."
"What?"
"She was always the plan. The only plan." Sophia's voice hardened. "Framing Gavin for murder? That was a distraction. Something to keep him off-balance while we moved the real pieces into position."
"You used me." The realization hit Diana like ice water. "You used me as a distraction."
"Yes. And you played your part beautifully." Sophia's tone was almost congratulatory. "You were so angry. So desperate for revenge. So easy to manipulate."
"Where is Melissa?" Diana demanded. "What have you done with my daughter?"
"Your daughter?" Sophia's laugh was sharp. "You stopped being her mother the moment you sold yourself to the man who killed her father. Don't pretend you care about her now."
"Tell me where she is!"
"She's exactly where she needs to be. In Colombia. With Zeus. Being used to bring Gavin home where he belongs."
Diana felt like she might be sick. "You kidnapped her."
"Let her go." Diana was on her feet now, pacing the tiny apartment. "Please. She's done nothing to you. This is between you and Gavin. Leave her out of it."
"I don't think so." Sophia's voice was ice. "Melissa stays exactly where she is until Zeus gets what he wants."
"And then what? You'll just let her go?"
"Maybe." Another pause. "Or maybe when I'm done with her, I'll send her body back to you. We'll see."
Diana's blood ran cold. "You wouldn't..."
"Wouldn't I?" Sophia's tone was thoughtful. "She's caused me a considerable amount of trouble. Stolen something that was promised to me since birth. Made Gavin forget his obligations to his family."
"Gavin doesn't love you. He never did. You can't force someone to..."
"I can do whatever I want," Sophia interrupted. "My father is part of the family. The Five Families answer to him. Gavin will do exactly what he's told, or he'll watch the girl he loves suffer for it."
"You're a monster."
"Perhaps. But at least I'm not a fool hiding in a rat-infested apartment while the law closes in."
Diana looked around the disgusting studio. Sophia was right. That's exactly what she was.
"What about the police?" Diana asked desperately. "The plan with Gavin failed. You said you'd help take them off my back. You promised..."
Sophia clicked her tongue. A disapproving sound. "You sure have a lot of issues, lady. And I'm really glad I'm not you."
"Sophia, please..."
"This is the reason rats should be careful around snakes, Diana." Sophia's voice was almost gentle now. Pitying. "Eventually, you're going to get eaten up."
"Wait..."
"Goodbye, Diana. Try not to think about your daughter too much. It'll only make things harder when you hear what's become of her."
"Sophia! Don't you dare..."
The line went dead.
Diana stared at her phone. At the blank screen.
Then she threw it across the room.
It hit the wall and shattered.
She collapsed onto the mattress. Put her head in her hands.
What had she done?
She'd been so angry. So desperate for revenge against Gavin for what he'd done. For the life he'd destroyed. For the cage he'd put her in.
She'd wanted him to suffer the way she'd suffered.
But in her rage, in her need for vengeance, she'd made herself a pawn in someone else's game.
Sophia had used her. Zeus had used her. Even Jason had probably been using her.
And now Melissa...her daughter, her baby girl...was in Colombia. In the hands of monsters.
Being used as leverage against the man Diana had sworn to destroy.
The irony was almost poetic.
Diana had spent two years planning Gavin's downfall. Had sacrificed her relationship with her daughter. Had aligned herself with criminals and liars.
All to get revenge.
And in the end, all she'd done was put Melissa in more danger than she'd ever been in before.
"What have I done?" Diana whispered to the empty room.
No answer came.
Just the sound of water dripping somewhere in the walls. The distant noise of traffic outside. The settling of the building around her.
She was alone.
Truly, completely alone.
Jason wouldn't answer her calls. Sophia had abandoned her. The police were coming.
And Melissa...
Melissa might die because of choices Diana had made.
Diana lay back on the disgusting mattress and stared at the water-stained ceiling.
She'd wanted Gavin to lose everything.
Instead, she'd lost everything herself.
And her daughter might pay the price.
Sophia was right.
Rats who played with snakes got eaten.
And Diana Hayes had been devoured without even realizing it until it was too late.
Somewhere in the apartment, something scurried across the floor.
An actual rat.
Diana didn't even have the energy to be disgusted. She just closed her eyes and tried not to think about Melissa.
Tried not to imagine what Zeus and Sophia might be doing to her.
Tried not to hear Sophia's words echoing in her head:
...Maybe when I'm done with her, I'll send her body back to you....
But she couldn't stop thinking about it.
Couldn't stop imagining.
Couldn't stop the guilt that was eating her alive from the inside out.
She'd gotten exactly what she deserved.
The only problem was, Melissa didn't deserve any of this.
And there was nothing Diana could do to save her.
Nothing at all.