Chapter 128 Chapter One hundred and twenty seven
ARA
First of all, Emily didn’t look like Emily.
She wore a curly red wig that fell in thick, glossy waves past her shoulders, nothing like her usual black wavy hair.
The makeup was heavy and deliberate, thick foundation to soften her sharp cheekbones, contouring that rounded her face, fake freckles dusted across her nose and cheeks, and bright red lipstick that made her mouth look fuller.
She’d put on weight, over twenty pounds at least. She must have done it deliberately, filling out her cheeks and hips until her silhouette was softer, rounder, almost unrecognizable.
The perfect way to slip into my sisters' lives without raising suspicion.
If we hadn’t been best friends for years before she betrayed me, if I hadn’t spent countless sleepovers memorizing the exact shape of her laugh lines, the way her left eyebrow arched higher than the right when she lied, the tiny scar above her upper lip from a childhood fall, I wouldn’t have known it was her.
My sisters spotted me first.
“Ara!” Millie shrieked, her eyes lighting up with surprise, shock and excitement.
Mollie squealed and bolted forward, her arms wide. They tried to run to me, but Emily’s hands clamped down on their shoulders gently.
“Hold on, sweethearts,” she said, her voice pitched higher than usual, laced with fake sweetness. “I don’t think it’s a good idea to hug her right now. She has COVID, which is why she came down to the island for quarantine. Right, Ara?”
COVID? What the hell?
I stared at her, unable to believe she'd actually cook up a lie like that.
My sisters froze, looking between us with wide, confused eyes.
Millie frowned. “COVID? But, Miss Margot, my sister looks fine.”
Emily squeezed their shoulders gently.
“That’s because she’s very careful,” she said. “But we have to be safe. You don’t want to get sick, do you?”
“But, Miss Maggie, our sister spoke with us this morning. She doesn't have COVID. She's pregnant. If she did, she'd be in the hospital by now because Uncle Thayne would never let her travel all alone while carrying COVID.” Mollie said, her eyes searching me for any signs of illness.
Miss Maggie? That was her name now?
I kept my face carefully blank, not wanting my sisters to see the storm behind my eyes. I couldn’t let them know I’d recognized Emily, not yet. Not while she still had her dirty hands on their shoulders.
“Girls, please, go inside for a moment,” Emily said smoothly, her voice dripping with that fake-sweet teacher tone she’d perfected. “You can finish up the last assignment I gave you so I can talk with your sister.”
My sisters hesitated. They looked at me with wide, uncertain eyes, then back at Emily. I gave them a small, encouraging nod and a quick wave, nothing dramatic, nothing that would make Emily suspicious.
They obeyed reluctantly, glancing over their shoulders at me as they shuffled inside. The front door clicked shut behind them.
The porch fell silent except for the soft crash of waves in the distance. Emily’s smile fell away the second the door closed.
Her posture shifted, her shoulders squaring, her chin lifting, the soft “tutor” act evaporating like smoke.
“I underestimated you,” she began, her fake accent had disappeared as well. This was the Emily I knew. “I never imagined you’d be foolish enough to come find them on your own.”
She thought I was alone. Good. She’d be surprised when Thayne’s men revealed themselves.
“Seriously,” I said, keeping my tone light, almost amused, “of all the names you could have picked, you went with Maggie? It’s so… old. Like you’re some maid from a Victorian novel.”
Her eyes narrowed, her lips pressing into a thin line.
“You must think you’re untouchable now,” she hissed, taking one slow step down the porch toward me. “Two men obsessing over you. Must be nice.”
I stayed exactly where I was. If I backed up, I’d signal fear. If I moved forward, I’d blow my cover too soon. So I held my ground, keeping my hands loose at my sides,
“It’s not my fault,” I said calmly. “After all, it was your betrayal that sent me into Thayne’s arms.”
“Was it?” She laughed mockingly. “Or you didn’t want to tell Gabe you were pregnant already after he ditched your fat, pathetic ass, so you wormed your way into a billionaire’s bed. He hates you now, doesn’t he? That’s why you’re here. You’re running from him.”
She was wrong on every count, but I let her keep talking. The longer she monologued, the more time Thayne’s team had to surround the house.
“How do you feel,” I asked, tilting my head, “disguising yourself as a lesson tutor? I know you’re working for someone powerful. I know you’re using my sisters as leverage to hurt me.”
Her confidence melted away like cheese. She knew I knew her game now, and I'd taken her unawares.
“You sent that hitman yesterday, didn’t you?” I continued, keeping my voice even. “You’re not doing your job exactly. Your job isn’t even to kill me, but you’re using your employer’s influence to do what you want. I know you want me gone so badly just so you can have Gabe back in your life.”
Emily’s eyes flashed, anger, surprise, something darker mixing with the two. She took another step down.
“You think you’re clever,” she said softly. “You think you’ve figured it all out. But you’re still the same naive girl who trusted me for years. You still think love wins. It doesn’t. Power wins. And right now, Ara, I have the power.”
She pointed over her shoulder. “Your sisters are inside. They trust me. They think I’m their sweet tutor. One word from me, and they’ll do whatever I say. You want them safe? You stay right there. You don’t move. You don’t call for help. You let me walk out with them, and maybe, just maybe, I won’t have to hurt them to get what I want.”
My blood ran cold. She wasn’t bluffing. She had them inside. And she had their trust, and I'd seen it from the way they listened to her. She had the upper hand.
But I tried to assure myself it was only for now.
I forced my breathing to stay even.
“You really think you can take them?” I asked quietly.
Emily smiled again, a fiendish smile. “I already have.” She gloated.
Behind her, through the window, I saw a shadow move quickly. One of Thayne’s men, positioning himself near the back door.
Another shadow plastered itself on the side of the house.
They were in place.
Twenty minutes, Stuart had said. Right?
We were close. I met Emily’s eyes.
“You’re right,” I said softly. “You have the power right now. But power shifts fast.”
Her smile faltered again. I took one small step forward.
She tensed.
“Who do you work for? Tell me. You were going to take my sisters to him, weren't you?” I asked her.
“Who I work for doesn't matter. What I do does.”
“Is it Jimmy?”
At the mention of my father's name, she grinned.
“Took you long enough to crack that one. Your own father doesn't even care about your life.” The way she backhanded the comment hurt me deeply.
She continued, “He wants you under his roof so you can deliver and he can lie to everyone that the man who impregnated you is no more, then the babies will bear his surname.”
She even knew I was carrying twins. She had all the information.
“Who helped you get the tutoring job?” I asked her.
“Oh, it was easy. Makeup and wigs are such lifesavers. It was easy to disguise as a part-time highschool teacher.” She sounded deeply satisfied with her fear, and it pissed me so much that I instantly decided it was time to pin her down.
“Strike.” I yelled.
She blinked, confusion spelling out on her face. Thayne's men now poured out of their hiding places to form a tight circle around her.
Thayne stepped through the circle, a smug smile on his face as he came to stand behind me.
“I thought you came alone!” She screamed as they fell on her, binding her arms with thick ropes.
“I'm never alone.” I told her, watching them take her away, her feet kicking air as she dangled from the strong arms holding her above the ground.
“There's a bomb inside the house, idiots. You think you've won? Haha!” Emily's mocking laughter ruined the small victory I'd just wanted to celebrate.
“Quick, there's a bomb in the house!” Stuart yelled at his team.