Chapter 103
Chapter 103
The night felt too quiet, the kind of quiet that warned of something sharp hiding underneath. Carla stood in the middle of the parking lot like she owned the place, her posture stiff and her eyes bright with the thrill of cornering prey. The wind pulled at her coat, but she did not move. She looked carved out of something cold.
Lila felt Nate shift beside her, placing his body just a little more in front of hers without making it obvious. His presence did not block the fear, but it softened the edges of it, and she steadied her breathing.
Carla’s gaze flicked down to their joined hands. “Well,” she said, “that answers one question. You really did manage to seduce him.” She looked at Nate with a mocking smile. “I would congratulate you, but you always did have terrible judgment.”
Nate did not react. His face stayed unreadable, the kind of calm that made people nervous because they could not tell if he was about to negotiate or destroy.
“Say what you came to say,” he told her.
Carla ignored him and stepped toward Lila. “You think running around town with him is going to change anything,” she said. “You think you can hide behind him for long. You have no idea what kind of mess you have created.”
Lila swallowed. “You created the mess.”
Carla laughed. “I created opportunity. There is a difference.” She held up a small notebook, the old worn journal. “And now I have this. Which means I hold the advantage.”
Lila’s chest tightened. That journal was her mother’s words, her mother’s memories, everything she had left. Carla lifted it like a weapon.
“You stole that,” Lila said.
“I took what was owed,” Carla said, shrugging. “Your mother left behind debts, headaches, problems, and somehow everyone acted like she was a saint. I am just balancing things out.”
Nate’s voice dropped lower. “Give her the journal.”
Carla smirked. “No.”
The word landed like a slap.
Nate stepped forward, but Lila grabbed his arm before he could say anything. “No,” she whispered. “She wants to get a reaction from you.”
Carla clapped her hands slowly. “Look at you,” she said. “Acting brave. Pretending you actually know how to stand up for yourself. Cute. It will not last.”
Lila forced her voice not to shake. “What do you want, Carla.”
Carla’s smile widened. “Ah. Finally the right question.” She pointed the journal at Nate. “He is in trouble, you know. Vanessa is stirring things up behind the scenes. The deal he thinks he is close to completing is already falling apart. His company is sinking in silent waters and he is pretending not to notice.”
Lila felt Nate tense.
Carla continued as if she was telling a bedtime story. “And who do you think they will blame when the dust settles. Him. And then you. The girl who shows up out of nowhere pretending to be someone important.”
Nate’s voice turned sharp. “Carla. Enough.”
“Oh, I am just getting started,” she said lightly.
She stepped even closer until she was only a few feet away, and her voice lowered. “Here is the truth, sweetheart. I know more than you think. I know about Vanessa. I know about the blackmail. I know you are pretending to be something you are not. The town already suspects. Ethan has been chatting quite a bit.”
Lila felt her stomach twist, but she kept her chin up. “Then why are you telling me all this.”
“Because,” Carla said, holding out her hand, “you can fix everything.”
Lila stared at her hand but did not move.
Carla stepped closer. “Come home with me. Quietly. You will apologize to Mr. Jennings. You will accept the arrangement. And I will keep my mouth shut about everything. Nate can walk away clean. His company survives. Vanessa loses her leverage. All of this goes away.”
Nate’s voice cut the air like a blade. “That will never happen.”
Carla looked at him like he was a small annoyance. “I was not talking to you.”
She leaned in even closer to Lila, her perfume sharp and cold. “Think very carefully. If you stay with him, he loses everything. If you come with me, he keeps everything.”
Lila felt something shift inside her. Carla was not offering a deal. Carla was offering chains wrapped in silk.
“I am not going anywhere with you,” Lila said quietly.
Carla blinked once. “What did you say.”
Lila stepped forward so their faces were only inches apart. “I said no. I am not going. I am not apologizing. I am not letting you use me again.”
Carla’s face went tight. “You stupid little girl,” she hissed. “You think you have power because he is standing next to you.”
Lila nodded. “Yes. And you hate that.”
Carla snapped like something inside her cracked. She reached for Lila’s arm, but Nate moved before she could touch her. He grabbed Carla’s wrist with a grip that froze her in place.
“Do not touch her,” he said, his voice cold enough to burn.
Carla tried to yank her hand back, but Nate did not move. His eyes locked on hers with a warning she finally understood.
“You think I am scared of you,” she said, but her voice trembled.
“No,” Nate said. “But you should be scared of what happens when you push someone too far.”
Carla ripped her hand free and took a shaky step back. Her chest rose and fell fast, and her smile came back, but it was thin and shaky now.
“This is not over,” she said. “Not even close.”
She turned and walked toward a dark car parked near the edge of the lot. The engine started, the headlights flashed across them, and then she pulled away without another word.
Silence filled the space she left behind.
Lila let out a breath she did not know she was holding. “Nate,” she whispered, “what did she mean about your company.”
He did not answer right away. He stared at the road Carla had disappeared down, his jaw tight.
“Nate,” she said again.
He closed his eyes for a moment, gathering himself. When he opened them, there was honesty and worry and something soft that held onto her like she was the last steady thing in his world.
“We need to talk,” he said quietly. “All of it. No more hiding.”
Lila nodded. “Then let us talk.”
Not later, not when danger passed. It has to be now.
Because their world was shrinking fast, and if they did not come together, everything would fall apart.