Chapter 118 The Insider

Chapter 118 The Insider
Ginnie

The abandoned building stood like a forgotten skeleton against the darkness, its broken windows reflecting the faint glow of the moon.

Nothing moved around it except the occasional rustle of leaves whenever the wind passed through the trees.

I sat inside my car with the engine turned off, both hands resting loosely on the steering wheel. 

I glanced briefly at my watch.

7:30 p.m

I had been waiting for almost twenty minutes.

This was not a place anyone came to unless they had a reason, and that was exactly why I had chosen it.

A few moments later, a figure came into view. She looked around nervously before hurrying toward my car. When she reached the passenger side, she opened the door, slipped inside, and immediately shut it behind her.

"You're late."

Her chest rose and fell rapidly. 

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Veynas."

I turned toward her. 

“It’s fine.”

Eliana had always looked younger than her years, but tonight, the exhaustion around her eyes made her look older. 

She kept glancing toward the windows as if she expected someone to appear out of the darkness.

"Are you being followed?"

She shook her head quickly. 

"No."

I studied her for a brief moment before turning my attention toward the windshield. 

"Then relax." 

“I’m trying.” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “You wanted to see me." 

"I did."

"Is this about what happened at the gathering?"

My gaze shifted toward her.

“Yes,” I spoke quietly. “How did you know?"

Eliana hesitated, her fingers twisting together in her lap.

“I saw Kenna slipping the substance into her bag before leaving the mansion.” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “That’s when I knew that something was definitely fishy.”

A cold feeling settled in my stomach.

I had known Kenna was capable of terrible things. 

But trying to kill me?

That was a line even I hadn’t expected her to cross.

"Why didn't you tell me directly?"

"I couldn't."

"Why?"

Eliana looked down at her hands. "If she found out that I was the one who told you, my mother..."

The words died in her throat.

She didn’t need to finish, because I knew exactly what she meant.

Her mother’s hospital debt was the chain Kenna had wrapped around her neck. That was why she had agreed to work with me.

And that was why I had promised to buy her freedom.

"When this is over," I said quietly. “I’ll make sure to pay off your mother's debt.”

Her eyes lifted. 

"You promise?”

"I keep my promises." My voice remained steady. “But only if you do your job properly.”

She nodded slowly.

Then she reached into her handbag and pulled out a folded sheet of paper before handing it to me.

"I brought what you asked for."

I took it from her.

The moment I unfolded it, my eyes moved across the first line.

Jayden.

Varkos's son. 

The child whose life I had saved without knowing who he was. 

“I found out all the information about his school,” Eliana continued. “The school is in the western district. He usually leaves the mansion at seven-thirty in the morning. His driver takes him, but sometimes Varkos takes him himself."

I nodded. 

"What else?"

"He loves football and chocolate cake."

A faint smile curved across my lips.

"Anything else?"

"He hates vegetables."

My eyes moved down the page as Eliana pointed to another section.

"He likes drawing too. Mostly animals. He keeps some of his drawings in his room."

"And people?"

"He's close to his father, Varkos.” She hesitated. “But he doesn't spend as much time with him as he wants."

My eyebrows pulled together.

"Then who does Jayden spend most of his time with?"

"The servants,” she replied immediately. “Mostly whoever is assigned to him that day."

"And Kenna?”

The moment the words left my mouth, Eliana’s expression changed. 

"She's his mother, but..." She swallowed. “Sometimes she gets impatient with him."

My fingers tightened slightly around the paper.

"What does he like to do when he's upset?"

"He likes going outside."

"Where?"

"The garden. Sometimes the lake."

"With whom?"

"Usually a servant."

I looked over the information once more before folding the paper. Something was unsettling about knowing so much about a child I had barely met. 

But I needed to know.

If I wanted Varkos to trust me again, Jayden was the one person who could get me close enough.

“Mrs. Veynas?” Eliana shifted in her seat, staring at me with an unreadable expression.

I looked at her. 

"Yes?"

"What do you want with the boy?"

"That's not your concern." I reached into my handbag and pulled out an envelope before placing it in her hands. “This is the first payment toward your mother's debt."

Her eyes dropped to the envelope.

For a few seconds, she didn’t move, then her fingers slowly closed around it.

"Thank you so much.”

“It's fine.” I looked away. "You should leave before someone notices you're gone."

She nodded and turned toward the door. Before stepping out, she glanced over her shoulder.

"Please don’t harm Jayden.”

Before I could respond, she climbed out and closed the door. I watched her walk away, glancing over her shoulder twice before sneaking out of the building.

A few moments later, she was gone.

Silence settled inside the car as I looked down at the papers resting on my lap and leaned back against my seat.

I had no intention of hurting Jayden. 

But if I wanted Varkos to trust me again, I needed something he would never believe could be part of a game.

Which was exactly where Jayden came in.

And Adrian…

He thought he could send me back into Varkos's life and control exactly what happened between us.

Maybe he was right.

Maybe he wasn't.

A faint smile tugged at the corner of my lips as I started the engine. The headlights cut through the darkness as I pulled away from the abandoned building.

One thing was certain.

My next move was already taking shape.

And no one—not Varkos, not Kenna, and certainly not Adrian—needed to know what it was.

Because the most dangerous move was always the one nobody saw coming.