Rowan led them into the kitchen, where he poured drinks for them, handing Vaughn a glass of lemonade.
Amara accepted hers with a quiet “thank you,” her mind still racing.
They spent a little more time together before Amara bid Rowan goodbye.
Two days passed in relative quiet, but Amara’s thoughts remained turbulent. She couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong, that some invisible clock was ticking down toward a moment she wasn’t ready for.
Two days later, Amara sat in the living room, her laptop balanced on her knees. Vaughn sat beside her, scribbling in his school workbook, his little brows furrowed in concentration.
She glanced at him from time to time, taking in the sight of his innocence, his obliviousness to the storm that swirled around their lives. The peace in this moment felt so fragile, like a thin sheet of ice that could crack under the weight of a single wrong step.
Amara’s fingers hovered over the keyboard, unable to focus on the words she was typing. Her mind wandered, drifting back to Rowan and their last conversation.
Suddenly, the sound of footsteps startled her. She looked up to see her father, Vincent, descending the stairs. His face was dark, a deep frown etched across his features.
“Dad,” Amara called out, standing up, “is everything alright?”
Vincent didn’t answer. He walked right past her, his gaze distant, almost haunted, and exited the house without a word.
The door clicked shut behind him, leaving a silence in his wake that felt suffocating. Amara stood frozen, her heart pounding.
What was that?
Why hadn’t he said anything?
She glanced back at Vaughn, who was still engrossed in his work, completely unaware of the shift in the atmosphere.
Amara’s unease deepened, a sinking feeling spreading through her chest.
She couldn’t sit still anymore. Her mind kept wandering back to her father’s expression, the urgency in his stride, and the strange silence that had followed.
She needed to know what was going on. Amara got up and walked toward the front door, where she spotted Lucas heading out as well.
“Lucas,” she called out, stopping him in his tracks.
He turned around, his expression cautious.
“Yes, Miss?” he replied, his voice careful.
Amara’s heart quickened. Something was wrong, and Lucas’s face only confirmed her growing suspicion. “What’s happening?” she asked, her voice tight with anxiety.
Lucas hesitated, glancing around as if to make sure no one else was listening. His expression was tense, and that only made Amara more nervous.
“Miss… the thing is…” Lucas began, but stopped, searching for the right words.
Amara felt her stomach twist. “What’s wrong?” she pressed, her voice firmer now.
Lucas’s expression darkened, and he finally spoke, his words cutting through the air like ice. “It’s about Alessandro…”
The moment the name left his lips, Amara’s world tilted. A foreboding chill ran down her spine. She had known something was off, but this… She took a sharp breath. “What about him?”
Lucas shifted uncomfortably, avoiding her gaze. “He was found dead in his room this morning.”
The words hit her like a sledgehammer. Amara’s heart stopped for a beat, her mind unable to process what she’d just heard. Dead… Alessandro… dead?
“What?” she whispered, the disbelief evident in her voice.
Lucas nodded grimly. “Yes, Miss. He was murdered.”
The room seemed to spin around her, the air too thick, too heavy to breathe.
Alessandro, the man she was supposed to marry in four days, was gone. Just like that. Amara’s knees felt weak, and she gripped the doorframe for support.
“Murdered?” she echoed, her voice barely audible.
Lucas nodded again, his face solemn. “Yes. Someone killed him. But… they still don’t know who did it.”
Amara’s mind raced, her thoughts spinning out of control. She wanted to ask a million questions, but her voice wouldn’t come. She swallowed hard, her mouth dry. “Any… any information on who could have done it?”
Lucas shook his head. “Not yet, Miss. But it looks like it was someone from the inside. The Romano family has tight security. No one could’ve gotten in unless…”
He didn’t finish the sentence, but Amara understood. The implication was clear.. it had to be someone close to Alessandro, someone trusted. But who?
Her thoughts instantly turned to Rowan. No. It couldn’t be.
She didn’t want to believe it. But… he.. what if he did it..
His possessiveness, his protectiveness… and she couldn’t ignore his dark methods. He was capable of many things, but would he really… kill Alessandro?
Her heart pounded in her chest as she tried to make sense of everything. She didn’t love Alessandro, but she didn’t want him dead. She had never wanted that. And the idea that Rowan could’ve done this.. just because she was set to be engaged to Alessandro.. terrified her.
Amara’s throat tightened, and she forced herself to ask the question she dreaded the most. “Do… do they think it was someone close to him? A family member or…?”
Lucas looked uneasy but nodded. “It’s a possibility. Someone from the inside. But the authorities haven’t confirmed anything yet. The Romano family is in chaos right now.”
Amara’s mind spun with the possibilities, each one darker than the last. If it was Rowan, if he had done this… What did that mean for her? For Vaughn?
Would he stop at nothing to have her? To eliminate anyone who stood in his way?
She shook her head, trying to rid herself of those thoughts. She didn’t want to believe that Rowan was capable of something so monstrous. But the fear had already planted itself deep in her heart.
She nodded at Lucas, her voice barely holding steady. “Thank you for telling me.”
Lucas gave her a sympathetic look before heading out the door, leaving Amara standing there, her mind a storm of conflicting emotions.
She couldn’t breathe.! Couldn’t think.!
Alessandro was dead.! Murdered.!
And she didn’t know if she could trust the man she had once believed would never harm her.
Amara’s heart pounded in her chest as she walked towards Vaughn and lightly on the forehead, trying to mask the turmoil beneath her calm facade. “Baby, I’m going out for a while… stay at home, okay?” she said softly, forcing a smile that felt foreign on her lips.
Vaughn, blissfully unaware of the storm brewing in her mind, nodded.