Chapter 19 - The Last Lie
The room smelled of salt, damp wood, and old fuel. I kept my hands visible while Nicholas stared at Camila.
"This was never about the company," he said. "You wanted the shares, the house, and the life you thought you deserved."
Camila's smile trembled. "I wanted what your family promised me."
"My family promised you nothing."
She looked at me. "I was going to marry you. I loved you, Alex."
"You tried to erase my brother's child."
"Nicholas chose Rose. He chose a nobody over everything we had planned. Richard said the boy would ruin the trust. I thought if Nicholas disappeared, the problem would disappear with him."
Her confession was clear. The phone in my jacket was transmitting to the investigators outside.
Nicholas took a slow breath. "You planted the charge."
Camila's eyes filled with fury. "My father arranged it. I only told him when the boat would leave. I didn't know Nicholas would survive."
"And Rose?" I asked.
"She found the old photograph. She had the key. I wanted it back. She fought me, fell into the mirror, and wouldn't stop saying Matthew's name."
A siren sounded outside.
Camila heard it. For the first time, the confidence left her face completely. She looked at the door, then at the phone in her hand, as if she could still call someone powerful enough to make the world bend. But the investigators already had her words, the ledgers, and the records of the men she had hired. Her old tricks had finally run out of room. The man behind Matthew shifted, looking toward the door. Nicholas moved first, knocking the man's arm away as I pulled Matthew free. The investigators rushed in seconds later.
Camila was handcuffed beside the broken chair.
May you like
As they led her out, she turned toward me.
"You think this is over? Your father knew Nicholas was alive. Ask him why he let you mourn."
