9
659 Words
Because footsteps echoed faintly down the hall.
Slow.
Measured.
Familiar.
⸻
And Camilla knew—
Before he even entered the room—
⸻
Luc Duval was coming.
⸻
And this time—
There would be no avoiding the truth.
The footsteps didn’t rush.
They didn’t hesitate either.
⸻
Measured.
Familiar.
Unavoidable.
⸻
The door opened.
⸻
Luc Duval stepped inside.
⸻
Everything in the room shifted.
Not louder.
Not sharper.
Just… heavier.
⸻
His gaze didn’t move around the room.
Didn’t acknowledge Hayes.
Didn’t acknowledge Liam.
Didn’t acknowledge Etienne.
⸻
It landed on her.
⸻
Camilla Duval
⸻
And stayed there.
⸻
A full year.
Gone.
No trace.
No answers.
⸻
Now—
Standing right in front of him.
⸻
“Camilla.”
⸻
Her name wasn’t soft.
Wasn’t angry.
⸻
It was controlled.
⸻
Which was worse.
She didn’t step back.
Didn’t break eye contact.
⸻
“Luc.”
⸻
Silence stretched.
Not uncertain.
Loaded.
⸻
Then—
He cut straight through it.
⸻
“Why did you leave?”
⸻
No buildup.
No emotion.
No room to hide.
⸻
Camilla inhaled once.
Steady.
⸻
“Try finding out,” she said, voice even, “that the man who raised you—”
A pause.
⸻
“—the one who stepped in when your mother didn’t—”
⸻
Her eyes didn’t waver.
⸻
“—is in the mafia.”
⸻
The word sat in the air.
Unhidden.
Unapologetic.
⸻
“And not just in it,” she continued, quieter now. “But everything that came with it.”
⸻
Luc didn’t move.
Didn’t interrupt.
⸻
Camilla’s jaw tightened slightly.
⸻
“All the things you never told me,” she said.
A beat.
“All the things you did to make sure my mother never came near me again.”
⸻
That landed.
⸻
Not loudly.
Not explosively.
⸻
Deep.
Luc’s expression didn’t crack.
But something behind it shifted.
⸻
Understanding.
Not agreement.
But understanding.
⸻
His gaze flicked—briefly—to Hayes.
Then Liam.
⸻
“Boston,” he said.
⸻
Not a question.
⸻
Hayes O’Rourke didn’t respond.
Didn’t need to.
⸻
Luc looked back at Camilla.
⸻
“You’re working for them.”
⸻
Camilla didn’t deny it.
⸻
“Yes.”
Silence again.
⸻
Then—
She added, quieter—
⸻
“Hospital bills and insulin don’t pay for themselves.”
⸻
That changed something.
⸻
Not the tension.
Not the situation.
⸻
The understanding.
⸻
Luc’s gaze sharpened.
⸻
“You found out after,” he said.
⸻
Camilla nodded once.
⸻
“I was diagnosed,” she said. “And then I found out what you really were.”
⸻
A pause.
⸻
“And I knew what that made me.”
⸻
Her voice didn’t shake.
Didn’t break.
“A liability.”
⸻
The word hit the room like a quiet explosion.
⸻
“Something people could use against you.”
⸻
Raven’s posture shifted slightly behind her.
⸻
Because now—
Now she understood.
⸻
Luc didn’t respond immediately.
⸻
He took a step closer.
⸻
Not aggressive.
Not threatening.
⸻
Intentional.
⸻
“You’re family,” he said.
⸻
The words weren’t loud.
But they carried weight.
⸻
“You don’t turn your back on family.”
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Camilla’s expression tightened.
⸻
“I didn’t turn my back—”
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“You disappeared,” Luc cut in.
⸻
That hit harder than anything else.
⸻
Silence followed.
⸻
Then—
His voice dropped slightly.
⸻
“Why do you think I trained you?” he asked.
⸻
Camilla didn’t answer.
⸻
“Why do you think Raven trained?” he continued.
⸻
His gaze didn’t leave hers.
“I knew the risks,” he said.
A beat.
“I knew exactly what kind of world this was.”
⸻
Another step closer.
⸻
“And I made sure you could survive in it.”
- Writer
