I stared at her, searching her face for any sign of deception. But all I saw was pain and desperation.
"Lorenzo is lying to you," she said, her voice dropping to almost a whisper. "Whatever he told you, whatever evidence he showed you—he's manipulating you."
"Why would he lie to me?"
"Because he has his own agenda!" Her hands gripped my arms. "
"Okay, Let's say it's true. Let's say you only met with Lorenzo once, just to ask for help to ruin me."
I turned to look at her over my shoulder. "Do you really think you both would have succeeded?"
She opened her mouth to answer, then closed it again. Her eyes darted away from mine.
"Answer me, Maliya. Do you think you and my brother could have destroyed me?"
She couldn't say anything. She just stood there, tears streaming down her face.
T
