Chapter 3
1101 Words
The Lies We Bury
Liana barely slept.
The USB sat on her dresser, like a silent threat. She hadn’t plugged it in, not yet. It stared at her from the corner of the room, like a question she wasn’t ready to answer.
She got up at dawn. The cold air bit her skin when she stepped out onto the balcony. New York City sprawled beneath her silent and unknowing. The city had its way of pretending things didn’t exist. Like it could bury its secrets in shadows and call it clean.
Her father had never been clean. Neither had Gabriel.
But Liana had a choice.
Or at least, she thought she did.
The buzzing of her phone broke the stillness. Unknown number.
She didn’t hesitate. She answered.
“Your father wants you back at the club,” a voice said. “Now.”
She didn’t ask who it was. The words were enough.
She grabbed her coat, her mind racing. The club, it had to be a meeting about the wedding. About the future she couldn’t escape.
She didn’t want to go, but she couldn’t say or do otherwise.
The club was quieter than usual, no gala, no flashing cameras, just business. Always business.
Liana entered through the back, her heels tapping against the polished floor as she walked down the hall toward the back office. Her father’s presence loomed ahead.
He was there. Standing by the window, looking out over the city. His face unreadable, his back stiff.
“You’re late,” Edward Vale said without turning.
“Only because I wasn’t told when to arrive,” Liana replied, voice low.
Edward turned, face hard as granite. “Don’t make this harder than it has to be.”
“Who said anything about making things hard?” Liana asked. She knew the game. He played it well, cold, recise and calculated.
“You’re about to become a part of a legacy you can’t escape,” Edward said, his eyes sharp. “You’ll do your part, or I’ll do it for you.”
Her fingers tightened around the strap of her purse. “What do you want from me, Father?”
“Everything.”
Liana stared at him, wondering if it was a warning or a command.
A knock at the door interrupted the tension.
Gabriel King entered.
No “hello,” no pleasantries. Just the presence of him, tall, strong, and cold. His eyes met hers, and for the briefest second, something unspoken passed between them. A challenge, and an understanding.
Edward’s voice broke the moment. “You’ll both be at the fundraiser tonight. Together.”
Liana didn’t answer.
“Smile,” Edward added, voice light but with the weight of expectation. “You’re being watched.”
Gabriel’s eyes shifted, not to her, but to her father.
“Anything else?” he asked, his tone flat.
Edward smiled, thin and calculated. “Yes. This isn’t just business, Gabriel. This is personal, don’t forget that.”
Liana’s pulse quickened. She knew exactly what that meant. Edward’s “personal” always had a price. Gabriel King wasn’t just a pawn in this game. He was the other player.
But she was the queen.
By the time the fundraiser started, the night had already swallowed them both whole.
The room was full of whispers. The kind of whispers that only the rich and powerful can afford. The kind that could unravel a life with a single sentence.
Liana stood in front of the grand fireplace, champagne in hand, her eyes scanning the crowd. She was the centerpiece daughter of Edward Vale, soon-to-be wife of Gabriel King. She didn’t need to say a word for the room to take notice.
Gabriel, standing a few feet away, never once glanced her way. Not until their names were announced.
“Liana Vale,” the voice on the microphone rang out, “and Gabriel King.”
The applause was polite, and calculated. It never reached the corners of her soul. She smiled anyway.
Gabriel walked toward her, his steps as sure and precise as always. But when he was close enough to touch, when he should have whispered something, he didn’t.
He simply handed her a glass of champagne and said, “To the future.”
Liana didn’t lift her glass. She didn’t even look at it.
“Why are we here, Gabriel?” she asked quietly, knowing her father’s watchful gaze was somewhere in the crowd.
Gabriel’s jaw clenched. “Because your father told me to be.”
Liana’s heart skipped. She turned to face him fully, searching his eyes for something, anything.
“You don’t think this is a little… convenient?” she asked, voice low.
“Nothing about this is convenient,” he replied, his eyes darkening. “But it’s necessary.”
“For who?” she asked.
“For us,” Gabriel said, his gaze never leaving hers. “For you.”
The words lingered between them like smoke.
The night dragged on. Small talks, forced smiles. Liana felt like a ghost, invisible. Not even to Gabriel, not really.
And then, like a stormy cloud in the clear sky, her father appeared beside them, his smile sharp and tight.
“You’ve both done well,” he said, his eyes scanning the room. “But the real work starts now.”
Liana didn’t like the sound of that.
“You’re a part of this now, Liana,” Edward continued. “Whether you want to be or not. This is your legacy.”
Before she could reply, Gabriel’s phone buzzed in his pocket. He didn’t flinch. Didn’t even check it. But Liana saw the flicker of something in his eyes.
He knew something she didn’t.
“I’ll be back in a moment,” he said, stepping away.
Liana watched him go, then turned back to her father. “What’s really going on?”
Edward didn’t answer. Not with words.
But when he smiled, it wasn’t a smile. It was a warning.
Later that night, Liana returned to her apartment, exhaustion weighing her down. The city was quieter now, but the unease in her chest never stopped.
She opened her door and froze.
The envelope was there.
This time, there was no photo, and no note.
Just a single sentence on a piece of parchment:
“You’re in deeper than you think.”
Her phone buzzed again. Unknown number.
“I know who you are now. Meet me, or this ends before it begins.”
Liana stood frozen, not from fear,
but from knowing, deep inside, that this wasn’t the end.
It was just the beginning.
- Writer
