Playing Lily

Chapter5

Bella

They stared at me like I'd lost my mind.

Maybe I had.

But I couldn’t stand the thought of turning down an offer like this. The name dragged the stale scent of tobacco back into my lungs.

Bruno Mateo.

The man who hadn’t even bothered with giving me a name. To him I never needed one.

The man I’d spent fifteen years of my life hating. My adoptive father. I wasn’t even sure it was him. What were the odds that my kidnappers had a score to settle with a man named Bruno?

Then again, I did go a little crazy whenever his name was mentioned.

I paused, blinking slowly.

What if it wasn’t him?

“Uhh…” I cleared my throat, studying their faces one last time.

There was no backing out now. “Just to be clear, we are talking about Bruno Mateo. Right? Don of the Mateo family.”

C’s brows narrowed on me and I could swear I saw amusement flash in his eyes. Elijah wasn’t amused. If anything, his shock at my outburst slowly faded, giving way to either irritation or anger. I couldn’t tell.

“You made a deal without confirming the details?”

I hated how that sounded out loud. But I had something else to earn my freedom.

“Let’s renegotiate,” I announced. “I might have an idea of where your drive is.”

C’s smile dropped. So did the temperature in the room.

“Why should we believe you?” Elijah asked.

“Because I know how he hides things.”

“And how exactly would you know that?” He asked slowly, like he wasn’t dying to know, even though his body had unconsciously leaned forward.

“That’s also for me to know.”

Elijah’s eyes flashed.

“I won’t ask what you need it for, you don’t ask questions about my intentions too.” I shrugged even though my shoulders felt like they weighed a ton. “You get your drive. I get Bruno.”

A long, grueling minute passed before C shifted his weight and glanced at Elijah. Whatever conversation they had in their head made Elijah’s jaw tick and C to turn back to me.

“No questions asked?”

I hesitated for half a second. Then nodded. “No questions asked.”

“Good.” Elijah finally said. “I’ll personally oversee a trial before we move along with the deal.”

My brows furrowed. His brow c****d.

“You didn’t expect me to just throw you to the wolves without testing the waters.”

Right.

“What do I need to do?”

For the first time since I stumbled into this room, Elijah’s eyes flashed with a hint of amusement. “You’re going to attend a gala with Derrick Tanner.”

I frowned. “Who-“

“Me,” C cut in with a crooked grin before I could finish my sentence. “Lilian and I were a stage couple. For all the world knows, I am Derrick Tanner, philanthropist, multibillionaire and Lilian’s boyfriend.”

For some reason, spending an entire night with C made my heart skip.

“But,” Elijah added smoothly. “You have to act completely like Lilian. There’s no room for mistakes.”

I crossed a hand over my chest, letting my gaze bounce off the both of them. “I don’t understand. How does that get me to Bruno?”

C crossed the room until he stopped inches away from my face. I instinctively stumbled back. His lips twitched.

“Bruno was head over heels for Lilian.” C whispered. “One thing a wealthy man cannot stand is seeing something they cannot have.”

I nodded slowly, trying to ignore the way he smelled of cigarettes and coffee. “So I string him along until I get the location of your drive?”

C flashed me a smile. “Exactly, sunshine.”

My pulse tripped. I covered it up with a scowl. “Don’t call me that.” Then turned to Elijah. “That sounds like a good way of getting me killed.”

“Bruno won’t attend.” Elijah said, slowly rising. “His people will. That’s enough.”

Doubt slowly crept in. “What happens if I get caught?”

His jaw ticked. “Pray you don’t.”

That wasn’t an answer. There were still potholes in Elijah’s plan. What happened to the actual Lily? What if she comes back? What if Bruno catches me before I get the chance to even get anything?

It was possible, right?

I mean, I was one of over three dozen girls sold to Bruno. Before box dyes were a thing, I was brunette and skinny. I knew every hallway in that mansion.

Every lock.

Every room you weren’t allowed to cry inside.

I managed to get away before I legally registered my identity. He surely wouldn’t know.

Right?

Before I could ask anything else, Alex walked in with a face set in stone. “Haul’s loaded.” He paused at the doorway, his eyes narrowing from Elijah to C then to me. “What’s going on?”

Mikey joined in behind him. “Yeah, I just benched a tonne worth of stuff and I think we can all agree that we can call it a night.”

Elijah released a sharp breath. C spoke without hesitation.

“I’ll brief you.” He said. “Mikey, show her to one of the rooms. You too, get some shut eye.”

Mikey gestured toward the hallway. “Come on.”

I took one last look at Elijah. Then followed behind Mikey.

The air was quiet. Too quiet. I could feel Mikey glancing at me occasionally. I ignored it. Until I couldn’t.

“Is there something you want to say?”

He let out an awkward chuckle. “It’s just… really crazy.”

“Which part? The fact that I look like someone you all obviously were involved with or the part where I just agreed to pretend to be her?”

Mikey’s feet skidded to a stop. His wide eyes scanned my face, like he was trying to figure out if I was telling a joke.

Then,”Do you have any idea of what happened to Lily?”

I stopped, a frown tugging at my lip. “Humor me.”

Mikey rubbed the back of his neck. “You really don’t know.”

My frown deepened. “Know what?”

Mikey’s gnawed at his bottom lip, his gaze drifting to the hallways.

“She put a gun to her head. Pulled the trigger.” He whispered. “Right in front of Elijah.”