Bethel's POV
I stood in the parking lot long after Donald's car had disappeared, his words looping in my head like a song I couldn't switch off.
Be careful who you trust.
If he wasn't behind the blackmail, then his warning meant something else entirely — that he knew who was, and that whoever it was, was close enough to reach both of us.
There was too much to think about, too much to worry over, and all I wanted was to go home — not because Allari would be there, but because I needed to forget, even for an hour, everything that had happened today.
I reached the villa earlier than usual. If I was honest with myself, some small, traitorous part of me was hoping to walk in and find him already there — leaning against the staircase the way he always did, that infuriating half-smile on his
