Page 98 of Cruel Deception
She was gone.
He’d moved her.
Of course he had.
I stared at the hollow space, my throat tightening. Whoever had been here—my mother or not—was gone. Taken.
Why? Why does he keep people like this?
I stood there, shaking, my fury simmering under my skin.
Then I turned and left.
I cleaned the mess. Did my chores. Cooked.
And I waited.
Because today would be the first time I challenged Cassian Moretti head-on.
And then, finally—
Just past noon—
Cassian walked in.
He walked swiftly toward his study, like he needed to grab something quickly and escape this moment. But I wasn’t going to let him disappear—not this time.
“Where is my mother?” I shouted.
He didn’t flinch. Didn’t pause. He opened the study door, retrieved something I couldn’t see, then turned to walk back out—like I didn’t exist, like my voice didn’t matter.
I raised the gun and fired into the air.
The crack split the silence in half. “Cassian!” My voice was trembling, breathless. “I’ll shoot you if you don’t tell me where she is!”
He stopped.
My hands were shaking, the gun now aimed at his chest. “You have her. She’s the woman you locked in that cell—right next to mine. Don’t lie to me, Cassian. Where is my mother?”
His eyes cut into mine—cold, unimpressed.
“You couldn’t even shoot the men that violated you the other day,” he said flatly. “How will you shoot me?”
My lip quivered. “This is different. This is my mother we’re talking about. I’ve suffered for ten years knowing she was somewhere out there, suffering, rotting in some dark hole. Don’t test my patience, Cassian.”
He stepped forward slightly, anger flickering in his gaze. “Don’t point a gun at me, Charlotte. Your mother has already ruined more than enough—ruined me. The fact that I’m keeping you alive and being civil doesn’t mean I’m not tempted to strangle you like I did to your ex.”
“What?” My voice cracked. “I’ve never wronged you. Whatever my mother did, I didn’t know. I didn’t do it.”
“Oh, you did,” he growled. “You just don’t remember. Every member of your bloodline is poison.”
His voice was venomous now, rage burning through every word. Fists clenched. Eyes dark and dangerous. “If you push me any further, I’ll kill you right now and bury you in the backyard.”
“Sadly, I won’t let that happen,” I said coldly, cocking the gun. “I’ll kill you before you ever get the chance.”
And then it spilled from me—raw, ugly truth twisted with heartbreak. “And you can stop pretending you’re not like Luca. That whole blindfolding act while sleeping with me? It was pointless. You’re a monster, same as him. You could’ve forced yourself on me, and that would’ve been more honest. At least then I’d know what to expect.”
My throat tightened, my voice broke, but I didn’t stop. “You want to paint yourself like a gentleman? You think cooking for me, ruffling my hair like a fucking husband, redeems locking me in a room filled with spiders until I ended up in the hospital?” I was shaking, sobbing between my words. “You’re not soft. You’re not merciful. You’re toying with me. Just another object you plan to kill—or lock away—like my mother.”
