Chapter 6 - THE SISTERS' TRUTH|
Claire sat on the kitchen counter, leaning her chin in her hand.
"Vanessa is a poisonous snake," Claire stated flatly. "I told Adrian six years ago that she was playing both sides between the Vales and the Coles. When they were engaged, she was secretly meeting with Marco Moretti."
"Then why did Adrian bring her into the house last night?" I asked, setting my coffee mug down.
"Because he's an idiot who thinks he can control every fire in the city," Claire sighed. "Vanessa showed up at the perimeter gate with a black eye, claiming Moretti was trying to kill her. Adrian thought he could hold her for twenty-four hours, extract her family's shipping ledgers, and destroy Moretti once and for all."
"He should have told me," I said, my voice hardening. "He treated me like a spectator in my own home."
"I know," Claire said gently. "And he knows he screwed up. But Elena... you need to know something about Vanessa's bruise."
I looked at her sharply. "What about it?"
"Marcus checked the security footage from Vanessa's apartment complex this morning," Claire revealed, leaning closer. "Nobody broke into her building last night. She drove herself to Vale House straight from a private meeting with Moretti's lieutenant."
My blood ran cold. "She staged the attack?"
"The bruise is real, but she let them hit her," Claire said grimly. "She came to Vale House as a Trojan horse. She wanted to get inside Adrian's security perimeter—and more importantly, she wanted to drive you out."
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"Why drive me out?"
"Because as long as you're beside Adrian, he's grounded," Claire explained. "You make him rational. Without you there, my brother goes completely scorched-earth—and that's exactly what Moretti wants him to do."
