He looked. And I watched the realization hit him, watched the color drain from his face, watched him understand exactly what his family had done.
"Emma, I swear to God, I didn't know. I was barely born when that happened. I had no idea"
"That your family killed my father? Or that they funded my scholarship to keep tabs on me? Or that they killed my sister two years ago when she got too close to the truth?" My voice was rising, tears threatening. "Which part didn't you know, Adrian?"
"Your sister? What are you talking about?"
"Sarah. Sarah Chen. She came to Riverside two years ago on a Blake Foundation scholarship, just like me. She was investigating your family. And then she died in a car accident. Just. Like. My. Father."
The words hung between us, heavy with accusation and grief.
Adrian sank into a chair, his head in his hands. "Oh my God. The girl Marcus mentioned. He said there was a problem two years ago, a student who was asking too many questions. He said they 'handled it.' I thought he meant they paid her off to transfer schools. I didn't know" He looked up at me, and there were tears in his eyes.
"Emma, I swear I didn't know they killed her. I didn't know about your father. If I had known"
"What? What would you have done? Turned in your own family? Or would you have helped them cover it up?"
"I would have protected you!" He stood abruptly. "I would have kept you away from here, kept you safe. Do you think I would have let you walk into that meeting if I'd known? Do you think I would have…" He stopped, running his hands through his hair.
"This is why they sent for me. This is why they're here. They know who you are. They've known all along."
My blood ran cold. "What do you mean?"
"The scholarship. Your placement in my class. The fact that we were assigned as partners. Emma, they set this up. All of it.
They wanted to see if you knew anything about Sarah's investigation. And if you did, they wanted you close where they could control you. Or…" He couldn't finish the sentence.
"Or eliminate me," I finished for him.
He moved toward me, and I backed away instinctively. Hurt flashed across his face.
"Emma, please. You have to believe me. I'm not part of this. I didn't know what they'd done. And I would never, ever let them hurt you."
"How can I believe that? How can I trust anything you say when your family has been manipulating me from the start?"
"Because I'm falling for you!" The words exploded out of him. "Because I've been fighting it since the moment I saw you, knowing that getting involved with anyone just puts them in danger, but I can't help it. Because when I'm with you, I feel like maybe I'm not just the Blake heir. Maybe I'm someone who could actually be good enough for someone like you."
The confession hung in the air between us, raw and vulnerable and terrifying.
"I can't do this right now," I whispered. "I need to think. I need to"
My regular phone buzzed. A text from an unknown number: "Nice performance with the Blakes. But you made a mistake mentioning James Kim. Now they know you know. You have 48 hours before they make their move. Choose your allies carefully. - V.C."
V.C. Vincent Cross. The fixer. The man who'd killed both James and Sarah.
And he was warning me.
I showed Adrian the text, watching his reaction carefully. His face went from shocked to furious in seconds.
"Vincent Cross. The fixer Marcus uses." He grabbed my shoulders. "Emma, you need to leave. Right now. Pack your things and get as far from Riverside as possible."
"I'm not running."
"They're going to kill you!"
"Then let them try!" I pulled away from him. "I'm not my father. I'm not Sarah. I'm not going to be another name in their body count. I'm going to finish what Sarah started, and I'm going to make them pay for what they did."
"You can't fight them alone"
"I'm not alone." I thought of Rachel, of the SD card, of all the evidence Sarah had gathered. "And I'm not giving up. Not when I'm this close to the truth."
Adrian stared at me, and something in his expression shifted. Determination replaced fear. "Then I'm helping you. Whatever you're planning, whatever evidence you have, I'm in. We take them down together."
"Why should I trust you?"
"Because I just told you I'm falling for you, and you didn't run screaming. Because we're both trapped in this now, whether we want to be or not. And because…" He moved closer, his hand cupping my face gently. "Because I think you're falling for me too, and that terrifies you even more than my family does."
He was right. I was falling for him. Despite everything, despite the lies and the danger and the death, I was falling for Adrian Blake.
Which made him either my greatest ally or my most dangerous enemy.
"I need to go," I said, not moving away from his touch. "I have class."
"Emma"
"We'll talk later. After I figure out what to do about that dinner invitation."
"You're not seriously considering going?"
"I'm not seriously considering anything right now except surviving the next forty-eight hours." I finally stepped back, and his hand fell away. "But Adrian? If I find out you're lying to me, if you're working with them, if this is all some elaborate game to figure out what I know…"
"I'm not," he said firmly. "I swear on everything I have, I'm not."
I wanted to believe him. But Sarah's voice echoed in my mind: The most dangerous predators are the ones who make you feel safe.
And Adrian Blake made me feel very, very safe.
Which meant he was very, very dangerous.