"What did you just say?"
Angus looked like he was about to explode like a ticking ti bomb. His eyes were so dark and murderous that the twins gulped, the temperature in the room suddenly cold and brittle.
The twins knew Ziva was a bitch, but doing that to Hannah? That was pure cruelty. Their father would never forgive anyone who escaped the village. Hannah practically had a death sentence hanging over her head now. She would surely die, and that would be on Ziva—not that the bitch had a heart to feel remorseful.
Ziva said with more boldness, "Hannah ran away from the village, and I can’t find her."
Suddenly, Angus’s head snapped toward the twins. He looked between Lauren and Layla as if weighing which of the girls would be more likely to confess the truth. He settled on Layla.
"Is it true?" Angus asked her. "Did Hannah really run away from ho, or is there sothing I’m not being told?"
At once, a great tension settled in the room. For the first ti, real fear flashed in Ziva’s eyes. She and Layla had clashed recently, and she’d punished her for it. Ziva knew, in that mont, Layla might seize the opportunity for revenge.
Layla’s mind was made up. She would not be part of Ziva’s ss. Not to ntion, her arrogance needed to be knocked down a notch.
But before she could say a word, her twin, Lauren’s voice echoed in her head, "Don’t do it."
Layla groaned ntally. "Are you fucking kidding ?" she replied in her mind. "We have the opportunity to put our sister Ziva in the corner where she belongs, and you’re telling not to take it?"
Lauren answered desperately, "Father would deal with her for sure, but she’ll recover. This isn’t the first ti. After all, Father still needs her in the end. Ziva would co back, and what do you think she’ll do to you after putting her through that torture?"
That gave Layla pause. Then she told Lauren, "So let’s say we keep quiet, and then what next? You saw what she just did. She threw Hannah under the bus, and we’re supposed to keep quiet about it? For all we know, we might be her next victims. Wake up, Lauren! I’d rather beco her enemy and sleep with my eyes wide open than be murdered in my sleep because I kept my defenses down."
"Layla," Angus said again, his voice low but thunderous with restrained rage. His gaze bore into her, dark and unrelenting. "Tell the truth. What do you know?"
Layla opened her mouth, her features hard with resolve. Except when she spoke, her words were instead,
"Yes, Ziva is right, Hannah ran away."
Angus frowned before his expression beca one of disappointnt. For a mont there, he thought she had a different report for him. But once again, it seed his children had learned to fear each other more than him.
He turned away, missing the distress on Layla’s face. As soon as the control lifted off, Layla turned to glare at her sister with a mixture of anger and betrayal. Of course, Layla had not ant to take Ziva’s side, but her sister had taken her off guard and put the words in her mouth.
"I’m sorry," Lauren whispered through their shared mindlink, guilt thick in her voice. But Layla imdiately slamd the connection shut.
What a fool!
Her fists clenched until her knuckles turned bone white. Her eyes welled up with tears of betrayal, but she pushed them back. She couldn’t break down in front of her father, or he’d suspect sothing was up. She couldn’t let her sister be punished for Ziva’s cri.
Although now, the three of them were dood once Angus found out the truth. Just like she feared, Ziva was a parasite that sucked the life out of everyone around her.
anwhile, Ziva breathed in relief. That had been far too close. But in the end, her siblings knew their place. They knew better than to challenge her.
"So Hannah is gone?" Angus murmured, more to himself than to the room. His fingers toyed absently with the rings on his hand, his expression distant, and unreadable.
Then, suddenly, his calculating eyes locked on Ziva.
"So you lied to ."
Ziva’s heart stumbled. For a terrifying mont, she thought he saw through the entire charade.
"What?" she asked, feigning confusion.
Angus didn’t flinch. "The day I returned, you said everything was under control."
Shit. Ziva knew she had fucked up.
"You had just co back from your trip, Father," she rushed to explain, "I didn’t want to burden you with bad news. I thought I could find her on my own like I did with Rose." She dropped that last line like bait, hoping he’d rember her past successes and pardon her.
But Angus chuckled darkly. "Except that’s where you’re wrong. In the past, you told about Rose, and I gave you permission to find her, didn’t I?" He paused, eyes boring into Ziva. "Or am I misrembering?"
Ziva said nothing. Because it was true.
She had confessed everything to him the mont she uncovered the truth about Rose. And he had given her full permission to find the girl—by any ans necessary.
Lauren and Layla forgot how to breathe when they saw their father slowly turn toward the wardrobe. He opened it and pulled out a wicked-looking black, braided leather whip, with jagged ridges glinting under the light. It was cruel in design and even crueler in purpose.
Angus ran his hand slowly across the length of it, relishing the feel. The leather was smooth yet deadly, stiff from age, with a rich scent of oil. But more than that, he relished the fear that passed between his daughters.
Ziva masked her emotions well.
The twins did not.
Returning to them with a chilling calm, Angus began to preach, "What have I always taught you girls about lying? But even worse than that, what did I say about the omission of truth?"
None of them said a word, their heart pounding at this point.
"Lauren," Angus suddenly commanded, "get here."
"What?!" Ziva and Layla shouted in unison, the color draining from Lauren’s face.
Layla stepped forward, saying with a panicking tone. "Father, she didn’t say anything—"
"Exactly." Angus’s voice was steel. "She knew the truth and chose to stay quiet. That, Layla, is far worse. She’ll be the scapegoat. One sacrifice to teach the three of you who holds the authority in this house."
He turned his cold stare toward the trembling Lauren.
"Co here."
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