CHAPTER THIRTEEN
The orchestra was halfway through Tchaikovsky’s fourth movement when the rehearsal room doors slammed open. Ana’s baton never wavered, though her pulse quickened at David’s disheveled reflection in the wall–length minors.
His tie hung loose around his neck, and even from the podium, she could smell the bourbon on him.
She kept conducting, her movements precise and controlled. The strings swelled into crescendo, almost drowning out David’s unsteady footsteps.
Almost
“Step,” he slurred, stumbling toward the stage. “Everyone needs to stop.
Aria brought the orchestra to silence with a sharp flick of her wrist. The quiet that followed felt like the moment before a thunderstorm.
“David,” she said softly, concem dripping from each syllable. “You shouldn’t be here
He laughed, an ugly sound that echoed off the high ceiling. “Where should t be, Aria? At home, pretending I don’t know what a manipulative bitch you are? Gasps rippled through the orchestra. Phones appeared like fireflies in the dimness, their camera lenses catching the light
Perfect
“you’re drunk.” Aria set down her baton, careful to keep her hands visible and steady. “Let me call you a car.”
“Did you call Sofia a car?” David grabbed the stage edge, swaying. “Before she fell? Or did you just push her off that roof yourself?”
Ice slid down Aria’s spine. This wasn’t part of her plan. Not yet. Not like this.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Her voice shook just enough to sound frightened rather than guilty. “You’re not making sense,
“Making sense?” David hauled himself onto the stage. Several musicians scrambled back. “Let me make it real simple then. You killed Sofia because you were jealous, and then you tumed around and spread your legs for my father.”
The words hit like physical blows. Aria felt her careful composure crack, genuine anger seeping through.
“Get out,” she whispered, hands clenching around empty alt. She wanted to wrap them around his throat instead.
“Did daddy issues run in the family? David advanced on her podium. “Is that why your mother fucked him too?”
Something snapped inside Aria’s chest. A darktide case, threatening to drown her carefully laid plans in pure rage. “Secunty!” she called, her voice steady despite the trembling in her limbs. More phones appeared, recording every moment. “Your mother was his whore,” David spat. “And now you’re following in her footsteps.”
Two security guards appeared, grabbing David’s arms. He thrashed against them, face contorted.
“You killed her! he screamed as they dragged him back “You killed Sofia! You’re trying to destroy my whole family!”
Aria pressed a hand to her mouth, tears welling perfectly on cur. Around her, the orchestra sat frozen, witnesses to her humiliation And her triumph.
The doors slammed behind David, his shouts fading down the hallway. Aria gripped the podium, letting herself shake.
“I’m so sorry,” she whispered to her musicians. “Llived a moment.
Shelled to her office, locking the door behind her. Only then did she allow herself to smile, the expression sharp enough to cut,
(tos
The performance had gone better than she could have scripted. David’s drunken arnusations, the phones recording every word, her own perfectly portrayed
victimhood.
But beneath the satisfaction, something darker stined. The thrill of manipulation had become a craving, each small victory feeding a growing hunger for more. She opened her laptop, already seeing the video clips spreading across social media. David’s reputation would be in tatters by nightfall. The thought should have pleased her. Instead, it left her wanting more.
I morning, Marcus found her in the conservatory. Sunlight streamed through stained glass, painting pattems across the plano keys. “David’s agired to seek treatment.” He stood in the doorway, his shadow stretching across the floor “A private facility in the town over Aria traced the edge of a key, not looking up. “That’s probably best.”
You could press charges. His beluviur yesterday-
“No.” She finally met his eyes. “I think he’s suffered enough.”
Marcus moved closer, his cologne mixing with the dusty air. “You’re too kind.”
“Am 1 The question slipped out before she could stop it.
Helt beside the piano torch, taking her hand. “Marryme, Aria. Let me protect you properly.”
She studied their joined hands, noting how his dwarfed hers. How easily he could crush her fingers, if he wanted to.
How easily she could crush him
“I need time,” she said, pulling away. “After yesterday everything ‘s so confused.”
“Of course.” He stood, adjusting his cufts. “Take all the time you need. I’m not going anywhere.”
That’s what you think, she nearly said.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Heen growing inside her singed, demanding expression.
After he left, Aria wandried the mansion’s halls until she found herself in the music inom Thili Heavy curtains blocked the windows, and instruments linked in shadows like sleeping beasts
She sat at the grand piano, its black suface reflecting her distorted image. The Ini
Her fingers found the keys without conscious thought. A melody emerged, daikant twisting, full of the rage slar’d suppressed during David’s outburst,
She grabbed blank sheet music from a nearby shelt, begluning to tu the. The notes thawed like poison from her pen,
This would be her masterpiece. Not just a symphony–a confession hidden in plain sight, every movement Holloway family.
Let them applaud their own undoing.
neasine a carefully crafted dose of
ut bercalculated destriction of the
Anawrote faster, the melody building in her mind like a gathering storm. Outside, darkness tell unnoticed as she posted her obsession onto the page, each note a step closer to complete victory.
O complete madness.
She wasn’t sure which anymore, Wasn’t sur she cared.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
