Chloe jumped back like someone had electrocuted her. Paula grabbed her arm with a trembling hand. Roman didn’t stop. He just kept walking forward. “I’m done being nice,” he said, voice dropping to a low growl. “Do what she said, or I’ll handle it myself. And believe me, you won’t like how I handle things.” “He’s bluffing,” Paula whispered. “He can’t do that. That’s against the law.” Roman arched an eyebrow. “Against the law?” He let out a laugh. “So is pseudocide. Fraud. Obstruction of justice. Public mischief. Emotional distress. Filing a false report.” Paula swallowed hard. He continued, “Which, for the record, is the legal vocabulary for your cute little revenge plot.” Chloe paled. “You’re both criminals,” Roman said calmly. “Fugitives. And if the world already believes you’re dead…” He tapped his finger against his temple. “Taking you out wouldn’t really matter, would it, Chloe?” Chloe nodded slowly, terror swallowing her whole. “No…”“Good.” His voice was almost cheerful now. “So here’s what’s going to happen.” He pointed between them. “Either you go back with us and confess to your crimes… or I have my men send you both to say hello to Asher Kingston.” A sweet smile stretched across his face. Chloe trembled. Paula looked like she’d faint. Paula broke first. “I’ll—I'll start packing.” I couldn’t help it and I laughed. A small, genuine bubble of disbelief and relief. Chloe’s voice came out tiny. “I’ll help her pack.” Roman shook his head. “No, you won’t.” He pointed at the phone on the table. “You’re going to sit down and call Zane until he answers. I’d like a word with him too.” Chloe froze, then whispered. “Zane’s not here. He moved out.” “We know he didn’t move out,” Roman said coolly. “Paula threw him out.” Roman tilted his head. “What was the reason?” The room went silent as Chloe and Paula exchanged a terrified look. And for the first time since I walked into that apartment, they must have realized something: This was over for them.Completely, absolutely over… ~~~~~~~ Chapter 201: I Need To See Zane Savannah I knew Chloe was going to lie before she even opened her little lying hole. “Nothing. We just had a disagreement,” she said, flapping her hands like an irritated teenager as she paced. “Besides, he’s useless around here. He doesn’t contribute to anything. Just whines and complains all day. It’s actually unbearable. Good thing Paula kicked him out.” Her chest rose and fell too quickly. Her jaw was tight. Her eyes kept darting everywhere but at me. She was lying. And not even trying to do it properly. But the lie wasn’t what hit me. It was the way she sounded so rehearsed, like she’d practiced that excuse too many times. “That’s a lie,” I said, my voice cutting through the room. “You’re lying, Chloe. That’s not the real reason Zane was kicked out. There’s something else. Something you’re not saying.” Her lashes fluttered. She shot a quick glance at Paula—just one, but fast, almost panicked—and then her expression hardened into cold annoyance. “You’re delusional.” She folded her arms like she needed to hold herself together. “What could I possibly be hiding? What reason would I have to lie? Zane was useless and irresponsible. End of story. What other reason is needed to justify his eviction from our shared residence?” “I don’t believe that,” I said simply. “Tell me the truth.” “There is no other truth.” Her voice pitched high, almost shrill. “What else do you want me to tell you, Sav? I’ve answered the question!” I stepped forward, intending to press harder, but Roman’s hand tapped my waist—light, but firm, a quiet warning. When I looked up at him, his expression was calm but his eyes were fixed on Chloe with a sharpness that made her shift her weight. “That’s alright,” Roman said calmly. “Go help Paula pack.” Chloe blinked at him as if startled that he wasn’t pushing further. Then she scowled at me—an ugly, defensive glare—before grabbing Paula’s hand and storming out of the room. The door hadn’t even fully closed when I turned to Roman. “Care to explain what that was?” I hissed under my breath. “Didn’t you see she was lying?” “I know.” I threw my hands up. “And? You should’ve let me press her more. I would’ve made her talk. I would’ve made her give us something.” “She wouldn’t have said a word,” he said, still staring in the direction they had left. His voice was controlled. Too controlled. “I need to see Zane. He’s got some answers I need to know.” A cold ripple went through me. “What answers? It’s obvious these girls aren’t going to say anything.” He didn’t respond immediately. Instead his jaw tightened slightly. It was barely noticeable unless you were looking. Roman was too calm. Calm in that dangerous way he got when something bigger was happening in his mind. Finally, he asked quietly, “How did your sister get rid of her pregnancy, again?” I blinked. “I don’t know. She didn’t tell me. She just said she got rid of it. She didn’t tell me how or why.” I frowned. “Why are you asking me that now? What does that have to do with anything?” Roman looked down at me, eyes colder. “Your sister has bruises on her body. I'm afraid there's no hope for that girl. Chloe is far too gone, my love.” My heartbeat stuttered. “What are you talking about?” “When you were holding her earlier, when she was crying… in your arms on the floor.” His jaw flexed. “I caught a glimpse of her skin as she struggled. Your sister has bruises, Sav. Dark ones. Even fresh ones. Someone put their hands on her.” The room tilted for a second. Chloe? Bruises? I hadn’t… I hadn’t seen any. I’d been so focused on her collapse, her tears, her trembling. I’d been so consumed with emotions and her past that I hadn’t even looked closely enough. But Roman had. Roman always did. “Do you mean… Do you think someone hit her?” My throat tightened. “Do you think it was intentional? What if she fell?” “Maybe.” His voice was quiet. “Nothing exactly sounds impossible at this point. And if she lost her pregnancy around that same time she got those bruises…” He let the sentence fall, unfinished but loaded. “There were two suspects in this house. And both of them are intentionally hiding something.”“No,” I whispered. “This makes no sense. Why would they abuse her? They’re supposed to be in this together—her, Paula and Zane. Why would she keep quiet if she was being hurt? Why stay with them?” “That’s the problem,” he said. “Nothing about these three makes sense. Their dynamic is wrong. It's very odd. It doesn’t also help that they seem hellbent on not saying anything. And I don’t think they’ve been telling you the truth since the moment we showed up here. At this point, anything can be a lie, Sav.” He paused, studying me before continuing. “I fear your sister is in danger and she doesn't even realize it yet because she's not in her right senses. I'm certain they’re feeding her something. Her eyes…” He shook his head. “I’ve seen that look before. You need to get her away from Paula. Quickly. She really needs help.” My stomach twisted violently. “Can’t we just threaten them?” I asked, my voice thinner than I wanted. “Is there not a way to force the truth out of them?” He exhaled slowly. “I made plans with Alonzo to—” He didn’t finish the sentence. His eyes shot past my head, and his entire posture changed instantly—shoulders stiffening, one hand rising, the other sliding behind me. “Get behind me, baby.” The tone. That tone. It froze my blood. He didn’t wait for me to comply. His arm wrapped around me in one swift move, guiding me back behind his body like a human shield. Only then did I see what he had already sensed. Paula stood in the hallway. Her hands were trembling violently. But not enough to stop her from holding a gun. And pointing it directly at us. The air sucked itself out of the room. For a moment, I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t think. The world narrowed to the sight of the black barrel shaking in Paula’s grip, her eyes wide and glassy with something closer to madness than fear. “Paula,” Roman said evenly, voice steady and terrifyingly calm. “Put the gun down.” She didn’t. Her chest lifted and fell in rapid, shallow bursts, like she was seconds from breaking apart. “You weren’t supposed to look into anything,” she whispered, almost too soft to hear. “You weren’t supposed to ask questions. I asked you to get out.” Roman subtly shifted, centering himself more squarely between me and the gun. His hand behind him pressed me further back, a silent command to stay put. “Paula,” he repeated, “I said, put the gun down.”