Arranged To Be|18+✔️

36'

(Back to Zariah's Pov)

When Czar and I exited the bathroom, we quickly looked around to see if anyone had noticed. It seemed that since we'd gone in, the boardwalk had grown more deserted.

"Let's go," Czar said, taking my hand and guiding me toward the car.

Butterflies fluttered in my stomach. My breathing was still uneven from what we'd just done, but something inside me had shifted. I felt like a new woman. Whatever had possessed Czar to take me like that—I wasn't complaining. It felt like all the tension between us had melted away.

"We're going to inform Annika about the situation. I'm sure she'll have a few words for us," Czar said as he opened the car door for me.

My stomach tightened at the thought. Annika was going to be livid once she found out we planned on taking her daughter away from her adoptive family. But letting Liam find her first wasn't an option.

"So Liam was never really mad about you killing his girlfriend? It was just about the child?" I asked, still trying to wrap my head around it.

"I'm sure he was upset about her death, but realizing Annika was pregnant and kept it from him... that's what pushed him over the edge," Czar said as he pulled out of the lot.

"Still doesn't make sense. Why go after you? Why not Annika? What could she have possibly told him?"

"That's what we need to find out," Czar said, jaw tight.

*

When we arrived at the house, Czar told me to wait upstairs while he went down to the basement to speak with Annika.

"I'm coming too. I want to know why this is happening to us," I said firmly.

He raised a brow at my choice of words, us, but said nothing. He opened the basement door and let me go down first.

I'd only been down here once before, when I saw Czar beat a man until he couldn't stand. I never found out what the guy had done, but it must've been something unforgivable.

It didn't smell as bad now. The floor was clean, no blood in sight. Annika sat in a chair, her hands behind her back. Her eyes were swollen and puffy.

"We came to talk," I said, folding my arms as I stared at her.

She looked up slowly, as if already expecting what was coming.

"About?" she asked in a cracked voice.

"Why did you kill... why did you kill Mom?" Czar asked.

I could feel the weight of those words. His twin sister. His mother. The betrayal cut too deep.

"He... he threatened me, Czar," Annika sobbed. "He said if I didn't do what he asked, he'd find Alina. He said he'd take her away and..."

She couldn't even finish.

Alina. That had to be her daughter.

"That doesn't make sense. Liam wouldn't hurt Alina, she's his child," Czar said.

"He doesn't want her hurt. He wants revenge. He wants our family to fall. He's angry at all of us—for taking Alina away, for what our father did to him."

Czar tensed. "What do you mean? What did Dad do?"

My stomach dropped.

Annika didn't need to answer. I already knew. And the truth clawed its way up my throat.

"Oh my God," I whispered, covering my mouth.

Annika met Czar's gaze. "Do you really think Dad would just let some stranger into our home? Let him know everything about our lives?"

Czar's face shifted. Realization dawned in his eyes.

"He did it to Liam before he ever did it to me," Annika said through sobs. "For years. And when Liam found out what he did to me too... he lost it. He killed him. But he never told you, because he didn't want to lose you. You were his best friend. So he suffered in silence. Then you killed his girlfriend... and I took his daughter."

She looked away, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"No wonder he wants us all to burn."

Czar didn't move. He just stood there, stone still. His expression unreadable.

I couldn't breathe. The air in the basement felt suffocating.

I turned and ran up the stairs, tears already spilling. My head spun. My heart pounded.

I collapsed to my knees at the top of the stairs.

"Oh God," I sobbed.

It all made sense now. Why Liam never told Czar. Why he wanted revenge. Why Annika had hidden Alina. Why she had killed her mother.

And why I was in danger.

"Oh God," I cried again, shaking as I covered my mouth, because somehow, I was in the middle of all of it. And I didn't know how to get out.

~*~

Whew! So much information to take in. Hehe. Back to back updates for you guys this week. I plan on having this book be at least 50 chapters long with a happy ending hopefully....Don't forget to comment, vote, and share. Until next time my lovelies.