The Evil Stepsister (Fairytale Killers #2)

There Is Still A Chance We Pull This Off

Viorel and Stan got a text, both raised their eyes at Oz, looked at each other, smiled, then approached the car he was waiting in. No plans yet for the twins, so it had been a long crawl through the day.

"What did you do?" Viorel's boxer face failed to be warmed by his grin, "The guys say he's been screaming at his daughters in his office about a sex tape. I can't believe you're the guy Franco is gonna blame this on," he laughed.

Stan led the way, "He told us to bring you to his office. Did you lose sight of them and they went all wild on some poor guy? Or better yet, did you fuck them?"

"Plural, seriously?!" Oz shook his head, walking as if not forced by them to Franco's office.

The old man loomed dark with anger, his salt-and-pepper mustache made whiter by the contrast.

His daughters sat in the armchairs in front of the desk, leaving no choice for Oz other than stand awkwardly behind them, neither of the twins turning their head to acknowledge him. A mobile stand had been brought in to hold a monitor up, rare in Franco's office. Oz swallowed his fear of finding out how he performed on a flat-screen TV.

"I wanna play you a video," Franco started, then looked down at his daughters, "Too bad your mother is not here to see it. Can't seem to find her."

It was taking too long, Alina Walter should've been done signing papers.

Whatever Oz thought he'd feel while watching a video of his night with a woman whose name he didn't know, it was a thousand times worse when he realized it wasn't that video. It was a security tape showing Entropy's wall--a spot she took him, too, his hands feeling their way under leather and black lace. On the monitor, she had a shiny black dress that he recognized: it was the one she was wearing when she'd left the house after he'd kicked her out of bed. The man in the video, his back turned to the camera, had jeans and a white shirt, covering her body with his, sometimes letting her head become visible over his shoulder, whenever he lifted her so that he could enter her better. The only parts of her body constantly in the frame were her arms around his neck.

Oz made an effort to watch it through, as no one was saying anything. It reminded him of when he was a child and he and his brother hit each other in the stomach until one of them vomited. Four minutes in, he couldn't take it anymore, "When was this taken?" As if he didn't know.

"I pay you to tell me," Franco said, purple with rage. "The Rawlings sent it to me, it's from their security cameras. They moved the visit for tomorrow. Is there any point at all?!" he screamed at his daughters.

For the first time, Oz dared to look towards the sisters, different again. One looked at the monitor, as if it was all new information, almost amused. The other had her head down, eyes closed.

"So do I have a wife for Rawlings or do I just present Catalina and hope she hasn't managed to elude this house's security too?"

His fist hit the table, "Talk, or I take it up with your mother!"

At that, Innocent Twin looked him in the eyes, "Yes."

"So we are still in the cards?" Franco found some hope. He didn't wait for a verbal answer, realizing the deflated shoulders belonged to the woman staring on camera, so he asked the sister that could look at him, "You swear? Are you sure they're not coming here just to see how I've failed as a father?"

"Yes," she answered.

"I want a name! Which one are you?"

"Caterina."

So Naughty Twin was Carmela. Good to know. Oz didn't have time to enjoy the new information, because Franco turned to him.

"Fortunately, there is still a chance, however small, that we pull this off." He measured the twins, "Your mother played it smart when she had two of you. I'll communicate to Rawlings your apologies and remorse, willingness to do whatever it takes to fix it."

"Get out of here," he told Oz. "If the Rawlings leave without one of them tomorrow, I'm not gonna kill you, cause it's not like this is her losing her virginity. It just happened on your watch that Rawlings caught her. So it's gonna be a leg or a finger or something. You won't die."

Oz nodded, too weak to defend himself. He felt like the pain of losing a finger would've been a welcome change to the source of his discomfort. Jealousy had never been one of his issues with women, and there he was, going crazy over Carmela Walter.

"Get out," Franco cut his ordeal short.