Lorenzo's jaw ticked. "The hostel had no chefs?"
Serena took a sip of water. "Nope."
Silence.
Dangerous silence.
Lorenzo was thinking. Connecting dots.
Serena could feel it.
His mind piecing things together, like a puzzle he hadn't realized was missing pieces until now.
"Say something. Change the subject. Move."
She placed the glass down, stretching her arms like she was bored of the conversation.
"Anyway, we should call it a night."
She turned toward the door. Almost free.
Almost safe.
But then-
"Serena."
Her feet stopped.
His voice wasn't sharp. Wasn't demanding.
It was low. Careful. Laced with something she couldn't place.
She swallowed, forcing herself to look over her shoulder.
Lorenzo's face was blank. But his eyes?
Storming. Calculating. Thinking.
"Shit."
"Go to bed," he finally said.
Serena hesitated.
Then nodded.
She turned and walked out, her steps measured, her pulse hammering in her chest.
The second she was gone, Lorenzo exhaled sharply, pressing his hands against the counter.
His grip tightened around the edge.
His mind raced.
"We had to cook at the hostel."
"The hostel had no chefs?"
"Nope."
He stared at the empty plate in front of him.
His appetite was gone.
Something wasn't adding up.
Something was very, very wrong.
The hostel their father had sent her to-it was supposed to be high-end. Private. Well-maintained.
He had seen the paperwork.
He had never questioned it.
Because why would he?
Why would he ever think that their father-a man who protected his family above all else-
Would send Serena somewhere where she had to cook her own meals?
"What else did she have to do?"
"What else did they make her do?"
His fingers twitched against the counter.
Serena had brushed it off, but the way she had left the room so quickly-
She was hiding something.
And Lorenzo was going to find out exactly what it was.
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Warm.
YOU ARE READING
The ties that bind
RandomA family that once loved her. A crime she never committed. And a past that won't stay buried. For years, Serena Rossi lived in hell, locked away in a place that felt more like a prison than a school. She was punished for a crime she didn't commit-at...
Chapter 18: Midnight Secrets and Burnt Toast
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