Chapter 147

Ella

I stood frozen in a secluded section of the garden, bathed in the dim glow of hanging lanterns that failed to dispel the chill creeping up my spine. Marina stood behind me, the cold metal of her knife pressing into my neck. I felt frozen in place, lost without my wolf’s strength, and utterly alone.

“What is this all about, Marina?” I asked, keeping my voice as steady as I could manage.

Her smirk widened. “You’re smart, Ella. A good lawyer and an even better fake girlfriend. You play the part well, but it’s time for you to stop.”

My eyebrows knit together. “Stop what, exactly?”

“Stop being the damsel who always gets in the way of my plans,” she snapped. “I want Harry’s fortune, and you and your precious Logan keep stumbling in the way.”

The audacity of her statement floored me. “So you’re just going after Harry’s fortune? That’s it?”

Marina’s eyes flickered in the surface of the water, and her smirk returned. “He has a lot to offer, and not just money. Influence, power, connections—things you don’t need.”

I shook my head in disbelief. “You’re deranged. And Harry’s just as twisted as you are.”

She laughed, a jarring sound that echoed through the night air. “Oh, please. As if you don’t know that already. But you’re missing the point, Ella. I need you out of the way.”

“Or what?” I challenged.

Her expression darkened. “Or things could get very unpleasant for you.”

“You’re threatening me?”

Her laugh was shorter this time. “Threatening? No, darling, I’m warning you. Do you remember that little incident in the subway a while back? The two men who gave you such a fright?”

My heart thudded in my chest. “You were behind that?”

“Call it a… trial run,” she confirmed, looking altogether too pleased with herself. “And yet, you still didn’t get the message.”

“I’m not scared of you,” I retorted, even though my pulse was racing.

“Maybe you should be,” she purred, pressing the knife a little harder into my neck. “Especially since you’re being watched. Right now, as we speak.”

The chill that had been creeping up my spine now enveloped me. “What are you saying?”

Her eyes gleamed in the dim light. “I have a hitman, Ella. He’s been following you, watching your every move. You never know when he’s going to pounce. It might be when you’re alone in your apartment, or maybe when you’re walking to work. Hell, maybe it’ll be tonight.”

The threat was so direct, so brutal, it knocked the wind out of me. Marina had just escalated things to a life-threatening level.

“Marina, you’re insane,” I finally managed to say, my voice tinged with both anger and disbelief.

She leaned in, her voice dropping to a whisper. “Not insane, Ella. Just committed. Committed to getting what I want. And what I want is for you to back off. It’s that simple.”

I stood there, unable to find the right words. I had known that Marina was manipulative, but this—this was on another level.

“But why?” I finally found myself asking. “Why go to such lengths? Why resort to this kind of madness?”

She released her grip on me and stepped back, and her face softened into a more contemplative expression, although it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Because, Ella, in this world, you’re either given what you want, or you take it by force. It’s that simple.”

“You’re willing to go to prison for this?” I asked. “Because that’s where you’ll end up when you’re caught.”

Her smile returned, cold and calculating. “Who said anything about getting caught?”

“And what makes you think I’ll just step aside? That I’ll let you threaten me, endanger my life, and not fight back?”

Marina’s expression tightened, and she glanced away for a moment before looking back at me. The knife was still held in her hand, her knuckles white from gripping it so tightly. “Because, Ella, there is more than one hitman in the world. And your little sister… Oh, she’s not nearly as watchful as you are.”

It felt as though all the air was sucked out of me, and I couldn’t breathe. I stared at Marina, trying to process what I was hearing. My sister? Daisy? A hitman? I felt like I was going to be sick.

“You wouldn’t dare,” I growled, taking a step back.

Marina smirked as she inspected the blade of her knife. “Oh, but wouldn’t I?” she whispered, her voice menacing as ever.

I stared at her for what felt like an eternity, processing her words. I wanted to call her bluff, but I knew that there was none to call. Marina was dead serious; she had a hitman trained on my little sister, maybe even right now.

“Fine,” I said, exhaling slowly as I made my decision. “I’ll do what you want, but you have to leave me and my family alone. No more threats. No more stalking. No hitmen.”

A slow smile spread across her face, as if she had just won the lottery. “I can do that.”

“But understand, I can’t just snap my fingers and make things change overnight,” I continued. “Ending things with Logan, disentangling from my current life—it’s complicated. It takes time.”

Marina glanced at her designer watch, a showy piece of gold and diamonds. “How much time are we talking about?”

I considered the intricacies, the delicacy of emotions and legality that surrounded the arrangement I had with Logan. “Give me three months.”

Marina held my gaze for a moment, and I could almost see the gears turning in her mind. “Fine. Three months it is. But remember, Ella, you’re on a tight leash.”

It was a hard pill to swallow, but it was the only option. “Alright. Understood.”

Just then, I heard it—my name being called through the soft night air. “Ella? Ella, where are you?”

It was Logan’s voice, filled with concern. My heart leapt at the sound, but dread filled me just as quickly. Marina’s hand darted to her pocket, swiftly hiding the knife she had been toying with. Her eyes bore into mine, a deadly serious look overtaking her features.

“Remember: you’re always being watched, Ella. Always. If you breathe a word of this to Logan, you’re dead. And let’s just say, Daisy will suffer an even worse fate.”

I nodded, fear cementing the agreement more than any spoken word could. “I understand.”

Marina’s expression changed in an instant, her face lighting up as she caught sight of Logan approaching us. She turned to him, her lips curling into a perfectly pleasant smile. “Logan, what a lovely evening. Ella and I were just enjoying a nice walk in the garden.”

I felt sick, but I had to keep up the act, not just for my sake but for everyone I cared about. I swallowed hard, forcing a brave face. “Yeah, Logan, it’s a beautiful night. I just needed some fresh air.”

Logan reached us, his eyes darting between Marina and me. I couldn’t read his expression—whether he bought our story or not—but he let out a small sigh. “Okay, I was getting worried. Must’ve been a false alarm.”

My heart ached at his words, longing to tell him the truth but knowing that I couldn’t. I nodded, holding his gaze for a moment longer than necessary, as if trying to communicate a thousand unsaid words. “Yeah, false alarm.”

Marina shot me one last glance, a twisted smile that made my skin crawl. “Well, I should get going. Enjoy your evening, you two.”

And just like that, she turned and sauntered off, leaving a chill in her wake that left me feeling frozen to my spot. I watched her go, finally letting out a breath I didn’t know I had been holding.

Logan looked at me once she was gone, a look of concern still clouding his features. “Are you sure you’re alright?”

I met his gaze, and for a fleeting moment, I almost considered risking it all. Risking it all to warn him, to tell him everything. But I couldn’t. The walls came back up almost as quickly as they had broken down.

“Yeah,” I said, nodding. “I’m fine.”

He let out a deep breath, his shoulders slumping in relief. “Alright. If you say so.”