UNRAVELED WEB

Samantha's POV The suspense in the air was stifling, encircling me as though it sought every last hope from my body. Julian's eyes fixed us, his words like poison seeping into a fresh cut. Marcus knows everything, he had remarked. I found it difficult to breathe. Tight in my chest, my mind flew. Marcus might know, but how? How is he possibly one step ahead once more? Alex was next to me; his body poised to launch into action at any moment. Still, he couldn't suppress the shock his expression registered at Julian's comments. Thinking we may at last be on the attack, we had entered this warehouse and now felt as though we were caught in a game Marcus was still controlling from a distance. "What do you mean he knows everything?" Alex demanded, his voice quiet but lethal. Julian hardly moved. Though his face was dark, his eyes shone with steely clarity. You have seen. Marcus has known every stride and every action. From the first, he has been playing you both. I felt the earth slink slightly under me, the knowledge of our vulnerability washing over me like a tidal wave. Every scheme we put in place—every plan—had been pointless if Marcus had been watching the whole time. I responded, my voice shaking with incredulity, "That's impossible." "How could he have been seeing us? We have been deliberate. Julian laughed, a gloomy, humorless sound resonating over the empty factory floor. "When you deal with Marcus, care is insufficient. He is more than just a man dragging threads from the darkness. He is in everything and everywhere. You have been ignorant to his degree of influence. Alex clinched his teeth and narrowed his eyes. Then why do we still live? Given Marcus's perfect knowledge, why haven't we already been taken out? Julian's eyes swung to Alex, and something incomprehensible passed across his face. "Because he has been waiting for the perfect opportunity. Marcus slows down. He enjoys running the game and making his foes dance on his strings till he's ready to let them fly free. It was like a guy-grabbing punch. Though I knew we were facing something strong, this? This turned out to be a nightmare. How could we combat someone who knew our every movement before we even started? Always ten steps ahead? So what now? My voice just above a whisper, I asked. "What with us does Marcus want?" Julian turned to look at me, and for the first time I could see a flutter of something like sympathy in his eyes. "He wants to cause you pain. And he will destroy everything when he is finished. I backed off, my head whirling. This cannot be occurring. When it looked like every door was already closed, how could we rebel? Then, though, something changed inside me. a sliver of rebellion. I had come too far to let Marcus triumph without struggle now to give up. I was not the same woman who had fled a world I did not comprehend while fearing the shadows. I have too much survival experience. I had struggled too much to lose now. We're not done yet, I responded, my voice more forceful than I would have wanted. We are not going to let Marcus prevail. Julian's look softened, but it was tinged with something like resignation. Samantha, you just do not get it. Marcus already has a win under him. You haven't yet realized it. A great quiet descended around us, his words weighing down my chest. I resisted allowing it to break me though. Alex remarked, approaching Julian, his voice hard and deliberate: "Maybe." Still, you have survived this long. You thus have some knowledge. You know the way to reach him. Julian's eyes tightened once again, his mouth clenching as though he were deciding something. The only sound for a brief period was the soft buzz of the city outside the warehouse. Then he breathed, his shoulders slumping slightly. Julian continued, his voice low and reluctant, "There's one way." "But it's not what you think." "What would you mean?" My heart thumping with a mix of hope and terror, I asked. Julian moved forward, never straying from my sight. "You want to bring Marcus down? One only can accomplish that from the inside. And for that, you want someone who knows him better than anyone. Someone he believes in. Alex groaned and crossed his arms across his chest. And then who would that be? Dark smile pulled at Julian's mouth's corner. "Lila." The name shocked me like a slap, coursed through my body. La Lila? The woman who had supported us? From the outset, the woman who had looked to have her own agenda? "What are you talking about?" Demand drove me, my pulse pounding. Lila has been of great assistance to us. Julian gave out a sour laugh. Have she? Alternatively has she been pointing you straight into Marcus's trap? Once more, I felt the ground change underfoot. Are you right? Lila could have been working with Marcus all this entire time. My mind ran back to the phone message I had gotten. See her with mistrust. Had that been a warning about Lila all through? Though his voice was firm as he spoke, Alex seemed as startled as I did. Lila once turned on Marcus. Why would she be working with him still? Julian's face grew black. "Betrayal is an interesting concept." Sometimes it's only a means of approaching your true desire. You believe Lila turned away from Marcus? You believe she has been working on your behalf? She is juggling both of you. And you have been absolutely blind to notice it. The chilly awareness came to me like a smack to the face. Now it all made sense given the message, the way Lila had always seemed to know more than she let on. She had been guiding us down a road that would bring us right to Marcus. Rising in me was a wave of rage mixed with frustration and betrayal. "Why would she do that??" With a trembling voice, I asked. "Why would she help Marcus after everything?" Julian's eyes narrowed, his view steely and objective. " Marcus is power, therefore..." And the only issue Lila has ever given any thought is power. Alex moved toward Julian, his posture stiff with hardly controlled wrath. "Why are you still living if what you are saying is accurate? Knowing what you do, why hasn't Marcus killed you yet? Julian's smile faded, and for a split second his eyes showed a flutter of sensitivity. "Marcus needs something I know. Something he cannot acquire without me. "And what's that?" also Heart thumping in my chest, I asked. Julian hesitated, looking between Alex and me before he said at last. "Lila has an agenda; others also have one. Marcus is weak in one way. a frailty. And I alone know what it is. As Julian's comments sank in, the room seemed to get colder and the tension thickened. "What's the shortfall?" Alex insisted in a stern voice. Julian's face grew black. "You will discover. You must first, however, believe me. I looked at him, my head whirling. We could rely on him? Could we really expect Julian, a man who had been so near to Marcus, to turn on him now? But what other option did we have? Alex stepped forward, his eyes fixed on Julian, before I could talk. "I'll kill you myself should you be lying to us or working with Marcus." Julian grinned once more, but it was frigid and devoid of any warmth. "Good enough." The trip back was stressful, the weight of all we had discovered smothering us like a dark fog. I continued looking at Alex, wondering whether he shared my thoughts. Could we honestly rely on Julian? More significantly, given Lila's treachery was a possibility, could we trust one other now? Alex's hands held the driving wheel with white-knuckled determination, his jaw clenched. He seemed to be striving to keep himself together, to sort through all we had taught without allowing the wrath to control him. But I sensed the strain coming from him in waves. Finally disturbing the quiet, I remarked, "We need to confront her." "We have to find out whether Julian's claims are accurate." Alex's eyes flicked to me, his face austere. "And if it is?," then ask I drew hard, my tummy knot tightening. "We then handle it." Whatever it takes. He answered nothing, but the way he looked told me he was ready for whatever happened next. We both were. The lights still on when we returned to the safe house gave the front yard a spooky glow. As we got out of the car, my heart hammered, the weight of the confrontation hovering above like a rain cloud. Lila was waiting inside, seated at the little dining table sipping wine from a glass. Her eyes were keen as we arrived, but her expression seemed off—something I had not observed previously. She looked up. a flash of computation. "BACK so soon?" She inquired, her voice soft, but I could sense the strain under it. My chest constricting, I looked at Alex. This was it. The moment of truth. "Lila," I murmured, my voice steady even with