Chapter 124: She is not real
The late afternoon sun filtered through sheer curtains, casting warm light across the room where Mara sat, curled up on the window bench with a book in her lap she hadn’t turned a page of in over an hour. Ethan then Rafael, Memories.
Mara sensed him before he knocked. The door creaked open slowly. Stanley stepped in, his expression unreadable. Mara blinked, smiling softly.
"You’re quiet. That’s never a good sign with you." Stanley offered a ghost of a smile but didn’t sit. His hands were shoved deep into his pockets, and Mara’s instincts stirred.
"What is it?" she asked, heart skipping. "Stanley?"He finally spoke, voice heavy.
"It’s Rhina." The name hit her chest like a soft thud. "What about her?"
He looked at her now. Direct. Honest. And Mara already knew. Her stomach dropped.
"She’s been working with Philip."
Silence. "What?" Mara whispered, blinking as if the words hadn’t landed right.
Stanley stepped closer. "We found a money trail. Steve confirmed it. She’s been receiving payments from one of Philip’s shell companies. She admitted it to me last night he sent her here to infiltrate the family. To get to you, to us."
Mara’s breath caught in her throat. "She... she looked me in the eye and told me she was happy you made her feel safe."
"She lied to me." Stanley nodded slowly. "She says she didn’t plan to fall for me. That what she felt was real. But Stef, she had instructions. And she followed them until now."