Consumed by Deception (Deception Trilogy #3) by Rina Kent

Why…? Just why…would I do that?

I sag against the wall in the dim, narrow alleyway and stare up at Luca through my blurry vision. When I planned to escape with Jeremy and texted my childhood friend for help, I didn’t think he’d plot an entire masquerade. I never would’ve anticipated it was he who sent the circus clown to where I was waiting in the park in order to distract the guards and Jeremy so that he could pull me into this alley.

This is the same Luca who wanted me to not only spy on Adrian, but to also kill him—because I killed the mercenary he hired for the job.

Bile rises to my throat and I slap a hand on my mouth as the realization coils inside me, twisting and tugging on my heartstrings.

I killed someone.

To protect Adrian, I didn’t think twice about ending a person’s life. That’s why I went mad. That’s why somewhere in my mind, being Winter made more sense for my sanity.

She might have been homeless, but she was free and definitely not a murderer.

Luca snaps two fingers in front of my face, his impatience etched in his hard features. The leather jacket, black baseball cap, and mask give him the anonymity he religiously tries to achieve. I don’t remember him ever showing up in public with his face entirely visible. The stench of bleach coming from him fills my nostrils. He always has that distinctive smell, because he’s obsessed with cleaning. Before, I thought he had an OCD, but maybe it’s more to do with cleaning bodies and killing.

Somewhere in the gloomy corners of my mind, I recognized the smell when I was Winter. I was close to identifying him but couldn’t.

“I don’t have all day, Duchess.”

Hot red emotions bubble in my veins as I let my hand fall limp at my side. “What have you done to me?”

He lifts a shoulder. “I opened your eyes to the truth. I told you that Adrian has been using you all along because you’re Lazlo Luciano’s daughter.”

I jam a stiff finger in his chest. “The only one who’s been using me all this time is you, Luca. I considered you a friend, but you’ve been manipulating me all along. You’ve endangered my, my son’s, and my husband’s lives just because it serves your agenda.”

“My agenda? What the fuck, Duchess? Have you forgotten why Adrian is keeping you by his side?”

“That’s for me and him to sort out. You have no damn business to get between us.”

Luca’s eyes flash with unmasked rage and he grabs my arm, his gloved fingers digging into my coat. “You’re choosing him over me?”

“I’m choosing me over you, Luca. I don’t want anything to do with you anymore. Leave me and my life in peace and go away. If you ever hurt Yan or anyone else I care about again, I won’t hesitate to shoot you like I shot your man.”

It might make me crazy once and for all. I might lose my identity and become someone entirely different, but if it’s to protect my family, I’d do it again in a heartbeat.

My family.

My heart squeezes at that thought. Adrian and Jeremy are my family.

Believing that I had no relation to them for two months was the cruelest thing I could have gone through. I thought I was an imposter, that I was taking another woman’s husband and son when I had Adrian and Jeremy all along. Well, at least Jeremy.

Adrian is…another story.

The last time I saw him as Lia, I jumped off the cliff. My demons got the better of me and I didn’t think about Jeremy. I didn’t think about my life and the people I was leaving behind.

That’s what happens when your mind becomes your worst enemy. When its sole purpose is to destroy you from the inside out. It’s impossible to think past the demons’ whispers and the need to end it all. Past the thought that by ending it, I could make everything fine.

I was wrong, of course. So utterly wrong. And I would’ve made a huge mistake had it not been for Adrian.

He brought me back.

That thought causes my heart to thump wildly in my chest, slamming against my ribcage. Even when I chose to be Winter, my husband got me back and treated me as Lia.

He also refused to call me Winter, even when I begged him to. Even when I threw tantrums and demanded it.

Even when he could’ve easily made me into Winter.

And that touches a deep, dark corner of my soul. One that had no light, no hope, and no way out.

One that considered the cliff my last resort.

“You think you can go against me, Lia?” Luca steps closer until his chest nearly flattens against mine. His grip on my arm is unyielding, as if he plans to twist and break it.

“I don’t want to, but I will if I have to.”

“I thought we were friends.”

“I thought so, too, but I’m not friends with people who use me.”

“What about Adrian?”

My chest squeezes at the mention of his name. I think it’s impossible for me to be unaffected whenever it comes to my husband. “What about him?”

“I’ll tell him everything you did over the years.”

“I’ll talk to him. He’ll understand.”

“Adrian?” he scoffs. “You’re so delusional, Duchess. He’s the type who executes people if they have the mere thought of crossing him. Now, if he learns his wife has been spying on him, how do you think he’ll react?”

The thought of being the target of Adrian’s wrath makes me flat out shake. He’s really terrifying when angry and not only because he hurts me, but also because of his silent treatment. I’d rather he fuck me and punish me until I can’t move instead of giving me the cold shoulder.