Chapter 182
Chapter 182:
“No.” Eliza shook her head. “I can’t let you. It’s my family’s mess p>
“I am your family,” Dallas said, rising to face her.
“But they are my blood. And they despise charity. If you buy it, they’ll only resent me more. I need to go there myself. Face them. Make sure they don’t burn my mother’s work,” Eliza said, her voice firm but gentle. “I need closure, Dallas p>
He clenched his jaw. She could see it in the set of his shoulders — he wanted to fix this with a single phone call, to wrap her in something impenetrable and not let her leave.
“I’ll come with you,” he offered.
𝗗і𝘴c𝘰𝗏𝖾𝗋 𝗻𝗲𝘸 𝗌𝗍𝗈r𝘪𝘦s 𝗈𝘯
“No. If you come, all they’ll see is a checkbook. Or they’ll see the Koch name and try to leverage it. I need them to see me.” She held his gaze. “I’ll take the train. I need time to think. I’ll be back in two days. Trust me p>
“Eliza,” he warned, his voice low.
She kissed him. “I love you. I’ll be fine p>
She went to the bedroom to pack. At the dresser, she opened her jewelry box and looked at the engagement ring. The diamond caught the light — a declaration, a beacon. Where she was going, it was also a target.
With a quiet pang of regret, she slid it from her finger and tucked it carefully into the velvet lining of the box.
In the living room, Dallas sat with his phone in his hand. His expression had settled into something dark and unreadable.
He typed a message to Zane.
She goes to Havenport. By train. She thinks she’s alone. Watch her. If anyone touches her, break them.
The train rattled along in a steady, hypnotic rhythm that did nothing to calm Eliza’s nerves. The city skyline had long since disappeared, replaced by grey sprawling suburbs and, eventually, the desolate coastline of Long Island.
She scrolled through the photos on her phone. The Solomon Estate. It had once been beautiful. In the low-resolution images Buck had sent, it looked like a corpse.
Her phone rang.
An unknown number — the same 516 area code as her uncle’s call. She assumed it was Buck or his lawyer and answered.
“Hello p>
“Don’t go to Havenport,” Anson said. No greeting. No apology.
Eliza looked around the car instinctively. It was mostly empty. A businessman asleep against the window. A teenager lost in headphones. A man in a nondescript dark jacket with a cap pulled low over his eyes, seemingly absorbed in his phone two rows back.
“How do you know where I’m going p>
“I know Buck,” Anson said, his voice taut with urgency. “He’s desperate. He’s in debt to bad people — not banks. Loan sharks. A man named Dante Luna p>
“You would know about bad people,” Eliza said.
“Eliza, listen to me for once! Get off at the next stop. Turn around. I sold my watch — the last thing of value I had. I have cash. I can give it to you to pay them off. Let me handle it p>