Landon threw the door open, but the hallway was empty.

His heart, which had been pounding in his chest, finally settled.

Hiding around the corner, I answered the call. Landon's gentle voice came through the receiver.

"Aria, I heard about your parents. I'm so sorry."

"Aria, you still have me. I've already had my assistant book our appointment for the marriage license..."

He didn't mention Lila once.

He was trying to use the marriage license as a reward, a way to numb me to the truth.

But Landon, I stopped wanting to marry you a long time ago.

"Okay."

The appointment was for three days from now. I made a call of my own, booking the funeral home for the same day.

When Wraith called me, he was silent on the other end of the line.

"I want all the evidence of Lila Hayes's crimes, and the video of her and Landon together. Three days from now, at the memorial service, I want them to become a disgrace in front of everyone."

"Done."

"And one more thing. Contact Julian Hayes. Ask him if he still wants the family business."

Landon, perhaps you've been retired from the game for too long. You've forgotten that the only reason Wraith was ever loyal to you was because of me.

Without me, you never would have climbed to where you are.

And I can pull you down from that throne just as easily.

When I left the crematorium, I was holding three urns.

Everyone on the street looked at me with pity in their eyes.

But I was so numb I couldn't feel a thing.

Landon's car pulled up smoothly in front of me. His eyes flickered when he saw the three urns in my arms.

He opened his mouth to say something.

But then, the passenger-side window rolled down, and Lila's face appeared.

"Aria, my brother and I came to pick you up and take you home."

She wore an expression of pure innocence, as if she had nothing to do with any of it.

And on the surface, she didn't.

I stood by the passenger door, unmoving, unspeaking.

"Aria, you can sit in the back. Lila's not feeling well today..."

Landon's guilty voice trailed off. Without waiting for him to finish, I got into the back seat.

The entire ride, Lila chattered away, clinging to Landon's arm. I remained silent, my face a mask.

In the rearview mirror, Landon's eyes kept darting toward me.

Finally, he spoke, his tone placating.

"I'll arrange the funeral for your parents and Josie."

"Just stay home and rest for the next few days. Then, in three days, we'll go get our license, okay?"

I met his eyes in the mirror and nodded. "Okay."

For some reason, Landon felt a sense of unease.

For the next two days, he stayed by my side, comforting me, trying to coax me back to my old self.

Lila watched from the sidelines, grinding her teeth in frustration.

But I remained a ghost, never saying more than a single word to him.

On the day we were supposed to get the license, Lila blocked my path as I was leaving my room.

"Your parents and sister are dead, and you're still thinking about getting married?"

"You're so heartless. Aren't you afraid your family will cry in their graves?"

I curved my lips into a semblance of a smile and walked around her.

"The only thing you want is to stop me from marrying Landon, right?"

"Well, that's exactly what I'm going to do."

Behind me, I heard Lila's shriek of frustration, but I didn't look back as I got into a cab.

"The funeral home, please."

In the rearview mirror, I saw Lila's red sports car peel out and follow me.

Outside the city hall, Landon waited for a long time, but I never showed up.

When he finally got through to my phone, his voice was frantic. "Aria, aren't you here yet?"

"Aria, where are you?"

I let out a cold laugh. "I'm at the funeral home, Landon."

"Oh, and by the way, your sister Lila is here, too."

I heard a sharp intake of breath on the other end, followed by the roar of a car engine.