Page 31 of Let Sleeping Vampires Lie

“I know,” I said softly. “But he needs to speak without us listening.”

She nodded, though uneasily. Her violet eyes flicked toward Marcus one last time, suspicion simmering under her fury.

Con placed a hand on my lower back, guiding me toward the door. I didn’t resist. The emotional weight in the room was thick enough to choke on, and staying would have done nothing but twist the knife in Isra’s heart.

Before stepping out, I turned back.

Isra sat tall despite the heartbreak etched into every line of his face. His red sequins sparkled like a shattered sunset, the gown hugging his elegant frame as he stared at the man he trusted—the man who had failed him in ways that tore deeper than anyone else could reach.

Marcus looked shattered too.

Not in fear.

Not in guilt alone.

In remorse.

In the dread of losing something he had never expected to find.

They needed this conversation.

The kind where betrayal met explanation.

Where hurt met truth.

Where love was weighed against the consequences of lies told too late.

“We’ll be just outside,” I told Isra quietly.

He nodded, not looking up.

Con opened the door, and the four of us stepped out into the dim hallway, leaving Isra and Marcus in the heavy stillness of the suite.

The door clicked softly behind us.

Raven pressed her back to the wall, eyes closed, hands trembling at her sides. Jana hovered protectively near her, torn between wanting to comfort her mother and worrying about her father.

Con stood beside me in silence, his presence steady and unyielding.

None of us spoke.

Isra’s muffled voice drifted through the door—low, broken, and threaded with pain.

Marcus’ deeper tone followed, quiet and strained, attempting explanations we couldn’t hear clearly.

Raven’s head fell back against the wall, tears glinting at the edges of her eyes.

“He doesn’t deserve this,” she whispered.

“No,” I agreed. “But he deserves the truth.”

“And if Marcus is involved with more than he admitted?” she asked.

“Then we’ll handle it,” I promised.

Con nodded once. “Whatever it takes.”

Another silence followed.