Chapter 137: Pretty little liar

Gideon

Sunlight was bleeding through the curtains when I woke, and the first thing I registered was the warmth pressed against my side.

Her.

Ivy was curled into me with one leg slung over my thigh, her cheek smushed into my chest and one small hand fisted in the sheet near my ribs. The sea breeze lifted the curtains and laid a bar of gold across her shoulder.

Her brown hair was everywhere, wild and tangled across the pillow, and a strand of it was caught at the corner of her mouth. Her lips were parted and her lashes fluttered against her cheek.

Without thinking, I brushed the hair out of her face and eyed the auburn roots showing.

She looked so pretty.

A pretty little liar.

The investigator’s email had come in at 2:00 a.m., and I had read it in the dark while she slept against me.

No record of an Ivy Harpley in the national database. No birth certificate, no school records, no tax filings, no marriage license. The name appears to be a fabrication.

So who the hell was sleeping in my bed?

She gave a little sigh and nuzzled deeper into my chest. I eased out from under her slowly, careful not to wake her.

She made a small sound of protest, her hand searching the empty space where I had been, and then she rolled onto her stomach and buried her face in the pillow.

The thin sheet pooled at her hips, and my eyes traced the small, star shaped birthmark on her hip before I dragged my attention away and left the room.

Downstairs, the villa smelled like coffee and butter. Roman stood at the stove in a pair of gray sweats, flipping pancakes with one hand and humming under his breath.

Kai was sprawled on his back across the island counter with his legs dangling off the edge and a mug balanced on his stomach, reading something on his phone with his head tilted.

They both looked up when I walked in.

"Morning, sunshine," Kai chirped.

"We didn’t want to wake you, G," Roman beamed, sliding a stack of pancakes onto a plate. "I know how you sleep. I was jealous you got to sleep with Vivi in your arms, though. Is she still out?"

"She is." I sat down to eat and cut a piece of pancake. I ate in silence while Kai tapped rapidly on his phone and Roman hummed a lullaby our mother used to sing long ago. The coffee was bitter and the pancakes tasted like nothing at all.

"Should we take Vivi to that place..."

My phone rang and interrupted Ro. I picked it up without looking at the screen. "Gideon Knight."

"Mr. Knight." The voice on the other end was a professional, female voice. "This is the housekeeping agency. I do apologize for the delay in reaching you. We wanted to confirm the arrangements before we finalized."

"Go on."

"We regret to inform you that your housekeeper, Miss Ivy Thompson, has passed away."

My brows rose in surprise. "Passed away?"

"Yes, sir. She died two days ago. We only just received confirmation from her emergency contacts. We are so sorry for the inconvenience. We can arrange for a replacement housekeeper to be sent to the estate within the week, if that would be convenient."

"I see."

A thousand thoughts crashed against each other in my head. If the housekeeper was dead, then who the hell was upstairs in my bed?

"Sir?" the woman prompted. "Would you like us to proceed with a replacement?"

"When did she die, exactly?"

"Two days ago. Monday night, as we were told. If you would like, we can send her obituary and a photograph for your records."

"Do that, please. Thank you. Hold off on the replacement for now. I’ll get back to you."

"Of course, Mr. Knight. Good morning."

The line clicked dead. I set the phone down on the counter, my brows furrowed as thoughts rolled around in my head.

The woman who had stood on that curb arguing with Ivy was dead within the week. I did not believe in coincidence, and I disliked what the alternative implied.

Either someone had silenced the real housekeeper, or the woman upstairs knew more about her death than she had ever let on. I wasn’t prepared to ask which.

"What the fuck was that?" Kai had rolled off the counter and was on his feet, his mug abandoned. "You went all stone faced. Who died?"

My phone buzzed a minute later with an incoming email. I opened it, and there it was, a small black and white photograph of a woman.

Ivy Thompson.

I turned the phone around and held it up.

"This was supposed to be our actual housekeeper."

Roman leaned in first, his brows knitting together. "Wait. I know that face."

"You know her?" Kai scoffed.

"Vivi said..." Roman dragged a hand through his blonde curls, his voice coming out slower. "She came to the estate one time, and Vivi said she was her cousin."

Kai grabbed the phone and squinted at it.

"I’ve met her as well," I said. "The day Milo and I went to the police station when Tyler was being interrogated, she was standing on the curb with Ivy, arguing with her. When I asked who she was, Ivy told me it was her sister."

"Cousin or sister?" Kai grunted.

"That’s obviously a fucking lie. Okay, I knew she was hiding things, but not this. If that’s our housekeeper..." Kai dropped the phone onto the counter as if it burned him. "Who the fuck is Ivy, actually?"

"That is what I intend to find out."

Roman shook his head. "There’s probably just a misunderstanding. The agency must have made a mistake."

"So it’s just a coincidence that Ivy was with this woman and lied about their identity?"

"They could really be cousins," Roman argued blindly. I knew my brother just didn’t want to face the truth.

"Two sisters named Ivy? Ha! Think with your head and not your dick!"

"Calm down, Kai," I murmured, ruminating through my thoughts.

"We should just ask her," Ro suggested. "I’m sure she would have an explanation."

A bitter chuckle slipped from my lips. "Of course she would, Ro. Ivy Harpley always has an explanation for everything, whether it makes sense or not. How many more lies has she told us?"

I tapped the email from the private investigator and showed them. "Ivy Harpley doesn’t even exist."

Roman paled and backed away, his hazel eyes glittering with disbelief. "Then who... who is she?"

"I have an inkling. We will know when we meet with Tatiana today, the moment we land. I hope for her sake..." My head fell back as I glared up at the ceiling, recalling Ivy’s little sigh when she nuzzled against my chest.

I crushed the pang in my chest and dismissed it. "That my suspicions are not true."