Chapter 4 The lie between us

CHAPTER FOUR – THE LIE BETWEEN US

The bar was half-empty.

Not the kind with neon signs or college students-no. This one was dim, quiet, and meant for people who didn't want to be found. The kind of place where you could drink in peace, or plan a murder. Maybe both.

Vanessa sat in the far booth, nursing a cheap glass of whiskey she didn't like and couldn't afford. Her contact-an old friend from her journalism days-was late.

Or not coming.

Again.

"Of course," she muttered. "Because why would today not suck?"

Across the room, a man stepped through the door. Tall. Black coat. Familiar presence.

Vanessa's breath caught before her brain did.

Him.

"Oh, hell no."

She stood up fast, knocking the edge of the table with her thigh.

"I don't know who you are, but if you followed me here-"

"Relax," Marcos said calmly. "It's neutral ground. Didn't think you'd want to talk on your front porch."

His voice was smooth again. Familiar. Too calm.

She didn't sit.

"You're a stalker. Or a cop. Or worse."

"If I were a cop, you'd be in cuffs. If I were worse, you wouldn't be talking."

That shut her up-for a beat.

"So what are you?"

"Curious."

"About what?"

"Why someone like you won't let a dead girl stay buried."

That hit her like a slap.

And he saw it.

"Get out."

"Or what?"

"I'll scream."

"And I'll disappear before anyone believes you."

They stared at each other for a moment-hostile, breathless silence thick between them. Then:

"Sit down," she muttered, surprising even herself.

They sat across from each other like strangers in a game neither of them had agreed to play.

"So," she said. "You going to tell me your name this time?"

"Not yet."

"What, afraid I'll Google you?"

"Afraid you won't like what you find."

He wasn't smiling.

"You work for them," she said slowly. "Don't you?"

"Who?"

"The people who killed my sister."

He looked away. Not denial. Not confirmation.

"Tell me the truth," she said, voice tightening. "Mia didn't die in a random attack, did she?"

Marcos exhaled, long and slow.

"She was meeting someone the night she died. A man who worked for a shell company your sister had started digging into."

"Portside Logistics."

He nodded.

"She wasn't on assignment," vanessa said. "She wasn't working on a story. She told me she had a date."

"She lied."

Vanessa went quiet.

That broke something in her.

"You're saying she died because of me," she whispered.

"I'm saying she was chasing something dangerous. And she didn't tell you because she was trying to protect you."

Vanessa's eyes welled. She blinked fast, wiped at them.

"I thought I'd failed her."

"You didn't."

"No," she said bitterly. "I just led her to the wolves and didn't even know it."

Marcos reached into his coat and slid a small USB drive across the table.

"This has dock logs. Shipments. Names. It's not everything. But it's something."

Vanessa stared at it like it was ticking.

"Why are you helping me?"

"Because you're not crazy. And you're not wrong."

"You haven't answered the question."

Marcos paused.

"Because if you keep digging, someone else is going to come for you. Someone without my hesitation."

"So what-you're my guardian angel now?"

"I'm the devil that got tired of hell."

She scoffed, standing up. "I don't need your protection."

"Yes, you do."

They stepped outside together. The night was cool, stars blotted out by city haze.

"What's your name?" she asked one more time.

Marcos didn't answer.

"Right," she said. "Still a secret."

He stepped closer. Just enough for her breath to catch.

"You really want to know?"

She nodded.

"Marcos," he said finally. "Marcos De Luca."

Vanessa took a step back like she'd been punched.

She'd heard the name before.

Her old editor had whispered it once. A ghost. A myth. The De Luca heir.

"You're one of them."

"Was."

"And now what? You're helping me?"

"No," he said, voice low. "I'm betraying them."

Vanessa opened her mouth. Closed it.

And then, without warning, the night cracked open.

She doubled over, clutching her stomach.

"Vanessa-"

"It's fine," she said, breathless. "I'm fine."

"You're pale. You look-"

"I'm pregnant," she said.

It hit him like a car crash.

She hadn't meant to say it. She hadn't said it out loud to anyone yet.

She looked up, blinking fast. Waiting for judgment.

"Alright....okay"

Silence stretched between them.

"The father?" Marcos asked, carefully.

"Gone. Abusive. Long gone.

"My ex-boyfriend,long gone"

He didn't flinch. Didn't mock. He just looked at her like a storm he didn't want to run from.

"You're stronger than you think," he said.

"You don't know me."

"Not yet."

Later, Vanessa sat on her bed, staring at the USB.

Marcos' voice still echoed in her head.

"I'm the devil that got tired of hell."

She didn't know if she could trust him.

But she knew one thing.

He wasn't her enemy.

Not yet.

(Darkness descends)