"Kill me? Clara, how about you pay back what you owe the Delgado family before you start making threats."
He threw a stack of bills at my feet.
"My family supported your people for nearly a century. Since you've already admitted you're a fraud, I think it's time we settled the accounts."
"And if you refuse to pay..."
He held up his phone, the video I'd recorded hours ago playing on the screen.
"Everyone's going to see this."
"Not just you. Your dead mentor, too. And all those fellow disciples of yours."
I stood there shaking, jaw clenched so tight my teeth ground together.
"I'll pay. After your birthday. I'll pay every cent."
"After my birthday?"
Ian scoffed.
"Who's going to wait that long? You have the debt and you won't pay? You think you can stall me?"
"Ian, I don't have the money. My bank accounts have been frozen—"
"Fine. Since you won't own up to it, don't blame me for what comes next."
His men rushed forward, bound my hands, and shoved me into a car.
At first, I didn't understand where they were taking me.
But when the car turned onto that narrow, winding mountain road, the blood drained from my face.
It was the road to my mother's grave.