The Game of Masks and True Identity

Phoebe's POV

“Where’s Renzo?” I asked.

“At his grave,” Cade answered.

All I knew was that the night before he planned to propose, Renzo had gone back to thier family home. He said his parents were gravely ill and there was urgent business. But he never came back after that.

Afterwards, the eldest son, Cade, became heir, and Renzo seemed to vanish into thin air. It took me a long, exhausting search to learn the truth.

On the day the Olivers ‘mourned,’ Cade had murdered his own brother to secure the inheritance.

“Phoebe, give it up. You’ll never see him again,” Cade said, standing unafraid and sneering. His voice was cold and certain. “I buried him alive. I burned him to ash. I didn't even write his name in his tombstone or light a candle for him.”

“You’ll rot for this, Cade!” I snapped, blood burning behind my eyes. “Aren’t you afraid of karma? He wanted nothing, didn’t plan to compete with you. Why couldn’t you leave him alone?”

Seeing blood running freely down Cade’s head, people helped him away from the scene, steadying him as he left. They also pushed my wheelchair. But suddenly, a knife flashed toward me.

“Phoebe! You dare hurt Cade? I’ll kill you!” Margaret lunged, no longer saintly.

But clumsy as she was, she missed and tumbled to the floor.

Despite her attempt to stab me, I had her set free and simply ignored her.

But Margaret cried out with reckless desperation, “Phoebe, you could never guess. Renzo didn’t die! He just doesn’t love you anymore! He changed his identity to hide from you. You acting all heartbroken here is ridiculous!”

I raised my hand, and the men behind me stopped the wheelchair and turned me around.

“What did you just say?” I asked.

Margaret quickly clapped a hand over her mouth, eyes wide and guilty.

I pursed my lips and nodded to the bodyguards, and they grabbed her.

“Looks like last time I didn’t manage to finish you off, you sure are lucky,” I said. “Since Cade killed my lover, I’ll kill his. Fair trade, right?”

As I ordered my men to lock her in the basement, panic showed on her face.

“Who are you people? Aren’t you loyal to Cade? Why are you obeying this woman?” she asked. “She must have messed with your heads. She’s a loose tramp who lures men. She probably slept with you all—”

“Shut up!” Elmer cut her off, face hard. “Keep talking and you’ll wish you hadn’t. Offend our Miss and see who buries you.”

In the basement, I tapped Margaret’s cheek with a short blade. “Tell me,” I said softly. “What did you mean when you said Renzo isn’t dead?”

She trembled but glared at me, full of hatred. “You bitch! If you hurt so much as one finger of mine, Cade will never forgive you.”

Unfortunately, threats don’t scare me. “Grab her hand. Show me the pinky.”

The guards obeyed, and I raised the knife and brought it down toward the little finger.

“Stop!” Cade, pale and ragged, burst in, reckless. “Phoebe, let Margaret go. I’ll take you to Renzo’s grave.”

I laughed, low and cold. “If you’d said that sooner, none of this would’ve happened.”

Still, I wasn’t taking chances. I clamped a hand over Margaret’s mouth and forced a small pill between her teeth.

Cade suddenly went pale. “What did you give her?”

I smiled, slow and deliberate. “Don’t panic. As long as you behave, your little girl will be just fine.”

Half an hour later, he led me to the manor’s back mountain, where rows of graves stretched out in silence. Then he stopped at a fresh mound. The headstone was blank with no name or identity.

I frowned, unsettled. Then Cade said, “Phoebe, the one you’ve been searching for has always been me.”

I froze, not understanding. “Cade, don’t lie to me. If you dare trick me, think about what might happen to Margaret.”

But his expression stayed grave, even pained. “Phoebe, stop searching. I am Renzo.”

My face turned cold. “Don’t joke with me.”

“I’m not joking. The one who died was my brother.”

With a tortured look, he pried open the stone casing on the tomb. My heart lurched when I saw the carved name beneath — Cade Oliver. The letters burned into my eyes.

“Now you believe me?” he pressed. “I am Renzo.”