[Rose’s POV]

Dinner with Seth and my family went better than expected, especially considering Aunty Lara's usual behavior. Mom kept her in check as usual. The way Seth kept glancing at me during dinner, his eyes full of that delicious mix of adoration and fear, it was perfect. I'm still buzzing from it as I head down the hallway toward Lilly's room.

I don't bother knocking. Pushing the door open, I find Lilly exactly where I expected, cross-legged on her bed, laptop open, headphones covering her ears. Her face is bathed in the blue glow of the screen, completely focused as usual.

"Hey," I say, closing the door behind me. When she doesn't respond, I snap my fingers in front of her face. “Lilly!”

She slides the headphones down around her neck without looking up. "I heard you the first time."

"What's our boy up to?" I lean over her shoulder, scanning the multiple camera feeds displayed on her screen. We installed them last weekend while Seth was in the shower, one in his bedroom, one in the living room, one facing the front door. Basic security measures, really.

Lilly clicks on the bedroom feed, enlarging it. "Just lying in bed scrolling through his phone."

"I can't see what he's looking at," Lilly sighs, clearly annoyed. She rubs her eyes and leans back against her headboard. "Next chance we get, we have to install as many cameras as we can in his room. I want to know what he's looking at on that phone."

I glance at my sister's furrowed brow, feeling a rush of warmth spread through my chest. Even with her frustrated expression, she's still my perfect other half. It's amazing how we can share everything, even Seth.

"Relax," I tell her, dropping onto the bed beside her. "Of course we can. We'll get better angles next time."

I'm just about to say something when Lilly suddenly stiffens, her eyes going wide as she stares at her laptop screen.

"Oh shit," she whispers, her fingers freezing over the keyboard. "I completely forgot."

"What?" I lean closer, trying to see what's got her so worked up.

Lilly turns to me, her expression unusually troubled. "Rose, I need to ask you something important." She pauses, biting her lower lip. "Do you think you could talk to Aunty Lara about... dealing with Evelyn?"

I blink, surprised by the request. "Shouldn't we tell her together? I mean, it was both of us who decided she's a problem."

Lilly shakes her head, a flicker of something I can't quite read passing across her face. "Can you do it? She really creeps me out." She looks away, her fingers fidgeting with the edge of her laptop. "Something about her just makes my skin crawl."

It's weird hearing Lilly admit to being creeped out by anyone. Usually, she's the one who handles all the difficult conversations. But I guess even my faultless sister has her limits.

"Sure, I don't mind at all," I tell her, shrugging. "Mom and Mom are asleep, so I can go talk with her right now."

"Thanks." The relief in her voice is obvious as she turns back to the screen. "I'd really appreciate that."

I stretch out beside her on the bed, watching Seth through the grainy camera feed. He looks so peaceful lying there, completely unaware that we're watching over him. Protecting him.

"Do you think Seth will be mad if he finds out?" I ask.

Lilly's eyes meet mine, her expression suddenly serious. "Yes, Rose, that's exactly why we need to make sure we're nowhere near this. No connections, no evidence."

I stand up, stretching my arms above my head as I process her words. The logic is sound, typical Lilly, always three steps ahead.

"Well, if anyone can do it discreetly, it's Aunty," I say with a shrug.

"Just make sure she understands the parameters," Lilly adds, her fingers already back to typing. "Nothing that could be traced back to us.”

I head toward the door, pausing with my hand on the knob. "What if Seth finds out anyway? He's not stupid."

Lilly doesn't look up from her screen, but I catch the slight curve of her lips. "He’s obsessed with us. He’ll believe us."

*****

[Lara’s POV]

The blue glow from my laptop screen illuminates the darkened living room as my fingers dance across the keyboard. Margaret's fancy leather couch is comfortable enough, but I still shift my position every few minutes, trying to find the perfect spot. Everyone in this house is asleep, or so I thought until I hear footsteps on the stairs.

I quickly minimize my document. Most people at the organization think I'm always working, sending reports to Maddy. But the truth? I'm actually working on chapter seventeen of my latest web novel, "I Got Reincarnated as My Mom's Miscarriage." It's developing quite the following online.

"Aunty Lara?"

I glance up to see Rose, descending the last few steps. I can tell it's her because her hair is flowing freely down her back, Lilly always keeps hers tied back, even when lounging around the house.

‘I’m a good Aunt after all.’

"Shouldn't you be asleep?" I ask.

"I need to talk to you about something," Rose says, padding across the hardwood floor in her bare feet. She plops down beside me, tucking her legs underneath her. "It's important."

I close my laptop completely, setting it on the coffee table. "This sounds serious. What's on your mind, kiddo?"

Rose's eyes gleam in the dim light from the table lamp, reminding me of a cat that's spotted something particularly interesting to play with. "It's about Seth's nanny."

"The woman who looks after his little brother?" I recall the twins mentioning her during one of our phone calls. Something about her being obsessed with their boyfriend.

"Evelyn," Rose confirms, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "She's becoming a problem for us."

"So you want me to kill her?" I ask bluntly, watching Rose's face for her reaction.

Rose's lips curl into a wonderful smile. The same one she had as a little girl.

"Yeah, could you?" she says, like she's asking me to pick up milk from the store.

"Of course," I respond without hesitation. The words slip out automatically, like breathing.

A strange feeling washes over me as I hear myself agree so readily. Not guilt exactly, I've never had much use for that, but something adjacent to it. Awareness, maybe. I've lost count of how many people I killed for my old boss, Caterina, but something about how casually I just agreed to murder for my teenage niece feels... unprofessional.

"Don't tell your mom, though," I add quickly, lowering my voice even though Margaret and Victoria are upstairs asleep. "She'd have both our heads."

Rose nods eagerly.

I clear my throat, feeling compelled to add some boundaries. "And I'm only willing to kill her because she's going after you and Lilly's man, alright?"

It's a complete lie. I'd kill anyone they wanted. The twins could point at a random person on the street, and I'd have them in the ground by nightfall. I don't care. Family is family. But something tells me I should at least pretend to have standards.

"Of course," Rose says, her expression softening into something almost innocent. "We wouldn't ask otherwise."

Rose quickly flicks through her phone with her thumb. "I've got her details right here," she says, tapping away. "I'll send them to you."

My own phone vibrates with an incoming notification. I open it to find a photo of a woman with a blonde ponytail and green eyes, alongside an address and schedule details. Something electric jolts through me as I recognize the neighborhood.

"Oh hell yeah," I exclaim, feeling that familiar rush of excitement. "She's in this town? Right in our backyard? This'll be easy as fuck."

Rose leans forward, suddenly serious. "Seth absolutely cannot know about this. Not ever." Her eyes, so much like her mother's when she's being stern, bore into mine. "Promise me."

I wave my hand dismissively. "Rose, I'm a professional. I've been doing this since before you were born." I tap my phone screen where Evelyn's face glares back at me. "No one will connect this to any of us. Clean work is my specialty."

Rose's eyes light up with that familiar gleam of excitement that reminds me so much of myself at her age. She reaches out and squeezes my arm with surprising strength.

"Thanks, Aunty. You're the best," she says, her voice warm with genuine appreciation.

I wave her off casually. "It's no trouble at all. What's family for if not taking care of problems?"

As Rose heads back upstairs, her bare feet making almost no sound on the hardwood.

Once I hear her bedroom door click shut, I pull my laptop back onto my knees and open it, the blue glow once again illuminating my face in the darkened living room. My fingers hover over the keyboard as I consider the task ahead of me.

I've barely started typing a new paragraph in my novel when I hear the soft padding of feet on the stairs again. I glance up, expecting Margaret to be coming down for a midnight snack, but it's Rose again. The hair once again a dead give away.

"Did you forget something?" I ask, setting my laptop aside again. Twice in one night is unusual, even for my impulsive niece.

Rose lingers at the bottom of the stairs, her expression shifting from determined to hesitant. "Actually, Aunty... I've been thinking about what I asked earlier."

I raise an eyebrow, waiting for her to continue.

"Instead of killing Evelyn," she says, stepping closer, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper, "could you maybe just kidnap her? Drop her off somewhere I could have access to?"

Something warm blooms in my chest, pride, I realize. My little niece wants to handle her own dirty work instead of passing it off. It's almost touching in a twisted way.

"Your mother would kill me if I did that," I point out, though I can't keep the amusement from my voice. Margaret has always been such a pill.

"Please?" Rose's eyes widen, giving me that same pleading look she used when she was five and wanted ice cream before dinner.

I roll my eyes dramatically, already knowing I'll give in. I always do when it comes to the twins. "Alright, alright. I'll take her to a safe house and give you free rein," I tell her, then add with a slight frown, "But I won't be around to help you after that. I'm going to be busy."

"That's fine," Rose says quickly, relief washing over her features. "I'll take it from there."

I study her for a moment, noting how she keeps shifting her weight from one foot to the other.

"You sure about this?" I ask, closing my laptop completely. "Kidnapping means keeping someone alive. That's messier than just eliminating the problem."

Rose nods firmly. "I'm sure. I want to... talk to her first."

The way she says "talk" sends a delicious chill down my spine. My niece has that same darkness I recognized in myself at her age. It's beautiful to witness it blooming.

"Fair enough," I say with a shrug. "I'll text you the location once it's done. Probably Thursday or Friday, I need to scope out her routine first, make sure everything's clean."

Rose hesitates for a fraction of a second before nodding. "Perfect. And remember…"

"Seth can't know," I finish her sentence for her. “I get it.”