Chapter 17

• Clara didn’t talk much for the rest of the day. Her mouth stayed shut, but her brain wouldn’t quit spinning. Enzo’s words kept bouncing around in her head, loud and clear, like a song she couldn’t turn off. “You want freedom? Stop fighting him. Outplay him.” It stuck with her, digging in deep, making her think hard. It was a risky plan—crazy, even. If Dante ever figured out what she was really up to, it could blow up in her face big time. He wasn’t the kind of guy who’d take being tricked lightly. She could picture his smirk turning cold, his hazel eyes going dark with anger, and it sent a shiver down her spine.
• But what else could she do? She didn’t have a lot of options left. If she wanted to make it through this messed-up world he’d dragged her into—if she wanted to get free—she couldn’t just keep yelling and pushing back like she’d been doing. That wasn’t working. She had to be smarter, had to take charge of him instead of letting him steer everything. And the only way to do that was to flip the game—make him *want* her to stick around, make him think he’d won her over.
• It was like playing with fire. One wrong move, and she’d get burned bad. But if she could pull it off—if she could keep her real plan hidden—she might just get out of this cage he’d locked her in. Her heart thumped at the thought, a mix of nerves and something like hope. She spent the day wandering the estate, her eyes sharp, her mind racing. Every step she took, every room she passed, she was planning, testing this idea in her head, figuring out how to start.