Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 77170 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 386(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 257(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77170 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 386(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 257(@300wpm)
I drop my jaw open.
“It was horrible, but no one hurt me. My father wouldn’t let them hurt me. Which was odd in itself because he’s the one who tried to hurt me in the first place, which resulted in my running away and living on the streets.”
“I don’t understand.”
“You see, when we found Dale and Donny, they were on an island in the Caribbean. A private island.”
“I still don’t understand.”
“Your grandfather, Brad Steel, owned a couple of islands in the Caribbean. He sold one to a corporation. And it was used… Well, you can guess what it was used for.”
“Yes.” I swallow.
“Anyway, somehow, your grandfather’s future lawmakers ring ended up at my apartment, beneath the cushion of my couch. When I disappeared, your father came to my apartment to search for clues, and he found his own father’s ring. Engraved inside the ring were GPS coordinates for the island.”
“So someone left the ring for Dad to find? So he could find you?”
“Yes. I never found out who. It had to be either my father or your dad’s. And the more I thought about it…the more I believed it was my father.”
“But your father was—”
“He was. He was a horrible human being who did horrible things. He hurt so many people, myself included. But in the end, he saved my life. It was because of him that we found out Brad Steel—along with Daphne, at that point—was alive. We found Dale and Donny, and we found an old girlfriend of your father’s—”
“Wait, wait, wait. What?”
“Yes. Your father had a girlfriend before me.” She smiles. “Why does that surprise you? I mean, look at your father. Sometimes I still can’t believe he chose me.”
“Because you’re beautiful, Mom.” I shake my head. “Of course he had other girlfriends. I just never knew.”
“Her name was Anna. Anna Shane. She and her family used to own or rent—I’m not sure which—some of the land that now belongs to the Pike family. It was originally owned by the Steel family at some point. Honestly, I don’t know all the logistics. But your father dated her, and his mother—Wendy Madigan—didn’t think she was good enough for him. So…”
“She had the woman taken.” I hold back puke.
“Yes.”
“My God. What if the same thing had happened to you?”
“There was a time when I thought it had. When I ended up on that island. But no one harmed me. Other than drugging me and abducting me, of course.” She lets out a huff.
“I can’t believe everything you’ve been through.”
Mom nods, closes her eyes for a few seconds. “In the end, I think my father tried to atone for his sins. It certainly would never have been possible, but I think he tried. He did save my life. He led your father and Uncle Talon to me and, consequently, to the island. So maybe it was Wendy who had me taken. The FBI was after them as well. Dad and Uncle Talon hired a man they thought was a Jamaican guide to take them to the island, but he turned out to be an FBI agent.”
I rub my forehead against an ache that’s beginning to form. “I’m not following all of this.”
Mom squeezes my shoulders. “I know. We just don’t have all the answers, Ava. Either Wendy or my father had me abducted. And someone, most likely my father, planted Brad Steel’s ring at my place as a clue.”
“Which led Dad to the island. And to you.”
“And to Dale and Donny. And to Anna Shane, Dad’s old girlfriend. And myriad others they saved that day.”
“But the trafficking ring was never broken up.”
“Apparently not.”
“And are they now?”
She frowns. “We just don’t know. We got them off our property, and we erased all evidence that could implicate our family. But we don’t know if the traffic ring is still working.”
I massage my forehead again. “I can’t deal with all of this.”
“I know, Ava. It’s too much for anyone to deal with.”
I wipe a tear away before it falls. “I want to see the ring. Do you still have it?”
She nods. “I offered it to your father, to both of your uncles, but of course none of them wanted it. It represented evil to them. It represents the same to me, but still… It is an heirloom. I couldn’t bring myself to part with it.”
“Where is it?”
“It’s in one of the safes.”
“Could I see it?”
“Do you really want to go there?”
“I can’t shake the feeling that this future lawmakers club that has sprung up at the high school has something to do with all of this.”
“How could high school students have anything to do with our family? We don’t have any students at the school anymore. Besides, the original club was at a completely different high school. Tejon Prep in the city.”
“I know.” I tug on my lip ring. “It’s just… You know me and my intuition.”