Total pages in book: 109
Estimated words: 101985 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 510(@200wpm)___ 408(@250wpm)___ 340(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 101985 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 510(@200wpm)___ 408(@250wpm)___ 340(@300wpm)
When I spot her computer on the desk, it’s like a gleam of hope. She wouldn’t leave that behind. She’s practically tethered to it. Then again, if she was running away, she might be afraid of being tracked. I’m sure the fear of tracking kept her from doing a lot of things.
Like finding out who her father is…
Who the hell put it in her head in the first place? Where did she find that information? I know she’s been curious, but why now? What brought this on?
I flip open the laptop and use her password to unlock it. Principles are out the window at this point. It’s not an invasion of privacy when all I want is to understand, to make sure she’s safe. The first step is finding out what made her look up the family.
She was automatically logged out of her school email account after being inactive, but the login screen is up. She’d flay me alive if she knew I had that password, too.
She got an email today from Dean, that asshole. Is that what this is about? I growl at the sight of his name, noticing she’s read the message. I click on it, and there it is—links to articles, pictures, file after file.
He did this. He gathered a bunch of shit about the Morelli family. I should’ve taken care of him when I had the—
Wait.
I take a closer look, squinting at the screen. That can’t be right. I must be seeing things.
I’m not. It’s here in front of me. It was there all along. I never saw it. I never thought to look.
And now, everything makes sense. He didn’t send her these files to seduce her or brainwash her into running away with him. Something a lot more sinister is at play.
My sins have finally caught up with me—but Mia is the one in danger of being punished for them.
30
MIA
I turn around, breathless, looking over the back seat and out the rear window. Dean’s driving fast enough that the compound quickly shrinks until it’s far enough away that I can’t see it anymore.
As far as I’m concerned, I’ll never see it again.
“It’s fine. Nobody saw me.” Dean lets out a breath like he’s relieved. “Now, are you going to tell me why you had me come and get you? Did somebody hurt you? Don’t tell me it was Zeke. I’ll go back there and kill him right now.”
“No. I mean, yeah, but not the way you think. It’s him and my father. Both of them. They’ve been lying to me all this time.”
“Lying about what?” He glances at me before turning back to the road. “Oh, no. You opened the email, didn’t you?”
“Of course, I did. You told me to.”
“But I didn’t think you would do it right away. I didn’t want things to turn out like this.”
“Well, they have.”
“So now you know. You know your family’s part of… all of that.”
He sounds disgusted, and he should. I know I feel that way. “How did I not know? How did I not see it? Now, when I’m looking back, it all comes together. It’s so obvious.”
“Don’t do that to yourself,” he murmurs. “It’s always easy to look back and think what you could’ve done or should’ve done. Think about it enough, and you’ll drive yourself nuts.” He sounds like he knows what he’s talking about.
And he makes sense, too. He was definitely the right person to reach out to. If Posey was anywhere nearby, she’d be freaking out right now. So would Blair. Anyway, Dean already knows who Dad is, who I am just by being his daughter. He’s the most logical choice.
“I’m never going back there. Not ever.” I hate how my voice shakes almost as much as I hate the tears that want to roll down my cheeks. I won’t let them. I’m done crying. Besides, crying isn’t going to help me put a plan together, and that’s what I need to do. I need to figure out a way to hide.
“How am I going to get away with this?” I cover my face with my hands. I can’t even access any money. “I have nowhere to go.”
“I told you I’d get you back to campus, and that’s what I’m going to do. You can get your stuff together, and we’ll figure it out from there.”
My hands fall into my lap. He’s right. I have to figure something out one step at a time. If he could take me to Blair’s house, I might be able to hide out there for a while. She’s probably home by now. If not, I’ll have to think of something else. There has to be a way. I won’t let him do this to me.
I won’t let either of them do this to me.
How could Zeke do this to me?