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His hand moves to rub the back of his neck while he looks anywhere but at me. “Let’s just say your dad wasn’t the innocent victim he portrayed himself as.”

I STORM THROUGH THE front door of my house, heading straight into my father’s office. The only thing Easton would tell me is that my dad knew more than what he let on. He wouldn’t budge on anything else, so, I’m taking matters into my own hands.

Sitting down at his computer, it immediately asks me for a password. Fuck. I type in a couple different things, like his mother’s maiden name and the place he met my mom, but no luck. Finally, it comes to me.

Ainsley’s birthday.

The computer opens in a second and I roll my eyes. Of course, it would be that. His stupid little pride and joy. Fuck the fact that he has two other daughters. Seriously, sometimes I wonder why my parents even had more kids. He was obviously happiest with the one.

I pull up the surveillance camera footage from that day, hoping it managed to pick up the conversations my dad had with my uncle before I came into the room. It took a long time before I learned how to maneuver around this place without being picked up by the cameras. Why this man feels the need to record the inside of his house is something I’ve never understood.

The second my uncle comes on the screen, I immediately want to vomit. It’s been six months since I’ve had to see him, and I’ve liked it that way. Jackson putting that man in the ground was the best thing for everyone.

Watching through the footage, I don’t hear anything suspicious—then I remember the hushed conversation they cut short the second I came back down the stairs. I switch the video over to the one from the foyer, and press play.

“My men looked for him all night but came up empty,” Dominic says to my dad.

He leans against the wall. “Yeah, well, if he’s with Delaney, then Tessa is the best way to lure them out. The girl may be smart, but when it comes to her sister, she’ll do anything.”

“It may get ugly. If Delaney doesn’t think Tessa is in trouble, Knox may convince her to stay hidden.”

“That’s all right. Maybe you’ll even get Tessa to start behaving. Scare her straight.”

Dom scoffs. “Wishful thinking. She’s a lost cause, that one. But I’ll do my best.”

My father nods. “Just promise me one thing—Knox Vaughn doesn’t make it out of there alive.”

I come into view with a smile on my face, having no idea what was about to happen and how it would ruin me.

I stop the video and my chest tightens like a vice grip, threatening to drag me down to the depths of despair. The urge to vomit surfaces as my stomach churns. The one person on this planet who is meant to protect me against the evils of the world led me straight to the slaughter without a second thought.

“What do you think you’re doing?” My dad stands in the doorway, looking every bit like the man who raised me, but I’m seeing him in a whole different light.

I wipe the stray tears with the back of my hand as I stand up. “You knew.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“Don’t play fucking stupid. You knew!” I shout. “You knew what his plans were when he picked me up that morning and you let him take me anyway!”

He takes a hesitant step forward. “Tessa.”

Picking up the closest thing to me—which happens to be a framed photo of our oh-so-happy family, how fitting—I throw it directly at him and he jumps back.

/> “Do you have any idea what they did to me that day? What you allowed to happen?” I throw something else—this time, a paperweight. “I was locked in a room with four guys while Dominic let them have their fucking way with me! I spent hours being molested by men who were just as sick and twisted as he was!”

Raising his hands in defense, he stays in place. “I didn’t know he was going to let it get that out of control.”

“Oh, please! You practically fucking asked for it!”

I hit a button on the computer and it replays the part where he talks about scaring me into behaving. Listening to it once was hard, but hearing it a second time is absolute hell. The tone of his voice as jokes with the devil himself about what a lost cause I am, it feels like a knife straight to the heart. Every hope I ever had for a relationship with my dad dies in an instant.

He sighs. “All he told me was that he was going to use you to scare Delaney and Knox out of hiding. That’s all I knew.”

Everything coming out of his mouth is nothing but a goddamn lie. This house. This life. It’s all a façade. He doesn’t care about anyone other than himself. He proved as much when he threw his own daughters into the lion’s den. I scan the office for an outlet for my fury. Rage builds up inside of me, and all I want is to make him feel even an ounce of the pain I’ve suffered.

I pull out the nine iron and inspect it carefully. That’ll do. “No, see, I’m having a lot of trouble believing that. Especially because I listened to you order him to not let Knox out of there alive.”

“Tessa,” he tries again, but it’s no use.


Tags: Kelsey Clayton Haven Grace Prep Romance