Everything slowed.Sorry?What was she saying?
"I didn't want to leave her. She didn't give me a choice," King mumbled between cries, and dizziness made me sway.
She?
"Who isshe, princess?" Wes had placed a hand between her shoulder blades.
King turned in my embrace and looked at Wes, then at Lilly. "Rae…I mean, Mara."
Who the fuck is Mara?
"Your sister?" Wes exclaimed in shock. His tone was too loud, and my shoulders pulled up.
Her gaze flicked to him before returning to Lilly. "Not my sister. Lilly's."
Lilly's face drained of color, and Rhys's eyes jumped between his wife, King, Wes, and me.
It was clear that we had a lot to talk about.
We had reconvenedto the living room, fatigue fast taking over everyone.
Thank fuck Laurin had already arrived at the house to keep the kids entertained and oblivious. Audrey was less of a worry than Haddie. My goddaughter was smart and would pick up in no time that something was off.
For the moment, both girls were still asleep, which allowed us to talk uninterrupted. Elle and Hazel had joined us, and we were spread across the various couches when King recalled what happened over the last few hours.
Wes had pulled King into his side. With her legs draped across his, he held on like a lifeline—a need I could understand too well. I dropped into one of the armchairs, unable to bear anyone's closeness. I needed space—to distance myself to function. I concentrated on my breathing as I listened to King, always making sure my inhales matched my exhales.
Lilly sat next to Rhys, her thumb flicking against her fingers while their friend spoke. Her gaze was trained on something on the ground. She was paying attention, but at the same time, she was far away. Given her shoulders' rapid rise and fall, I had a suspicion where. Rhys's arm was around her waist, and his other hand gripped her thigh. His white knuckles were an obvious indicator that he had trouble handling this.
Ethan positioned himself next to the door—wide stance and arms behind his back. He didn't lean against the wall. He stood straight, his chin tipped up and his eyes unfocused. This was not the Ethan I worked with. It was like he was thrust back into a life he so desperately wanted to leave behind.
When King finished,Lilly blinked, and her eyes found her friend's. "Emily mentioned Mara once. But I never…" She let the sentence hang, pressing her lips into a thin line before whispering, "I have a sister."
Everyone's life in this room was somehow connected, webbed in ways no one could've foreseen. The coincidence of King ending up with Wes, of all people, formed a link that allowed us to find a pattern that would've remained hidden otherwise.
"You didn't see Jenn," Ethan inquires. It was more a statement than a question. While he was present physically, his mind had put up a barrier between himself and us.
"No, I'm sorry."
My pulse stuttered at her apology, and I leaned forward, resting my elbows on my knees. Before I could say what was on my tongue, Elle reasoned, "None of this has anything to do with you. Mara targeted Denielle because she is a psychotic sociopath and had no other way to get to Lilly."
King bobbed her head, but guilt was eating her up that she was home and Denielle and Jenn weren't.
We sat in silence until Lilly excused herself. She wanted to research her sister's name and speak to her brother. If someone could help track Mara Turner down, it was Nate. I was just hoping whatever had been keeping him unavailable lately would not prevent him from being there for her today.
King went to shower, not wanting Haddie to see her in yesterday's clothes, and Wes trailed after her. It would take him a long time to move past this.
I spentthe next few hours in Lilly's office. Again.
Staying busy was the only way to keep my shred of sanity. Lilly's brother was as shocked as everyone else and immediately set to digging into Mara's past. This was his specialty, while Lilly, Rhys, and I pulled out file after file she compiled years ago, hoping for a hint toward Mara's whereabouts. Who she could be.
There was nothing.
Nate confirmed that Mara Turner didn't exist past her twenty-first birthday. She vanished the day she left King. And even before, there was nothing but superficial facts. A yearbook photo posted on her school's website. A handful of old social media posts she had been tagged in. Mara's profile had long been deactivated, but the internet didn't forget. And who would've looked into a name no one knew or remembered existed? She had no reason to wipe those few traces. The alias she used at La Déesse also was a dead end. M. Jones returned a million results, none of them remotely resembling Mara.
R.J. Turner's drug empire continued to operate after he was killed, but with the key players gone, we had nowhere to start.
At one point, Ethan settled into a chair in front of Lilly's desk. He mutinously observed as Lilly grew more and more frustrated. The lack of…concern made the hair at the nape of my neck stand. He was no longer my friend or subordinate. He had shut himself off.