Half truth

“She was alive. Hailey kept her in a house. A farm. Deacon’s.” I could barely form words, but I continued saying the flashes of what I remembered from that dreadful night. “Hailey is our sister.” I looked at Lincoln when I said that, new tears spilling out of my eyes. He sat down on the edge of my bed, jaw hanging open.

“We asked Hailey,” Logan said. “She was helping search for you.” He stopped talking, brows pulled in. He cast a glare at my father just before he lunged at him, fist closed, aiming for his face. “You mother fucker.”

Logan took dad down easily. The police officer and security scrambled to get him off. There was screaming. The door opened again, more people walked inside—another officer, then another. I couldn’t see what was happening on the floor, but between mom’s screams and cries, the grunting, the clear sound of bones breaking, and the police officers yelling as they tried to pull Logan off of my father, I knew enough. Two officers held Logan up and pi

“I will end you for this.” Dad wiped blood off his mouth with the back of his hand. He looked like he was struggling to stand upright, his other hand pressing up on his side.

“Not if I end you first,” Logan said, smiling. He looked terrifying.

“Tell the officers what you said,” the security guard said, breathing heavily.

“Lana Ly was having an affair with my father.” My entire arm shook as I raised it to point at him, so that there wouldn’t be any room for confusion. It dropped onto my lap with a light thump. I had no strength. “She was alive. She was there when they buried me in that hole. She . . . she was alive.”

“Who buried you?”

“Hailey Valentine.” My lower lip wobbled again.

Logan pushed the police officers off him and walked to the side of my bed, lifting my hand in his. His knuckles were bloody. I squeezed his hand nevertheless because I needed it. I needed someone to carry this burden with me and I knew if anyone could, it was him.

“Take your time, baby.” He leaned in and wiped the tears that wouldn’t stop cascading down my face.

“Hailey Valentine is m . . . m . . . my half-sister.” I took a deep breath. “She tried to kill me because of him.” I glared at my father.

“Oh, God.” Mom wailed, pressing a hand to her mouth and another to her stomach. “Oh, God. What have you done, Felipe? What have you done?”

“We’re going to need you to come down to the station with us,” the officer closest to dad said.

The other two stepped forward, in case he put up a fight. He didn’t. They all walked out of the room. Mom continued to cry. Lincoln stood shakily and went over to her, his walker and her sobs the only sound in the room as he reached her and wrapped an arm around her. I felt like shit. If there was anyone I could have spared it was her. When the doors opened again, I nearly screamed. I wanted everyone to leave me alone. My brothers George and Edward walked in, dressed in suits, looking desperate and confused.

“Dad got arrested?” George asked.

“What the fuck is happening?” Ed followed. He got a good look at me and walked over. “Jesus, Mae.”

“Dad’s daughter tried to kill me,” I said, my voice hoarse.

The truth liberated me. The more I said it aloud, the lighter I felt. I was coming to terms with my father’s actions. Not to say I’d forgive him, because right now, I couldn’t imagine doing that.

George looked at mom and Lincoln. “What the hell is she talking about?”

“Your father had a daughter with Elle Valentine,” Logan said.

George paused, seemingly just noticing Logan. “What’s your role in all this?”

“I’m her boyfriend.”

George’s brows furrowed. He looked just like dad when he did that. My stomach coiled.

“Jesus,” Ed breathed. “Fuck.”

My older brothers shared a look. It was something Lincoln and I could do, and they could do, but the four of us really couldn’t do together.

“Go down to the station and find out what’s happening,” Mom said after a long time.

She’d stopped crying, though she didn’t look any less disturbed. Ed and George walked up to me, both saying goodbye to me and shooting warning looks to Logan. He didn’t even flinch. The minute they left, Lincoln exhaled loudly.

“Wow.” He glanced up at me. “She was really alive?”

I nodded slowly. I didn’t want to think about it anymore. I didn’t want to talk about it or recall the way things played out, but for my brother, I would. For his peace, I’d give up my own. Mom and Lincoln left shortly after, promising they’d be back soon. Mom said she needed a shower. Lincoln agreed that she needed a break from things. I felt awful and when she hugged me goodbye, I held her as tight as my weak arms would allow and apologized into her perfectly brushed back hair. She wiped her tears as she left the room and thanked Logan before closing the door behind her.

“You can take a break too if you want.” I glanced at Logan, who was now sitting in the chair beside my bed.

“I’m fine.”

“Do you have a game?”

“No.”

I watched him. “You do, don’t you?”

“I’m not going, so what does it matter?”

“You can—”

“Amelia. Stop talking. I’m not moving from this chair unless I need to pee and even then I may just call the nurse and have her bring the pan.” He stared at me. “I’m not leaving your side.”

“Okay,” I whispered. Who was I to argue with him? I didn’t want him to leave my side anyway.

“You should probably get some rest.”

“I can’t.” My voice was a broken whisper. “Every time I close my eyes, I’m back in that coffin.”

“I’m sorry.” His eyes glazed over as he caressed my hand. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t here.”

“It wouldn’t have mattered.” I shook my head. I’d thought about that a lot.

Hailey had pla

“She could have killed you.”

I stayed quiet. A part of me felt like she had. Maybe I would feel better once she was caught. Maybe I would feel like I could close my eyes once I knew she was no longer around the corner from me. As I lay there, I thought about all of it—from my first day here to today. She’d probably purposely planted that flyer of the coffee shop right in my apartment door, knowing that I’d take the bait and go seek it out. I thought of her mother and wondered if she was complicit in all of this? Had her jealousy led to her daughter’s obsession? Had she known? I shivered again. I wanted to graduate and get my degree from Ellis, but I wasn’t sure I’d be able to stick around long enough.