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Chapter Forty-Three
I awoke to the sound of two female voices. Hailey. Hailey and Ella? I tried to make out what they were saying in their hushed whispers and quick chatter. The sun was setting now. I could barely see the trees above my head. I’d been set down though, no longer in Deacon’s arms.
“Hailey.” My voice was scratchy and weak.
They stopped talking. I heard the sound of boots pounding into the fallen leaves and branches as someone walked up to me, then saw Hailey as she crouched beside me.
“You want to know why I’m doing this,” Hailey said.
“Hailey.” I wheezed.
Fuck. I hadn’t needed my inhaler in a long time, but my chest felt tight and knowing I didn’t have it on me made me feel eager for it.
“Why don’t I give you the run-down?”
“Hailey, I don’t like this.” The voice came from the person she’d been talking to.
It was a soft, melodic sound that shook, and vibrated inside me when I realized it was not Ella. I fought to look at the person. Hailey acknowledged my curiosity and put a hand beneath my neck, lifting me slightly, gently. Lana came into view. Lana. Alive. She wasn’t dirty. She wore jeans and a cashmere coat. Her hands seemed to be tied, but other than that, she looked fine. Lana was alive. She hadn’t jumped. What the hell had my brother seen?
“You’re alive,” I choked out.
“Of course she’s alive.”
“Hailey, I don’t like this,” Lana repeated, tears in her eyes.
I hadn’t known Lana on a personal level, but she’d always been kind to me. The Lana standing here was a contradiction of the high school Lana, popular and bright. She was a contradiction to the naked, naughty Lana I’d seen in pictures at The Lab. This Lana was frightened, and off. Something was wrong with her, but I couldn’t pick up what. Was she drugged? Maybe. A loud thump made me turn away from Lana, toward where Deacon stood. He was wiping his forehead with the sleeve of his jacket, a shovel in his hands before he started digging. My eyes widened. A strangled noise built in my throat. I coughed again and it seemed to go on forever. I felt like the dirt beneath me was weighing down on my chest. Was Hailey pla “What are you going to do?” My voice shook, a slight wheeze escaping me. “Maybe you can use your investigative skills to put two and two together,” Hailey said. I looked at her as she lowered my head. She touched my temple. “You’re bleeding pretty bad.” “You’re going to kill me,” I whispered. “It’s all I’ve been thinking about since I was a little girl,” she said, her brows furrowing as if she almost felt sad about admitting it. “Hailey. Please.” I shook my head. We didn’t know each other when we were kids. She was losing her mind. “Our father should have paid attention to me,” she said with a tsk. “But instead, he was busy doting on you, his little princess. Little princess with the hip clothes and lavish birthday parties.” My head was spi I wheezed. “Hailey.” “Hailey. She has nothing to do with this,” Lana’s words were slurred. Somehow, she’d picked herself off the ground though. “She has everything to do with this,” Hailey screamed, casting a glare up at Lana. “She’s part of their little secret society. I saw her there in that creepy house at the end of the woods.” She looked up. I tried to follow her gaze, but couldn’t turn my head all the way. Were we close to The Lab? I screamed just in case. Screamed louder for good measure. She clamped her hand over my mouth, my eyes were wide on hers as I tried to scream again. “Shut up. No one can hear you anyway.” “This is going too far,” Lana said. She was shaking. “So playing dead wasn’t going too far?” Hailey shouted. “Causing an accident and making your friend think you committed suicide wasn’t too far?” “That was different,” she whispered. “I was trying to protect—” “My father, yes, I know.” Hailey looked at me again. “Lana’s been fucking our father. She wanted your brother to butt out so I helped her plan this whole scheme. I watched them go to parties at that creepy house. I watched them as they fucked outside. I watched those people for months. Stupid elitist secret society. I should be a member you know? My mom’s a member.” “Is that what you want?” I coughed once, twice, three times. “Is that why you’re doing this?” “No. How silly do you think I am?” She laughed. “I already have what I wanted. My mother, on the other hand, is sad. Cries herself to sleep because dad no longer wants her. Because Lana took up all his attention.” “Ella never had him,” Lana shouted. “Felipe is married. He’s always been married and always will be married. Your mother should’ve learned by now that she wasn’t going to keep him.” “It doesn’t matter.” “You won’t have him either. He’ll never give you the Bastón last name,” Lana said. “Yes, he will.” Hailey roared as she lunged at Lana. I whimpered, helplessly trying to break free of the ties around my ankles and wrists. I didn’t want to hear about women fighting over my father. I didn’t want to hear about his relationship with Lana or Ella or how Hailey believed she was his daughter. The rational part of me knew she was probably telling the truth, but a bigger part of me wanted to fight it, to shield myself and my family from the wave of embarrassment and heartache this would bring. I closed my eyes as I thought of my mother. She’d always been so rational, taking her time to truly understand people’s reactions and feelings, but no amount of experience as a family therapist could save her from her own husband’s betrayal. My brothers would be pissed. Lincoln especially. “Deacon, take care of this,” Hailey shouted. “Your little doll is getting out of control.” “Digging grave,” Deacon called out. Digging grave. I kicked into overdrive and thrashed some more, pulling my feet apart, my ankles. Nothing worked. “Lana please,” I begged, but they were still having a face-off. “I didn’t want you to get hurt,” Lana said. “I swear. I didn’t want to hurt Lincoln either but he kept getting in the way. Felipe kept blaming me for Lincoln’s actions and saying that he should’ve never gotten involved with me, so I tried to help by leaving.” She cried. “I didn’t know he’d lose his mind like that.” “I don’t care,” I shouted. “I don’t fucking care. That’s in the past. Help me now.” “Our father hid her away.” Hailey walked over to me, pushing the sole of her boot onto my chest. I coughed again. “Can you believe that? I came up with this brilliant plan to get rid of her and his solution was to keep her hidden away until he figured everything out. Hidden away so that he could keep fucking her.” “You blackmailed him,” Lana shouted. “You took pictures of us together and blackmailed him!” “I saved your fucking life, you little shit.” Hailey took her foot off my chest and glared at Lana before looking at me again. “We bonded over that though, dad and I. We bonded over this secret. How I was keeping Lana safe until he figured out what to do and how to save the rest of his little friends from going down. He trusted me not to let her leave. Not that she wanted to.”