CHAPTER THIRTY #2
Her eyes flashed with anger, and she pressed her lips into a thin line. “So you posted it. How could you do it? Do you have any idea how messed up that is?”
“And what about all the messed-up things she did to me? To others? We never got any justice. She never paid for what she’s done.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “And did that make you happy? Do you feel satisfied?”
The expression of pain on Blair’s face as she was tattooed flashed in my mind. I flexed my hand.
She shook her head. “Yeah, I didn’t think so.”
“What do you want, Melody?”
She uncrossed her arms. “I want you to get your head out of your ass and do something good for a change. Blair needs help, and I can’t do anything but watch from the sidelines. You’re the only one I know who can try to protect her.”
“If you’re referring to the backlash, there’s nothing I can do about it, and you know it.”
“No, I’m not talking about the backlash. I’m referring to Dad and the government official he collaborates with. That man ensures Dad obtains all the necessary permits for his real estate projects. His name is William.”
William . . . where did I hear that name before?
“So?”
“So the permits don’t come without a price.”
My shoulders stiffened. “And what’s the price?”
“Blair.”
What the— “What does that mean?”
“It means she has to do certain things to William in turn.”
Certain things.
Red coated my vision as obscene images of Blair and that man together invaded my mind, and all my muscles started to shake with rage.
“And your dad?” I spit out. “He’s okay with it?”
She dropped her gaze, entangling her hands together in front of her. “He’s more than okay. He ordered her to give William what he wants.”
“Motherfucker!” I slammed my fist into the wall, barely registering the pain exploding through my arm. Blair didn’t tell me anything. I didn’t have a clue she had to— Fuck! “How long has this been going on?”
“It started a year ago.”
“A year ago?” I had no idea. Not even an inkling. I was so sure I knew there was all to know about her, so how could I have missed this? She’d never said a word about it to me. “When?”
She shuffled her feet. “On her eighteenth birthday.”
I froze. “What?”
“I remember it clearly because we were supposed to celebrate her birthday together in the evening. But Dad told her she had to go to a nightclub that night, where William waited for her.”
The video. The CCTV video I’d blackmailed her with. It had the date of Blair’s birthday.
“What was the name of the nightclub?”
“Black Rose.”
The name checked. Blood rushed to my ears, and the world stopped moving.
That wasn’t just some guy she messed around with on her birthday. She gave that sick fucker head even though she didn’t want to. And I’d used that video against her. Fuck, fuck, fuck!
Just then, Blair’s words rang out in my mind.
“William . . . he’s Dad’s business associate. He just offered to give me a ride home, that’s all.”
William. He was the man I’d found Blair with.
She’d been about to go through the same shit that night, and I’d attacked her for it.
Fuck!
“Why?” I asked, simmering with anger at myself but also at Blair. How could she have been so obedient? “Why didn’t she refuse to do it? Why couldn’t she have denied your father that?”
Melody lowered her head. “It’s complicated.”
“No, you don’t get to drop this news on me and then tell me it’s complicated. Why?”
She shifted on her feet, her eyes filling with moisture before she blinked to clear them. “She did it to protect me. She did it so Dad wouldn’t make me go through that.”
I drew back, gaping at her.
She was giving sexual favors to that man to protect her sister?
Something tightened in me from deep within—something I’d fought against for so long—rushing over to the surface until it erupted out of me, and there was nothing I could do about it.
I was so wrong about her. She hadn’t lied.
She’d done something so brave, something so good, and she’d suffered in silence, even when I was about to punish her for being with that man.
The signs were all there, but I chose to believe she was the worst rather than believe her.
And I’d thought I knew everything about her, but I didn’t know jack shit, and I’d gone on to post that video and force that tattoo on her and—
Fuck!
What have I done?
What have I done, what have I done, what have I done?
A roaring noise surged in my head, painting my world red. I’d fucked up. I’d fucked up so badly. If only I’d known the truth . . . If only I’d known what those motherfuckers were doing to her, I would’ve helped her. But I’d hurt her, and I’d ruined everything. I fucking ruined everything!
I kicked the coffee table, knocking it over along with a glass bowl on it. The bowl shattered into pieces on the floor.
Melody yelped, jumping back. “What the hell?!”
“I should’ve known. I should’ve known the truth.”
“Why? Why does it matter?”
“Because I messed up big time. If I’d known what she’d been going through, I—” I ran my hands through my hair, feeling so fucking guilty. I couldn’t fix this. There was no fixing this.
I flexed my hand. No. No, there had to be some way. This couldn’t be it. I was going to have to find her and do something. But first, I was going to deal with those fuckers. They were going to pay. They were going to regret ever making Blair suffer.
I didn’t even realize I was moving when Melody’s voice registered.
“I don’t think I even want to know what you’re trying to imply here, but if you want to make it up to her, then help her.
William is having a masquerade ball right now.
He asked specifically for Blair to come, and she wasn’t allowed to refuse. ”
I whipped around to look at her. “Son of a bitch.”
I darted toward the stairs to my bedroom to change my clothes, when I remembered Blair’s post, and I stopped.
“What was Blair’s post about? Why did she post that?”
“You saw it, huh? It’s part of her plan.”
My fingers gripped the railing. “What plan?”
“She wants to stop Dad and William from using her once and for all. She’s going to go there and draw a confession out of William.”
“A confession?”
“She’s going to pretend she’ll give him exactly what he wants and lure him somewhere quiet before she makes him spill what he and Dad have done to her. All the while, she’ll be LIVE on TikTok, with her phone hidden in her purse, so everyone will learn the truth.”
“What?” Every muscle in my body tensed, alarms activating in my head.
No way. No fucking way was she doing this. That was a bad idea for a dozen reasons. So much could go wrong, but more than that, I didn’t want her to get anywhere close to that sicko.
“I think it’s a terrible idea, and I even told her not to do it, but she didn’t want to listen.” She shook her head. “That’s why I came to ask for your help. She’s already there, but you might have time to get there and stop her before she carries out her plan.”
“She’s already there?” Shit!
I started racing up the stairs, but she caught my arm, stopping me. “Wait.”
I gave her an impatient look over my shoulder. “What?”
“You can’t get there without an invitation.” She waved a red envelope at me. “This is the invitation for my mom, but since Dad didn’t allow her to go because of the bad publicity her charity has received these days”—she rolled her eyes—“you can use it instead.”
I snatched the envelope. Inside was a small red paper containing only a generic invite and no name. It was convenient but ultimately unimportant. I would’ve gotten inside one way or the other.
She raised her finger. “One more thing.”
I growled. “I don’t have time for this, Melody.”
Her lips twitched with a smile. “Be careful. Try not to make a scene. You don’t want to get on their bad side. Well, more than you already are.”
I arched my brows. Not make a scene? It was the least I was going to do. Just knowing Blair’s father had forced her to go to that ball made me want to kill him, and I didn’t give a shit what he or William could do.
“Can’t make any promises.” I disappeared upstairs.
By the time I got back down, Melody was gone, and I left as well, rushing to get to Blair before it was too late.