Chapter 40
I thought the hardest part of today would be laying Cole to rest and enduring the emotional turmoil that would bring. I figured Abigail would need to lean on me, and I was more than prepared to give her whatever strength she needed.
What I wasn’t prepared for was the domino effect Helen’s reappearance—like a ghost from the past—would trigger. Hurt and betrayal lined the girls’ faces as they disappeared upstairs a while ago, leaving me us in an awkward silence. Jonathan and Helen seemed lost in their own world of pain and unspoken questions, while Owen paced restlessly at the bottom of the stairs, glancing up every few seconds as if willing Cora to come back down.
“You ready for the fallout from this mess?” Alex asks, swirling his whiskey and looking more withdrawn than I’ve seen him in a long time.
“Absolutely. If it means we’re one step closer to shutting down that human trafficking ring and getting some answers, I’ll take all the fallout in the world,” I reply firmly.
“Do you think we’ll ever really be done with this, though?” he presses, his tone heavy with doubt. “Sure, we might shut down this ring. We might even kill a few guys and figure out what happened to your mum. But they’re like vipers. Cut off one head, and two more take its place. And even if we get answers about Freya, there’s still Alice.”
The mention of his sister—rarely spoken of these days—hangs in the air between us. I can see how much this is eating at him, and it only makes me angrier. He should know by now that I won’t let him carry this weight alone.
“I doubt it’ll ever really be over,” I admit. “But with the Clan’s resources combined with Four Points’, we’ll get more done faster. And if you think I’d back away once I find out what happened to my mum and leave your sister’s fate a mystery, then you don’t know me at all. I told you I’m all in, and I meant it.”
Some of the tension leaves his shoulders, but I can tell how much this has been weighing on him. Before he can say more, the sound of a door opening draws our attention. We turn towards the stairs to see the girls standing together, a united front. They look every inch the strong, fierce women they are.
As they descend, Abigail locks eyes with me, raising a single eyebrow as she demands, “Care to explain what the hell is going on?”
“How about we leave Cora and her parents to talk things out, and I’ll explain everything I can while we take Lily back to her dorm?” I suggest. There are things Helen and Cora either aren’t ready to hear or that are best coming from Jonathan and Owen. The girls can vent once they’ve had time to process.
“If you think I’m—” Abigail starts, her tone sharp, but Cora cuts her off.
“It’s okay. Go. I’ll see you later,” she says softly, pulling both girls into a hug before gently pushing them towards the lift.
With a nod to Jonathan, I lead the girls towards the car, Alex falling into step beside me. As we leave, I can’t help but think that I don’t envy any of them for the conversation they’re about to have.
Once we’re in the car, with the girls in the back and Alex riding shotgun, Abigail launches her first question.
“Why the hell did no one seem surprised about Helen’s reappearance? And if you knew she was alive, why the fuck didn’t you say anything? Surely you can empathise with the pain Cora could have been spared.”
“That’s exactly why we didn’t say anything,” I reply calmly. “Imagine if we were wrong. Up until she appeared at the cemetery, it was all speculation and best guesses. Would you have wanted to be the one to give Cora hope, only to rip it away?”
“Of course not, but you still could have told me,” Abigail insists.
“And you would have kept it a secret?” Alex asks, twisting in his seat to give her a pointed look. His expression says it all.
“Let’s back up,” Lily interjects, trying to defuse the tension. “How did all of this even come about?”
“Long story short,” I explain, “Alex and I have been investigating the human trafficking ring my father was running and trying to find out what happened to my mum. Along the way, we uncovered details about Helen’s supposed death that didn’t add up. Coupled with the fact that Angus had already tried to kidnap her, it set off alarm bells.”
“But we were hitting dead ends everywhere,” Alex adds, meeting the girls’ eyes in the rearview mirror. “So, Logan decided to get Jonathan on board.”
“Our marriage,” Abigail breathes, the realisation dawning on her.
“Exactly,” I confirm. “The merger and wedding were tied to a deal to combine our resources and dig deeper into this mess. But we had nothing concrete to go on, so we agreed not to say anything. It wouldn’t have been fair to burden you with keeping something so huge a secret from her. And we never could’ve predicted Helen would just show up out of the blue.”
“Because you thought if she was alive, she might have been sold,” Lily says quietly, horror etched on her face.
“Exactly,” Alex says. “We don’t know any more than you do about what happened or how she ended up at the cemetery. Those are questions only Helen can answer, and it doesn’t look like she’ll be ready to do that anytime soon.”