Chapter 2 #3
A few minutes later, we find out the answer as we enter the other elevator.
Doing as I suggested, Maddy curls up against me, closes her eyes, and breathes in and out.
I trace a path up and down her back, whispering encouraging words.
She manages to make the ride without completely panicking, but she does bolt off of it so swiftly that she trips and bangs her hip against a table in the entryway.
"Ow," she gripes as she rubs her hip. "That was so spazzy."
"It was pretty smooth," I tease her as I exit the elevator.
Finn saunters into the room then. "Hey," he says to me, then his attention lands on Maddy. "Did you get hurt?"
"Sort of." She rubs her hip a few more times. "I tripped into the table."
"Smooth," he jokes, eliciting a nasty look from her.
He smiles, but his lips immediately tug downward as if remembering tonight's events. "What the heck happened, Maddy?"
"A lot, actually." She shifts her weight. "Those guys that took me… They were my dad's bodyguards."
"Wait… I thought your dad was in jail?" I say as the elevators close behind us.
"Well, the person I believed was my father for most of my life is in jail." Her lip curls with bitterness. "But apparently, every single person I know is a liar. And I don't even have all the details yet, so who the hell knows how bad things will get."
Puzzlement swirls around me. "How do you know all of this?"
"Do you remember that guy Grey from the grocery store who knew my Aunt Ellie?
" she asks, and I nod. "Well, his bodyguards were the ones who took me tonight.
After I got into the car, they dropped me off at this house that belongs to Grey.
He told me he thought I was his daughter, and he wanted me to take a DNA test. And the results came back as a match.
That's not even the craziest part, though," she says through a yawn while stretching her arms above her head.
Her back arches as she does, and it causes my attention to drift to her chest. I catch Finn gawking at her, too, but I can’t blame him. She’s fucking sexy.
I hurry and yank my attention elsewhere, though, because now isn't the time to be checking her out and getting totally turned on by her.
"Let's go sit down and talk," I suggest as I place my hand on the small of Maddy's back. "You look like you're about to doze off."
She rubs her eyes with the heels of her hands. "I feel so exhausted. It's been a long night."
I urge her toward Finn, who spins around and walks out of the room.
We settle in the living room, where the surrounding windows show the glittering lights of the towering buildings that make up the Royal City. Maddy sits beside me, and Finn takes a seat in the chair across from us.
"It's quiet," I state. "Are Lily and Noah not here?"
That worries me. If Lily is out somewhere when the press releases the news about my mother, more than likely, she'll hear about it from that. We need to be the ones to tell her.
"Lily isn't here. I texted her to see where she is, but she hasn't responded." Finn restlessly taps his foot against the floor. "I haven't checked to see if Noah is here."
Maddy glances from Finn to me. "Is something going on?"
I look at Finn and then back at Maddy. "Yeah, but finish telling us about what happened to you tonight. Then we'll get into the shit show that was our night. Maybe Lily will be home by then."
I take out my phone and text Noah to ask where he is.
"So," Maddy begins. "On top of Grey Devenport being my father, apparently, my aunt Ellie is my mother."
My brows spring upward. "Holy shit."
Finn lets out a "Whoa" while shaking his head in surprise.
"My thoughts exactly." She presses her lips together.
"And according to Grey." She fiddles with the leather band on her wrist, “My aunt Ellie is secretly an Everford, which is why she gave me that necklace.
I guess when he met her, they started dating in private, and my Aunt Ellie told him she was an Everford.
Her mother had an affair with someone that was an Everford, and Ellie was a product of that affair, so she's only a half-sister with my mom—well, the woman I believed to be my mother until tonight.
" Her jaw is tight. "Ellie and Grey are the only two people who are aware of this.
And I mean, I kind of get why Ellie didn't want me to know, but it still sucks. And now she's gone missing, and I'm worried it's because of this. I’m also worried that Grey could be totally bullshitting me. I need to talk to Ellie. She’ll have answers. But how am I supposed to find her when she doesn’t want to be found?”
"I could try to track her down," Noah says, startling all of us.
He's standing in the doorway and is wearing joggers and a grey T-shirt. His bloodshot eyes make me question if he's stoned.
I'm not thrilled he overheard our conversation. He's been in the dark about what's been going on… Unless Maddy told him…
Would she? Noah did tell Maddy he was selling drugs. Maybe she told him about her possible family lineage. A while ago, I wouldn't have worried about that. But I don't know this version of Noah that keeps secrets and does things like sell drugs.
"How would you do that?" Maddy wonders, rotating her body and causing her knees to press against my legs. "When I have no clue where she is."
He looks directly at her as he speaks. "There are ways of tracking people down. Technology footprints are hard to completely erase."
"That's a good point." She crinkles her freckled nose in the most adorable way. "I'm not sure why she's gone MIA. Maybe she just doesn't want to see me anymore."
"Doubtful. It probably was to protect you," Finn replies, stretching his arms above his head and yawning. "She probably doesn't want anyone to know you exist, and the only connection to that is her. Well, and now I guess Grey is too. But Ellie probably doesn't know he knows any of this."
"Yeah, maybe. It still sucks that the person who told me this is someone I don't know." She miserably sighs. "If Grey hadn't seen me at the grocery store, I wouldn't have found out about it.”
"That's not entirely true." I trade a look with Finn.
Maddy notices and frowns. "What's going on?"
I wanted to wait to hear from Lily before I got into that, but she hasn't responded yet.
"My mom sent me some odd messages tonight," I say, reclining back on the sofa with my arm draped across the back behind Maddy.
Noah takes a seat as I begin explaining tonight's events. Maddy visibly pales as I do, and by the time I'm done, she looks as if she's about to puke.
"River, I'm so sorry this is happening," she whispers, taking my hand in hers.
I trace her knuckles with my thumb. "It's okay. Like I said, there's a chance she took off on her own. She's done it before."
"It's true." Finn props his foot onto his knee. "And while she never flat-out said it, I've always wondered if our mom was trying to get away from our dad when she took off."
"I still don't get why she'd go through this much of an extreme, though." My gaze involuntarily glides to Noah. "When our dad left her for another woman."
Noah, who's been quiet this entire time, starts tapping his foot against the floor. Him and I might not be friends right now, but we used to be, which means I know him well enough to assume…
"What do you know? "I ask, slanting forward and resting my arm on my knees.
He glances at Maddy, and I do as well.
"Do you know something?" I ask, struggling not to be hurt.
Her and Noah are sort of friends, but I'd feel a bit betrayed if Maddy knew something about my father and Noah's mother's affair and never told me.
"I don't know any details," Maddy stresses, tucking a lock of her hair behind her ear. "But I already told you that I know Noah has stuff he hasn't told you."
The three of us look back at Noah.
"I can't tell you," Noah mumbles. "I want to, but it'll put my father in danger."
That wasn't what I was expecting.
"How?" Finn inquires with a crease etched between his brows.
Noah shrugs while staring at the wall. "I already said I can't tell you."
I feel frustrated. "Noah, I understand that you want to protect your parents, but if you know something that will help us find my mother, you have to tell us."
Noah shakes his head with his lips pressed together. He remains silent for so long, I feel like I'm going to go mad.
"I can't tell you everything,” the words finally burst out of Noah, his chest rising and falling with his heavy breath intakes.
"But if you want answers, you should be talking to your father. He has a lot of secrets. And power. And the ability to ruin anyone’s life if he wants to.
" He shoves to his feet. "I have some stuff to take care of.
" He rushes out of the room, taking long strides that are veering toward jogging.
Finn wags his finger toward the doorway Noah bolted out of. "He knows something."
"That's obvious." I frown. "But I don't think he's keeping it from us just because he wants to. He's scared."
"I know." Finn and I exchange another look.
"You remember that one time when we were like thirteen, and he didn't tell me about that stupid rumor floating around that I had sex with the mascot?
" Finn asks me. "Because he was worried how much it'd hurt me.
So, instead, he tried to get the guys who started the rumor to stop it.
And he ended up getting his ass kicked."
"Did you have sex with the mascot?" Maddy wonders curiously.
Finn gives her a hardy-har look. "No. And the rumor wasn't that I had sex with the person who played the mascot. It was that I had sex with the costume."
Maddy pulls an apologetic look. "Oh, my bad. Sorry."
"Yeah, way to judge, Maddison." Finn throws her a shit-eating smirk, to which Maddy responds with an exaggerated eye roll.
I almost smile, but it feels wrong with all the horribleness currently surrounding us.
Our silence is abruptly interrupted by the ringing of Maddy's phone.