Chapter 10
CHAPTER 10
JULIA
A cold dread seeped into Julia’s veins as she read the words, her stomach churning like a turbulent sea. A sense of foreboding wrapped around her, tightening its grip with every word. “Okay, that does it. Kyle, you’re not going back to Lydia.”
“I definitely am,” he argued. “We need this connection now more than ever.”
“No, Kyle. This is way too dangerous.”
“It’s not. I can do this.”
“Stop,” Grant said with a shake of his head. “Please.”
Julia rubbed her temples. “You’re right. We should see Sierra. We can discuss this later, though as far as I’m concerned, there’s nothing to discuss.”
“Yes,” Grant agreed. “We’ll deal with this later. I’d like to see Sierra.”
Kyle’s jaw tensed as he bobbed his head up and down. “She’s in room ten.”
“Are you coming?” Julia asked as they headed for the door.
He stared into space, seeming pensive before he twisted to face her, nodding. “I’ll be right there. I’m pretty sure she won’t want to see me anyway.”
She slid her hand into Grant’s as they hurried down the hall to Sierra’s room. Julia pushed inside first, followed by Grant. Sierra huddled in the bed, tears staining her cheeks as she continued to sniffle.
She snapped her eyes up to Julia, her features pinching before she started to sob again. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”
“I’m fine, Sierra,” Julia said as Grant crossed to her and scooped her into a hug.
Sierra wrapped her arms around him as she continued to cry. “Daddy!”
“I’m glad you’re okay, baby. But what the hell were you thinking getting behind the wheel after drinking and taking medication?” Grant pulled away from her, his features a mix of worry and frustration.
“I’m sorry,” she said before she flicked her glassy eyes to Julia. “Julia, I’m sorry.”
Julia crossed to her, sinking onto the mattress. Before she could speak, Sierra flung her arms around her neck as her shoulders shook with sobs. “It’s okay, Sierra. I’m okay.”
Julia rubbed her stepdaughter’s back until her crying quieted a little.
“You ought to thank God she’s okay, Sierra. That was a stupid thing to do,” Grant said.
Sierra pulled back, wiping at her cheeks. “I know,” she said, her voice hiccupping. “I just…”
“You were in an incredible amount of pain,” Julia said as she grabbed the woman’s hand. “And you still are. But we need to discuss a better way for you to move forward than drowning it with alcohol and drugs.”
Sierra sniffled as she nodded. “I know. I just–”
Julia squeezed her hand, spotting the deep-seated hurt still floating in her eyes. “You know nothing you said in the car, Sierra, none of that was true, right?”
Sierra chewed her lower lip. “But it is.”
“No, it isn’t. You are not unlovable. And I’m pretty sure your father would agree with that statement.”
Grant’s eyebrows pinched as she grabbed Sierra’s other hand. “Of course, I do. Baby, I love you. James loves you. Julia loves you.”
Julia nodded as she wiped a tear away from Sierra’s cheek. “And you don’t destroy everything you touch. What your mother said to you is complete nonsense, Sierra. She just wanted to hurt you.”
“I’m like her.”
“No, you are not,” Grant said as he sank onto the bed across from Julia. “You are nothing like Lydia. Trust me on that.”
Sierra sniffled.
“And I would agree with that,” Julia said. “Based on what I know about you both, you are nothing like her.”
Sierra’s features squashed as she slouched in the bed. “But…”
“But what, Sierra?” Julia asked.
Sierra flicked her gaze to Julia. “You saw those pictures of me. I’m the girl everyone is disappointed in.”
“No,” Julia said with a shake of her head. “No, I’m not disappointed in you. Sierra, everyone makes mistakes. You made a mistake. But you learned from it. Right?”
“Based on tonight, I didn’t.”
Julia inched closer to her, trying to soothe her deep pain. “I think you did. And I think tonight taught you a lesson, too.”
Sierra swallowed hard as she nodded. “It did. I feel awful. I just…kept thinking of what you must think of me. How much you must hate me.”
“I don’t hate you. I told you that when we were in the cave.”
Sierra snapped her eyes up to Julia, searching them.
“I’ve known since before our trip. It didn’t change anything for me. The only thing I’ve been concerned with has been making sure those pictures never see the light of day. Now, can we put this behind us? Can you promise me you’ll stop this nonsense thinking about how terrible you are so we can focus on stopping your mother?”
Sierra chewed her lower lip again before she flung her arms around Julia again. “Yes. But you may have to remind me sometimes, okay? I’m needy.”
Julia chuckled as she tightened her arms around Sierra and shot Grant a smile. “Yes, I can remind you all the time. But I need you to promise me one more thing?”
Sierra pulled back from her, her features questioning. “What?”
“That when you start feeling bad, you come to one of us and let us remind you of all the reasons you are great instead of drinking or taking some narcotic, okay?”
Sierra wiped at her cheeks again as she nodded. “Yeah, okay, I promise.”
“And,” Grant said as he held her hand, “that you will not confront your mother. We’re working really hard to make sure she pays for what she’s done, but we need your help to do that, okay?”
“I want to help,” Sierra said. “I want to do something. Although, I guess I’ll be in jail for a DUI.”
“I told them I was driving,” Julia said. “No one needs to know I wasn’t outside of us, okay?”
Sierra’s features melted as she stared at Julia. “You did that for me?”
Julia nodded at her. “Yes, of course. You don’t need this, and it wasn’t your fault. If that deer hadn’t been in the road, it never would have happened.”
“Thank you, Julia,” Sierra answered as she squeezed her hand. She flicked her gaze to Grant. “I still want to do something.”
“You can do something by keeping quiet. I know that’s going to be hard, baby. But you need to play along, act like you know none of this.”
Julia nodded at Grant’s words. “He’s right. And we have a plan in place to get those pictures away from Lydia. I have someone coming to work on this.”
Grant snapped his gaze to her. “You got him? Your friend?”
She nodded. “Yes. Alex Stone is coming tomorrow…well, later today. He thinks he can handle it as long as they’ve not been leaked onto social media yet.”
Grant heaved a sigh. “I hope he can do it.”
“Alex Stone? Like the tech guru guy?” Sierra asked, her nose wrinkled.
“Yes,” Julia said with a nod.
“How did you get him to do this?” Sierra’s eyes went wide. “OMG, Julia, were you also engaged to him?”
Julia allowed a chuckle to escape her lips. Sierra seemed to be recovering to her normal self. “No, Sierra. One of my sorority sisters married him.”
“He’s married?” Sierra asked.
“Sort of. Maybe not anymore. It’s complicated. The point is, he’s coming and he’s happy to help. And he’s the best hacker I know. If anyone can do this, he can.”
Sierra tugged her eyebrows together as she nodded. “Okay, yeah. Hopefully, he can.”
“Even if he can’t, if those pictures get out, Sierra, we’ll get through it, okay?”
“Julia’s right,” Grant said with a nod. “You are my daughter. You can recover from this. I don’t want you to, but if it happens, we’ll face it together, okay?”
Sierra bit her lower lip before she nodded. “Okay.”
Julia offered her stepdaughter an encouraging smile. “We’re going to get through this, Sierra.”
Grant licked his lips, sucking in a breath as he flicked his gaze to Julia. “There’s something else you should know, Sierra.”
“Now what?” she asked.
“Christopher Metcalfe is dead.”
Her lips tugged into a frown before she puffed out a breath. “Good. He was the first one who used those pictures to threaten me. I thought it was over when I got him the job at Harrington Global.”
Julia shook her head, recalling her suspicions about Sierra’s insistence on him being hired. “I knew it. Sierra, why didn’t you tell someone?”
“I was afraid. I didn’t want anyone to know. I thought you’d hate me.”
“Baby, I could never hate you,” Grant said. “Believe me. I have made a lot of mistakes in my life. A lot. And I’m still making them.”
“We all are,” Julia agreed.
“Anyway, someone murdered him. I found the body. Thankfully, the police don’t think I did it. But it is another reason to stay away from your mother. She’s dangerous.”
Sierra’s features scrunched. “Do you think Mom did it? I mean, I wouldn’t put it past her.”
“I don’t know,” Grant said with a shake of his head. “Maybe it was someone who works for her. Or one of her partners. Either way, please stay away from her. Maybe take a vacation with James.”
Sierra blew out a breath, upset crossing her features. “I don’t think that’ll work. I…stupidly broke up with him.”
“I think he’ll understand, Sierra. And if it’ll help, we can talk to him and let him know what’s going on.”
Sierra swallowed hard as she twisted the sheet covering her in her fist. “I can talk to him.”
Julia glanced over her shoulder before she spun back to face Sierra with a smile. “You won’t have to wait for long.”
Sierra lifted her eyes as James, carrying a bouquet stepped into the room. “Hey, Sierra. How are you feeling?”
“Why don’t we leave them to talk?” Julia said as she reached for Grant’s hand.
Before she could go, Sierra grabbed her hand. “Hey, Julia?”
“Yeah?”
“I’m really glad you’re okay and…I love you.”
Julia’s heart melted at the words. She knew they didn’t come easy from her after being dumped by her mother at a young age. It marked progress for her, and Julia couldn’t be prouder. Julia wrapped her stepdaughter in an embrace. “I love you, too.”
After another squeeze of her stepdaughter’s hand, she whispered good luck before she left her room behind.
Grant faced her as they entered the hall, his hands closing around her arms as he rubbed them. “Thank you, Julia. You handle her so well. I don’t think I could have done that without you.”
“Sierra doesn’t really need handled, Grant. She just needs love and patience. What Lydia did to her runs deep.”
“I know,” he said as he flicked his gaze away from her and shook his head. “She can’t get close to people because of that. She’s always afraid to lose them.”
Something clouded his eyes as he said the words. She wondered if they hit closer to home than he cared to admit.
With a hard swallow, he shoved away the emotion etched into the lines on his face and focused on her. “But she did get close to you. She said those three words I never thought I’d hear from her.”
“And I am honored she said them to me,” Julia said with a grin. “I feel the same way. I’m glad I had the opportunity to get to know her.”
His forehead creased for a second at the words. She wondered what about them gave him pause, but she didn’t get the opportunity to ask.
Kyle sidled up to them. “Is she okay?”
“Yes,” Grant said with a nod, “she’s doing okay. James is here.”
“Oh, good.” The hollowness in his voice suggested that he didn’t care what Sierra was doing. He flicked his gaze to Julia, seeming agitated again. “Julia, can I talk to you?”
“Sure,” she said, though Grant failed to remove his hands from her arms.
“Alone,” he said, his jaw flexing as he set his hands on his hips.
“Look, Kyle, can it wait? We’ve all had a really long night and–”
“No, it can’t. I’m sorry to inconvenience you, but I really need to speak with Julia alone.”
Julia read the urgency in his voice, wondering what happened to set him on edge again. “Give me a few minutes,” she whispered to Grant.
“Sure. I’ll be here when you’re done.”
Julia offered him a reassuring smile. Given what Kyle had told her earlier, she knew the tension between them had, once again, ramped up. The way Grant refused to let go of her arms suggested he still didn’t trust his son. But they’d have to learn to work together. Especially now.
Julia squeezed his hand before she strode down the hall as Kyle led her toward a waiting room. Instead of ducking inside, he guided her around a corner.
“Where are we going?” she asked.
“There’s something you need to see,” he answered.
She stopped, refusing to move forward. “Wait, wait, wait. What?”
“Julia, now is not the time to drag your feet. We need to move on this.”
She furrowed her brow as she studied him. He seemed agitated. What happened? He reached for her, but she stepped back away from him. “I need more information.”
Kyle’s shoulders slumped. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to scare you, but I think I found something that directly ties Lydia to DG. This could be the break we need.”
“What evidence? What did you find?”
He clenched his jaw, speaking tersely. “I’m trying to show you that.”
Julia mulled over the information. “Okay, I should tell Grant, though.”
“No,” Kyle said as he grabbed hold of her arm.
She stared down at his fingers wrapped around her, her mind whirling with suspicion.
“Julia, he doesn’t trust me. If this doesn’t pan out, he’s going to accuse me of all sorts of things. Please. I just need your insight on this.”
She fluttered her eyelashes as she blew out a sigh. Her suspicion was getting the better of her. She offered him a nod. “All right.”
He seemed relieved by her answer as he wrapped an arm around her shoulder and led her down the hall. Each step made her heart pound harder against her sore ribs.
Kyle pushed into a stairwell, leading Julia down the stairs and through a door marked Parking Garage. Her brow furrowed as the situation set off alarm bells given their complicated history. She tried to push past it, certain the tension of the night and her lack of sleep so far was wearing on her, but she felt all her muscles tensing.
“We have to leave the hospital?”
“Yes, Julia. Come on,” Kyle said as he palmed his key fob and marched her to his car.
She eyed it, a chill snaking down her spine as she recalled the last time she’d been in it while this nervous. “I think we should tell Grant.”
“Get in the car, Julia.”
His terse tone set her nerves even further on edge. “Kyle, I think we should–”
He tightened his grasp around her as he opened the passenger door and shoved her toward the seat. “Get in. We don’t have time to waste. Just trust me.”
Without much other choice, she climbed into the seat, trying to push all her fears aside. He slammed her door closed and hurried around the car to climb behind the wheel.
“Kyle, I’m not comfortable with this,” she said as he locked the doors and fired the engine.
He tore out of the parking space as though he didn’t even hear her. She slouched in her seat, her heart still pounding a hard drumbeat.
As they pulled onto the city’s streets and headed north, she shot a glance toward him. “Can you at least tell me where we’re going?”
“You’ll see,” he answered as he reached for his phone. He tapped on it twice before he pressed it to his ear.
Julia swallowed hard, waiting to hear who he was calling.
“It’s done,” he said, his voice a low growl, before he ended the call and tossed his phone in the cupholder.
Julia eyed it, the sudden urge to grab it and call for help coursing through her. “What’s done? Kyle, what’s going on?”
He ignored her, his eyes trained on the road and his grip on the wheel unnaturally tight. He shot her a sidelong glance, his eyes flickering with a complexity of emotions she couldn’t decipher. She struggled to stop herself from trembling as the city faded away behind them.
“Kyle, you’re really starting to scare me. I want to go back.”
“Sorry, Julia, this is too important.”
The journey seemed to stretch endlessly, each minute amplifying Julia’s unease. The world outside the window blurred into a monochromatic landscape, heightening the sense of isolation.
Julia’s thoughts raced as they drove in silence, a sinking feeling growing in her chest as a whispering voice warned her of impending danger.
Panic set in as civilization faded away, and they found themselves surrounded by forest on either side of the road. Her fingernails dug into her palm as she waited to see what this would lead to. She hoped it wasn’t a mistake.
She side-eyed the phone in the cupholder again, wondering if she could snag it without him knowing. With her breathing now shaky, she slid a trembling hand toward it. Before she could close her fingers around it, Kyle snatched it and shoved it into his pocket.
“We’re almost there,” he said.
The action made her stomach roll. Why was he being so secretive?
He slowed the car and pulled off the road onto a gravel drive surrounded by trees. His lights failed to cut far into the darkness ahead of them as they drove further and further from the main road.
The car’s headlights sliced through the thick veil of darkness, casting long, eerie shadows between the trees. The gravel crunched ominously under the tires, each turn taking them deeper into a secluded world that felt disconnected from reality.
A cabin came into view as the trees gave way around them. Kyle eased the car to a stop and opened his door.
Julia did the same, gulping in the fresh air and glad to be out of the car. She glanced at the woods, wondering if she should run.
Before she could, Kyle appeared in front of her, sliding an arm around her shoulders and guiding her toward the cabin. “Come on.”
She swallowed hard as they climbed the stairs and pushed into the unlocked space. “Why are we here? What does this have to do with Lydia?”
A chill shook her as she studied the space. She shook her head as she spun to face him. “I don’t like this. I want to go back.”
Prickly heat washed over her as he slid a padlock onto a plate securing the door. The metallic click of the padlock echoed in the cabin and a chilling realization dawned on her. Trapped and isolated, her heart pounded in her chest like a frantic drum as he turned to face her. “I’m sorry, Julia. I can’t let you leave.”
A tremble shook her as her lips parted at his words. Blood rushed into her ears and her heart pounded loud enough to drown out most other sounds. The truth hit her with the force of a thunderbolt. She was a prisoner.