28. Chapter 28
Chapter twenty-eight
Jinx
I never thought I would be getting answers on who killed Dad.
I knew this day was coming, but now that it’s here, I don’t know what to expect. What if this doesn’t go how I envisioned it? Serena could say something completely different. Maddox drove us to Dad’s after breakfast, and now it’s up to me to set the bait.
The twins can’t sit still, and I swear they are going to wear a hole in the floor of the living room. Each minute I don’t make the call, they glare at me. They don’t understand the feeling of having to call the one person you despise and know the feeling is mutual.
“Call, Odette.” Atticus snaps at me.
“I will, just… give me a second.” I tap my phone in my palm, trying to hype myself up. Don’t think about it, just dial the phone number. I turn the screen on and find her name in my contacts. I tap Evil Stepmother and put the phone to my ear.
“Odette, what brings the pleasure of this call?” Whenever she speaks with that nasally voice, my hand can't help but clench.
“Serena. I would like to talk to you about the school. Can you swing by Dad’s today?”
She smacks her lips. “I suppose so. I’ll drop what I’m doing and entertain your idea.”
I pinch the bridge of my nose and try not to tell her where to go. “Thank you. I’ll call and order from that favorite restaurant you like.”
“Wonderful. I’ll bring Roan he would love to visit.”
“Perfect,” I fake cheer.
“Bye, Odette.” The line goes dead, and I throw my phone on the couch.
“Don’t you ever make me do that again? I swear I could’ve punched her through the phone. And before you ask, yes, Roan is coming.” I sink on the couch, resting my head on the back. I’m not mentally prepared for this.
Maddox walks into the living room, dragging a chair. “Wilde should be here in half an hour. Should we get things set up?”
“Yeah, where do we want him?” Ashton grabs the chair and looks at Atticus.
“Well, not in here. Hide him someplace they won’t see or hear him.”
I point toward Dad’s office. “That would be the ticket. It would be ideal since I want to discuss the school with Serena.”
Ashton moves to Dad’s office. “This I can’t wait for. I need some more excitement in my life.” He chuckles.
Yeah, it’s official. I’m rethinking this plan. Ashton and Maddox are both gonna enjoy it. Atticus will just be an asshole, and I will have to wait forever to get my answers. It shouldn’t matter if I get answers, but justice needs to be served. They can’t get away with it.
Watching Wilde tie Augustus to the chair makes my stomach flip. Having him in this house doesn’t sit right. In a way, I feel like I’m betraying Dad by having his murderers come into his home. He better not come back and haunt me. I’m doing him a favor by doing all of this.
“You hear that, Dad.” I look around the office, making sure he knows.
“He knows, Jinx. Don’t worry,” Wilde says, tying the last knot and backing away. “And this house doesn’t give me the vibe of being haunted. You’re good.”
I narrow my eyes at him. “Where the hell did you come from?”
“Parkview. Don’t ask. That place is a dump compared to this place.”
“I hope this works. Where the fuck is she?” Atticus cuts in.
“Who knows, she’s your mother.” I brush past him. Knowing her, she’ll be fashionably late. I should’ve given her a time. This is bullshit waiting around for her. I move to the living room and peek out the window. Her ears must’ve been ringing because I see her white Cadi roll into the driveway, and my stomach drops. “Fuck.”
I watch her and Roan step out of the car, laughing at each other. Roan takes her hand kissing it; they look like a couple in love, not a couple that can plan anything vicious. Her voice rings out, and my hand clenches. I need to remind myself to play nice until this is over.
They walk in like they own the place, and when Roan sees me, he grins. “Ahh, Odette, what a lovely surprise.”
I roll my eyes, what a douche. “I bet it is. Seeing how you knew I was here.”
He goes to say something, but Serena puts her hand on his shoulder. “That’s enough, you two. I swear you are like children. Shall we start with lunch?”
I raise a finger. “Actually, can we start with business? I would like to get that out of the way.”
Roan nods. “That’s a good idea. I would like to know the sudden change of mind.”
“Okay. I set everything up in Dad’s office.” I extend my hand toward the office. Roan leads, followed by Serena. The closer we get, the more I can hear Dad’s heartbeat. This is finally over. Roan places his hand on the office doorknob, and fear claws at my throat. God, this can go so wrong.
They both stagger inside when they see the twins standing before Augustus. I shut the door behind me, locking it and sealing all of us in. Maddox and Wilde stand to the side, watching, waiting. The air grows thick with anticipation. Atticus moves to the side, and Serena inhales sharply.
“What is this?” She presses her hand to her chest.
“I think you know, Mother. The gig is up. We know everything, he squealed like a fucking pig. We know you killed Prescott.”
She rushes forward, smacking Augustus across the face. “How could you? We had a deal!” she screams. “After all this, and you ruined it.”
Augustus laughs low. “No, you fool. You ruined it. They didn’t know who killed Prescott.” He stares at her. “You squealed like a pig, you fucking idiot. After all these years, you still can’t keep that mouth shut.”
Roan turns to leave, but Maddox is on him. “I don’t think so, asshole.” He kicks the back of his knees, dropping Roan to the floor. Roan tries to fight him off, but Maddox pulls his arms behind his back, lifting them upward.
“I won’t stand any of this. You have nothing on me.”
“They do. I told them about you stalking Odette. If I go down, you go down,” Augustus taunts.
Roan snaps his head to the side. “How could you? We had a plan; stick to the plan, you asshole.”
“What plan?” Serena demands, looking between them.
Augustus sighs loudly. “To pin everything on you, but you had to remove the old man’s heart for some sick and twisted desire. Couldn’t let the poor man be whole even after he was dead.”
My brain can’t keep up with any of this. Serena killed Dad? “Why? Why did you do it?”
“Simple child, for the money,” Roan says.
“What money. Serena wouldn’t get any, and she knew this,” Maddox spoke through clenched teeth.
Serena’s laughter rang out. “You expect me to believe that. He owned a school, for Christ’s sake. He’s holding back on me.”
“Serena, you were there with the lawyer. There is nothing for you. You killed him for nothing.” Pain grips my throat; the thought of him sitting in his office talking to her, not knowing what she was planning, kills me. She was his wife; even if she didn’t act like it, how could she do that to him? All for money that was never there.
“And you asshole, why did you start stalking Jinx?” Ashton asks the other question everyone’s been dying to know.
Roan looks at me with a bored expression. “For intel mostly, but she became rather fascinating when the twins showed up. I couldn’t help but make myself known. Do you think I was only stalking you since they showed up? Think again; it’s been years, you just never knew it. I know everything about you. But it became fucking hot when Atticus took you for the first time, I had to tease you.”
Atticus storms over, landing a punch to Roan's face. “You fucking prick.” Roan falls onto his side, groaning. “I should kill you.”
“That doesn’t sound like a bad plan. Maybe not fully, but enough that he’ll need a wheelchair for the rest of his miserable life,” Ashton adds, slamming his foot into his ribs. Roan rolls over, grabbing his side.
“Stop, you’ll hurt him.” Serena rushes over, wrapping herself over Roan.
“Yeah, that’s kinda the point. Eye for an eye, Mom.” Ashton grabs Serena and hauls her off, handing her to Wilde. She screams when Atticus lands another punch to his face, and an ear-splitting crack fills the air. I don’t think I can watch this. I back up, reaching for the door; blood pools on the floor under Roan's broken face, and it’s flashbacks to Dad’s office. I can feel my throat closing up, and the room spins. I turn, facing the door, flinging it open.
The cool air of the hallway is welcoming, but I need more. I slowly make my way along the walls towards the kitchen until I reach the patio doors. Feeling overwhelmed, I drop to my knees and let the tears flow as I rest my head on the window.
After all this, this is how it ends. No, I want my fucking justice. I want them all to rot in jail. Dad doesn’t deserve anything less. His legacy doesn’t need to be tainted like this. I need to be the daughter that he raised and demand more. But I won’t be able to do it alone if the guys keep taking rounds out of Roan. They’ll end up in trouble too. I brace myself and stand. This all ends today.
I head back to the office, and Serena's screams can be heard from the hall. I brace myself for what I’ll see in the office again, but it needs to be done. I stare at the floor in the doorway and take a deep inhale. Lifting my head, I try not to look around.
“That’s enough!” I yell.
Atticus halts his move; his foot frozen in the air. Wilde still has Serena in his arms, her hair a mess from fighting; when I look at Augustus, he has a bloody nose.
“I can’t let you guys keep doing this. I need to call the cops.”
“Jinx, are you out of your mind?” Atticus stands, his knuckles bloody and on display.
“No, Atticus, I’m serious. They need to pay for their actions, and I know who can help.”
Maddox crosses his arms, trying to hide his hands. “Who, Jinx?”
“Barnaby. He’s always been on my team in every board meeting, and I trust him. He can help, I promise.”
“Jinx, we just beat the shit out of Roan that doesn’t look good.” Ashton points to Roan’s body. I stare at Ashton, knowing I won’t be able to look down.
“I know, but can you please trust me?”
“Okay. Tie Mother up, and we’ll clean up. Call him first before the cops.”
I turn to leave when Ashton says, “Jinx, I’m sorry.”
“I know.” I leave them to clean up, grab my phone from the couch, and dial Barnaby’s number.
Praying he’ll help.