Chapter 36
The next morning, I sluggishly walked down the stairs in my pajamas and bed hair to see Hero and Marina whispering while sitting across from each other at the kitchen island.
“What is going on?” I yawned.
Marina glanced at me, then shifted her gaze back to Hero and grasped one of his hands. “Do you want to tell her, dear, or should I?”
“Blake’s in the hospital,” Hero muttered, “and Mom has to go to court to legally adopt you so that you don’t get taken away.”
My eyes widened, my face growing pale. “What?”
That was a lot to take in at once.
“The police showed up at my doorstep this morning,” Marina said, rubbing her forehead.
“I need to see Blake,” I said, hyper-ventilating. “We have— we have to— because it’s not fair— he’ll suffer—”
Hero rushed over to me and grabbed my wrists. “It’s okay. Benji didn’t do the spell correctly. Blake will be okay.”
“Blake’s awake?” I asked, tears rolling down my cheek.
Hero nodded. “He’s hurt, but he’s awake.”
Thank God I didn’t kill him last night.
“Then why does Marina have to go to court?”
Hero released his grip on my wrists, averting his gaze. “Blake wants to take you back in.”
What? I figured CPS was going to take me away, not Blake. Like, Blake? The same Blake who kicked me out? The same Blake who hated me as his sister? The same Blake who lied to me about our parents’ deaths? The same Blake who tried to get me to steal Ayden’s money?
That Blake wanted to take me back?
“Why?” I whispered, wondering aloud.
“Because he’s manipulative, Pepper,” he said bluntly. “He’s in a vulnerable state and wants to take advantage of you again.”
“I’ll decide that for myself.” I deadpanned, then turned to Marina. “Can I visit him after school?”
Marina nodded. “Of course, dear.”
“What, you want to get manipulated again?” Hero asked incredulously. “You want to go back to that hellhole?”
“Hero Castell,” Marina warned.
“I’m just trying to knock some sense into her, Mom,” Hero protested.
“Don’t worry about me, Ro,” I said, a smile appearing on my face. “You trust my judgement, don’t you?”
He stared directly into my eyes, his eyebrows rising. “Not at all.”
There’s the same old Hero I knew. He still hated himself, never trusting my judgement for choosing to be with him.
“Pepper, would you be a dear and ask Ayden for that boy, Benji’s, address?”
“What for?”
“I’m going to have a chat with his parents.”
I nodded. “I’m on it.”
Pulling up Ayden’s contact, I texted him asking for the address. In less than a minute, he responded with the address followed by ‘Don’t do anything stupid.’
I didn’t think Marina’s idea was stupid—in fact, I thought it was a brilliant idea. We might actually be able to stop Benji.
As I told Marina the address, she wrote it down before grabbing her car keys. “I’ll drop you two off first.”
“We’re not coming with?” I asked, puzzled.
“No, you guys have school.”
“What if something happens to you?” he protested.
“And being a few minutes late won’t hurt,” I added, although that wasn’t true. We would lose three points in the point system at the academy.
She hesitated for a moment. “Fine. But you’re staying in the car.”
* * *
The house was nothing like I had imagined.
It was not so far in distance from Ayden’s house, but it was at least three times wider and three times taller.
It was newly painted beige, with a brown roof.
Marina had to park on the street because there was a gate out front, stopping us from going any further.
“No getting out,” she reminded us before shutting the car door and walking to the intercom next to the gate.
She uttered a few words, and a moment later, the gate slowly opened.
She marched through the gates towards the mansion.
As she stepped onto the porch, the double-doors opened automatically.
She hesitated before entering, but did so, nonetheless.
It was nearing the twenty-minute mark, and no signs of her. Hero and I had agreed that if she wasn’t back in twenty minutes, we would get out of the car. We stared intently through the car window, clutching each other’s hand.
Suddenly, the doors swung open, and Marina came strutting out of the tall mansion. By the time she had arrived back to the gate, it had opened.
Marina opened the car door, letting out a relieved sigh.
“Did it go well?” Hero asked, about to fall off the edge of his seat.
“Yes, dear.” She turned the engine on, then gazed at us through the rear-view mirror. “He shouldn’t be bothering you guys anymore.”