Page 88 of Ruthless Prince
“Just to confirm, I had Mal take a small blood sample from you while you were unconscious on the jet. It’s been tested now. You aren’t a carrier, which means you’ve never had mono. You were perfectly able-bodied on the night my sister wasattacked.”
I frowned. “That’simpossible.”
“Nope. You’re totally full of shit, and I can prove it. I don’t even know why you’re trying tolie.”
“I’mnot!”
Obviously,hewas lying. Either that or the blood sample his lackey took from me was somehow testedincorrectly.
I was definitely sick five years ago. I remembered the awful fevers, the terrible aches and shivers, and the blinding hospital lights above my bed. I remembered waking up every so often with drips in my veins and heart monitor clips attached to my fingers, and I remembered wishing I could slip back into dreamland so I could escape the sickness and pain. It was the worst I’d ever felt in mylife.
Until Logan kidnapped me and beat the shit out of me with a cane, thatis.
“Let’s talk about the night my family got that call from the hospital,” he said, cocking his head to the side. “A random passerby found Chloe lying in the middle of the road in that old industrial area near Odenton. The doctors told us she might’ve been okay if she was found a few hours earlier, but by the time she was brought in, there was too much swelling. Her brain wasfried.”
“I’m sorry,but—”
“Stop.” Logan held a finger to my lips. “You used to take the same route every night when you went out for your rides, didn’t you? And you’d always pass through that industrial area. I remember you telling me all about it at the dance. You said it was nice and quiet, because most of the buildings on those blocks are vacant at night. Just empty streets to cruise around. No one to bother you or get in yourway.”
“Yes, I used to ride out there,” I said. “But I didn’t hit your sister. I swear, I wouldnever…”
The words died on my lips as Logan held up a hand to shush me again. “There was no reason for her to be anywhere near that area. Not unless someone lured her there. Someone who went there regularly and knew the place verywell.”
I sighed. “It wasn’tme.”
“If you say so.” His lips tightened with disdain. “I know she wasn’t always the nicest person to be around. She didn’t treat you well, and believe me, we argued about that more than a few times. But she was still my sister. I loved her. Still do, of course, but the version of her I knew is gone now.” He paused and cleared his throat. “Unfortunately for you, part of her was still there thatnight.”
“What do youmean?”
Logan turned his gaze away from me. “When I got to the hospital, they were about to take her in for emergency surgery. She was fucked up. Soaked with blood and rainwater. I thought she was going to die.” He scratched his jaw and frowned. “I wasn’t exactly thinking straight. I kept shouting at all the doctors and begging Chloe to wake up. I kept asking who hurt her, even though I knew she couldn’t answer. But then she did. She whispered yourname.”
My eyes widened. “You must have misheardher.”
“That’s what I thought at first. Figured she was mumbling random shit, and it didn’t matter. I was just glad she was still alive. Still talking. But then she said it again. Your full name this time.” His eyebrows gathered in, and he pinched the bridge of his nose. “They were the last words she ever spoke, you know. She hasn’t been able to say a single thing sincethen.”
“You said her brain was scrambled. Maybe she just said a totally random name, and she didn’t have any idea what she was actually talkingabout.”
Logan’s eyes blazed. “Do you think I didn’t consider that already?” hesaid.
I shrank back even more. “I… I don’tknow.”
“Of course I fucking considered it. I’m not an idiot. When she said it, all I could think was ‘No way. Willow would never do anything to hurt anyone’. Even when Chloe started seizing and muttering ‘She did it! She did it!’ a few seconds later, I still didn’t believe you would hurt her. So I kept it to myself. I didn’t tell my parents what she said. They were already distraught enough, thinking someone hit their daughter and left her to die instead of facing up to theirmistake.”
I nervously bit at my bottom lip. “So what changed your mind about me?” I asked timidly, afraid he might blow up and smash my head into a wall for daring to ask aquestion.
“Once she went into surgery, some cops came in to talk to us. When I heard exactly where she was found, I put two and two together. Same area you always rode in, plus she said your name twice. It was too much of acoincidence.”
My forehead wrinkled. “But you didn’t tell the police? Or yourparents?”
He shook his head. “I knew there was a chance I could be wrong, and like I said before, I didn’t want to add to my parents’suffering.”
“Please don’t get angry at me for saying this,” I began, holding my trembling palms up. “But that’s not a good reason to keep something like that from them. Not if you honestly thought you were right aboutme.”
“I think it is. Between giving birth to me and Chloe, my mom had three late-term miscarriages. So my parents already lost all those babies, and then they essentially lost another child because of Chloe’s accident. I didn’t want to make things worse by telling them someone we know might’ve actually hurt Chloe on purpose. That would’ve killed them. Especially when it wasyou, their future daughter-in-law, as per the Order contract. So I figured I’d look into it alone. If you were guilty, I knew I could punish you better than any cops or prison systemwould.”
“But I’m not guilty,” I said. “Chloe was horrible to me, and I admit I totally hated her for it. But I would never get revenge like that. I’m not that sort ofperson.”
“I already told you I wouldn’t baselessly accuse you,” Logan replied. “I haveproof.”
