Page 43 of Corrupt Me

“The new principal at Preston. She was my mother’s best friend and has always been there for us, but Hunter was her favorite.”

“He could do whatever he wanted and there were no consequences for him,” Celine whines.

“So why would she allow that?” Abi asks, echoing my own thoughts.

Mia shrugs. “Because she cared for him, and he was a difficult teenager.”

“Are we talking about the same guy here?” Abi asks, looking at me like we missed something.

Celine’s brow bunch into a contrite expression. “Yeah, well, he did a lot of things in high school—parties, girls. I think she just wanted to protect him.”

I search for Alice on the web. She’s beautiful with dark, shiny hair, flawless skin, full lips, and almond-shaped eyes. A pang of jealousy hits me out of nowhere.

“Are you crushing on my brother?” Mia teases me.

“Girl, please. That happened a long time ago,” Abi says.

“Am I that obvious?” I ask.

“Yes, but he’s no better,” Celine says.

“Why would you say that?”

“Girls flock to him. He has never spent time with them or stuff like that. But he took you out to have fun.”

“Maybe he did it to counterbalance how hard he trains me.”

Mia tilts her head. “That too. He wouldn’t even consider letting Blake train you. Apparently, my brother doesn’t share when it comes to you.”

“You’re seeing things that aren’t there.”

“You should stop the whole dating thing and think of something else. Honestly, I am worried about what he’ll do if Eric oversteps,” Celine says.

Abi gives me a pointed look. “What I will do. I’ll help him bury the body if something happens to you.”

“It won’t come to that.”

After last night, I realized I don’t want something fake, and maybe I am not that good of a spy. I nearly got everything I needed from Eric, anyway. Recording his voice requires one more date, and then I am done.

Leaving, I go to my room and change for dinner at the compound with my parents. I opt for a silk white blouse, beige trousers, and matching loafers, gathering my hair to one side as it falls in loose curls over my shoulder. Then I’m out the door.

Unease has always flickered in the back of my mind when I have to see my parents. The difference now is that my parents have no power over me or my life’s decisions. That is freeing and gives me the strength to push through these unavoidable dinners.

I park the car in front of my childhood home—the only real home I know. While my parents live in a penthouse in the city, I am never invited there.

I let myself in and find them in the formal dining room. They’re seated at opposite ends of the table.

“Father. Mother,” I say as I sit, and a member of the staff places a bowl of creamy mushroom soup in front of me.

While my father offers a strained nod, my mother watches me as if I were the biggest mistake of her life. It used to hurt more, but the hurt morphed into numbness with time.

Physically, I take after my mother, except she has hazel eyes. I’ve tried to find any resemblance to my father, but there’s nothing. Together, they run the media company; my father does all the work, while my mother enjoys the title, basking in the power it brings. They form the perfect power couple, and though I can’t be certain, I’m fairly sure they never wanted me. Waiting to have me six months after Celine was their form of rebellion, especially since all my friends were born within four months of each other. By pure chance, Mia and Hunter are the same age, three months older than me.

“Christine informed us of your role in the Family,” he says, not bothering to look up from his plate.

“It’s what I’m good at.”

“Whatever you do on that computer, remember you’ll lead the media company after we retire. I haven’t worked my whole life for you to ruin everything.”

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