Page 236 of Deadly Sweet

“I’m sorry,” she starts. “And I’ll do whatever I can to help you get through this,” she says with sad eyes.What the fuck is on that tape?

We gather around the laptop, and she presses play.

It starts off with him just sitting in his chair. Then a moment later, Savvy comes in.

There’s gun shots, and I get a rush of pride for my girl at hurting that fucker.

The video goes on. Savvy ties him to the chair, and he says some pretty fucked up shit.

My girl holds on strong like the superwoman she is.

That is, until he says something none of us ever expected him to say.

By the time the video is done, we’re all stunned. My mind is reeling, my heart aching.

“This can’t be real,” Jake says, looking up at us with broken eyes. “He’s lying, to get under her skin, to hurt her more.”

“Of course, it’s not real,” Walker growls. “He’s lying!”

My eyes stay glued to the paused screen as I feel a part of my soul shatter.

I want nothing more than to believe he’s wrong. Athena is my daughter. My baby girl. This can’t be real.

“There’s only one way to find out,” I say, looking over to my sister. “Find Ashley.”

Chapter 43

Jake

Ipace back and forthin my garage, waiting for Daphne to arrive with Ashley.

We’re a mess, a fucking wreck. All of us want to be upstairs with Savannah, with our daughter, but instead we’re standing here, waiting and losing our fucking mind as we do so.

Wait for what? To be told that our greatest nightmare is true?

I don’t know what to believe. We’ve seen the video, the confession on Corbin’s part. With a little bit of searching, Lucy confirmed that Corbin did own the agency we used.

---