Page 93 of The Sweetest Revenge

Mila cleared her throat. "No one," she finally said, but her voice wavered. "Everyone loved Kacie." She straightened her shoulders. "She wanted to stop Coach from what he'd been doing for years, and he wasn't willing to go out like that."

Ariella's brows pulled together as her gaze lifted to mine. "How did you get the videos of me and Coach?"

I scowled, thinking back to when I found the emails. "Someone sent them to me anonymously."

"When?"

I shrugged as I pursed my lips. "I don't know. They were sent to an email I almost never check." I flipped open my phone using my thumb to scroll through emails.

"Did the email say anything?"

I shook my head, my eyes locked on my phone as I continued to scroll. "No, just had the videos." I found the email and clicked on it. My eyes widened as I noticed the date and time. "It came in a few hours before Kacie's car accident."

"She knew he was coming after her," Ariella said.

Journey tucked her hair behind her ear. "That was all she sent you?"

"That was it." I traced the edge of my phone case.

"We should all dig through old emails." Ariella leaned forward, wincing as her bruised ribs protested the movement. Her voice took on the determined edge that had made her debate team captain three years running. "Make sure she didn't send anything else. Make sure you check your jun?—"

"No."

My voice cut through the air like a blade. Everyone froze. Journey's thumb hovered mid-search. Sterling's water bottle stopped halfway to his lips.

Four pairs of eyes narrowed on me, a synchronized reaction that would have been comical in any other circumstance.

The silence stretched. One second. Two. Three.

"This is over. Coach is gone, it's not like we need to collect evidence to get him fired or arrested. He's dead."

"But don't you want the truth exposed?" Journey asked.

I shook my head. "No. I don't want those videos getting out because that's what will happen if we expose everything."

Ariella sucked in a deep breath. "So it's over."

"Kacie wanted us all to know the truth," Journey said. "And we do, and I think Zaiden is right. Kacie's looking down, smiling, knowing she got her revenge and we're all okay."

A tear streamed down Ariella's cheek.

My back lifted off my chair, and I spun to her. My large hand wrapped around her knee, and I spun her toward me before pulling her closer so her knees slid between mine. "Kacie can finally rest in peace." I brushed my thumb across her cheek, wiping away her tears.

Her eyes closed as she melted into my touch. "Okay."

"Shit," Sterling muttered, checking his watch. He stood abruptly, chair legs scraping. "I have five minutes to make it to the opposite end of campus before Professor Harmon locks me out." His movements became a blur, backpack grabbed, water bottle capped, notebook shoved inside.

"Yeah," Journey said, rising. "I have to go." She smoothed her skirt. "I'll text you later."

Mila glanced between them, then at her phone. "Shit," she echoed, but made no move to stand. "Time went by fast." She closed her laptop with a decisive click. "I gotta go too."

One by one, they peeled away from our circle. The library seemed enormous around us. Too quiet. Too empty.

"Come on," I said, grabbing Ariella's bag off the floor. "I'll walk you to class." We had plenty of time before our first classes. Maybe enough time to breathe, to process.

As we crossed the library threshold into the morning sunlight, a weight lifted from my chest. We knew who was responsible for my sister's death. We knew he had paid the ultimate price. Justice served cold but complete.

My hand slipped into Ariella's, her fingers cool against my palm. For the first time in months, I could imagine a future beyond grief, a chance to forgive myself for not being there when Kacie needed me.

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