Page 83 of Ruthless Redemption

I rake a hand through my hair, tugging tight on the strands.

“Leave with us,” she repeats. “It’s what he expects.”

“He knows you’re telling me?”

“He asked me to. He said you’d suffered enough, thinking we no longer loved you.”

“Then why not tell me himself?”

“Because he thought you’d assume it was a trick. That you wouldn’t believe him. He said I was the one who needed to break the news.”

Is that why he told me to speak to Keira? Was he trying to push me toward the truth?

“I’m sorry.” She gives a sad smile. “I wish I wasn’t making this more difficult for you.”

“You’re not. I just don’t understand. He has to have motives I don’t know about.”

Her forehead creases, her pity hitting me with force. I step back, needing space. Needing answers. Needing…God, what the hell do I need to stop this train wreck?

“Keira,” Decker shouts from the jet. “How long are you going to be?”

She doesn’t move, just keeps staring at me. “Are you coming with us?”

I should.

If I’m not truly disowned… If I don’t have to fix my mistakes… If all of this was an opportunity for Matthew to win me back, I should just board the aircraft and put what he did behind me.

But…

I glance at him sitting in the driver’s seat, his intense eyes now on mine, his expression tight.

He knows I’m no longer clueless.

The thinly veiled panic in his gaze says he’s waiting for me to flee.

“I can’t.” Even if I don’t have to earn my family’s forgiveness, I still need to deal with Emmanuel for my own sake. For Stella’s. I turn back to Keira. “There’s something I have to do first.”

“That’s what I thought you’d say.” Her lips lift in a teasing grin as she steps forward, engulfing me in a hug. “I love you, sister. Have faith you’re making the right decision.”

I haven’t made a decision. All I’m doing is sticking to my original plan. “Before you go, I need to ask a favor.”

“Anything.” She pulls back.

“I found out this morning that Stella and Tobias have been doing some digging on the Costas. From what she told Matthew, they’ve obtained birth certificates and school information. But who knows what else they’ve come up with?”

Her eyes flare. “Those sneaky little shits.”

“Exactly. They’re lucky they didn’t get caught. So I need you to stay a while in Chicago and arrange to have some sort of cloning and tracking software put on their devices. Even though she promised to stop, I don’t want to risk her doing anything else behind my back.”

“Of course. I’ll get it organized as soon as we land.”

“Make sure they don’t find out.”

She nods. “No problem. Consider it done. Is there anything else?”

“No, that’s it.” Even though she claims I haven’t been disowned, I still don’t deserve to be asking for blessings I haven’t earned. There’s a lot of drama to make up for.

“If something else comes up, call me.” She treks backward toward the jet. “No matter what it is.”

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