Page 117 of Twisted Truths
“She was completely cracked,” Isaac continues. “I tried to stop her from getting to Franklin, but—” He pauses, rubbing at the bruise on his temple. “I didn’t realise the psycho bitch had inhumane strength or something. She threw me across the room like I was nothing.”
He falls silent, and for a moment, all I hear is the sound of our footsteps and uneven breathing.
“I must have hit my head, because the next thing I know,I’m waking up and you guys were there,” Isaac finishes. “I thought I was dreaming for a second.”
“She poisoned Madeline,” I choke out, swallowing down the bile at the back of my throat. “When she was in labour with Annie. Sierra told her it would help with the contractions.”
Gabriel comes to an abrupt stop, pain flashing in his grey eyes. “What the fuck?”
“She killed them.”
He shakes his head, choking out a guttural, “No.”
Isaac grips his brother by the back of the neck and rests his forehead against his. “The bitch will burn in hell for what she put you through, brother.”
“Did you get what we need to bring down the Circle?” he asks through gritted teeth.
“Yeah,” Isaac replies. “Files, recordings, video footage. Everything we need to bring the Circle to their knees.”
“Good,” Gabriel mutters, and the word hangs in the air between us. He glances at Nash, before returning his gaze to his brother. “Was there anything in there that will implicate our parents in the murders of Zara and her family?”
Isaac recoils. “What? No. Why do you think it was them?”
“Because they needed the blood of Franklin’s ancestors for the ritual.”
“They didn’t need her blood for that. They can use blood from one of us.”
Nash, Gabriel, and I share a look. Seraphina still believes Franklin is Gabriel’s son.
But if they’re not responsible for the murders, then who is?
“We need to keep going,” Nash says gruffly. “We can’t stop here.”
I know he’s desperate to uncover the truth, but we need to get Franklin to safety first.
We keep moving through the dense bushland, thornybranches clawing at our clothes and skin. Nash and I do our best to keep them from scratching Franklin, who has fallen asleep from the constant movement, and we’ve covered him as best we can with his blanket. My heart aches for him. This little boy has been through so much in his short life, and he won’t even know about it until he’s older.
Finally, we spot the old road, finding the car right where we left it, half-hidden off the shoulder, behind a mass of scrubs.
I unlock it with a beep before tossing the keys to Gabriel.
As Nash goes to slide into the backseat with Franklin, his phone buzzes with an incoming call. He ignores it, but as soon as it stops, it starts again. Muttering a curse, he adjusts his nephew so he can slip it from his pocket.
Gabriel and Isaac scramble into the front, and Gabriel wastes no time starting the engine.
As we peel off down the road, Nash’s phone rings again and he answers it.
“Levi? Now’s not a good?—”
His voice cuts off abruptly, and his eyes cut to me.
What’s happening,I mouth, but he shakes his head.
“Slow down,” he says, his knuckles whitening around the phone. “What do you mean, she’s gone?”
My stomach drops. We don’t need any more distractions. Not now.
There’s a long pause. I can’t hear Levi, but whatever he’s saying has Nash’s body tensing. Franklin stirs against his chest, letting out a soft sound, but he barely notices.
