Page 150 of Logan
Unease coils in my gut at the thought, a sense of foreboding raising the hairs on the back of my neck.
“Have you seen the email?” Dad asks, his face pale and tense. “The one from The Silent Witness?”
I tilt my head. “Yes, I saw the email today. We tried to track it down without success. He wrote that revenge is servedcold and that Valeur will pay dearly. That Mom’s death was not enough punishment. Do you know anything about this? Any idea what that means?” Suspicion narrows my gaze as I study Dad’s reaction, trying to read between the lines.
“No.” The word comes out of his mouth almost as a cry, and the conversation around the table stops.
“Why would he mention Mom? What punishment?”
“I have no idea.” Dad gets up and leaves the room. His abrupt departure sends a chill down my spine, a sinking feeling taking root in my stomach.
“What the fuck just happened here?” Cora asks.
“You know Mom’s accident wasn’t an accident, right?” Lucas says, his voice low and dangerous. “She committed suicide.”
Cora sucks in a sharp breath. Horror widens her eyes, her hand flying up to cover her mouth.
Liam stands. “Why are you spouting lies like that, Lucas?” Outrage vibrates through Liam, his hands curling into fists at his sides.
“Because it’s true.” Lucas scowls. “Dad is hiding the truth from you all. He didn’t want you to know, but I always knew.”
“I don’t believe it.” Cora shakes her head. “Why would she commit suicide? She had a happy life. She had us, Dad.” Denial thickens her voice, tears welling in her eyes.
“In their last years, they didn’t love each other anymore,” I mutter. I remember all the times she sat a little farther from him, avoiding him, not allowing him to touch her. The distance growing like a chasm between them, a cold war waged in silence and averted gazes.
Lucas nods. “So, you noticed too.” He turns to Cora. “Youdidn’t notice because you were young when it started, but something changed in their relationship in the last years. Maybe he cheated on her.”
“That still doesn’t mean she committed suicide.” Cora bites her lip. Uncertainty wavers in her voice, the foundation of her world cracking beneath her feet. “People don’t commit suicide because they stop loving or because of cheating.”
Lucas shrugs. “Maybe they do, maybe they don’t.”
Liam paces the room and then stops and turns to Lucas. “But how does this connect? Do you think this revenge is related to her death? Why? How?”
“I don’t know. But I intend to find out.”
Chapter Forty-Four
SLOANE
Iopen the lid and read the inscription on the cake.
When will you tell her about me?
What the hell? Is this aimed at me? Tell her about whom?
I sit on the chair and stare at the cake for long minutes before I notice the text is signed. The letter “G” stands out small at the bottom, and recognition hits me like a punch to the stomach.
G for Georgina. This is Logan’s ex-girlfriend, the one he said is blackmailing him. I look at the sentence on the cake again. Anger simmers beneath my skin at her audacity. She didn’t send this for no reason. She intended for me to see it. I’m sure of it.
I stare at the cake for long minutes before deciding to take a shower and clear my head.
“Sloane? You here?”
“Hey, babe. I’m in the shower. I’ll be right out!” I shout back.
“Want me to join you?” he asks, this time his voice sounding right behind the closed door. Temptation tugs at me, the urge to lose myself in him nearly overwhelming.
I consider his offer for a moment, almost giving in, but we need to talk, and I have to know what happened with his ex, the conversation with his family. And I need to know what’s going to happen with me. With the future of both of us before anything else, and sex won’t help me get answers.
