Page 109 of Exile
Grey laughs. "Well, that's one charge anyway. Alexander is dead so someone else has to take the fall for the board's corruption and involvement. Arthur and the board members have been charged for their contribution to the Lilydale scheme."
Best. Fucking. News. Ever.
"That's not all," Theo presses on, shooting me a knowing look. "I may have made a call to the medical board when I was released. That woman doctor has also been charged and has her license suspended pending investigation into malpractice. The othersurvivingdoctors as well."
"Dr. Cromwell?" I splutter out. "Shit. No Christmas or birthday presents will ever compare to this."
"I still intend to give it my best shot," Grey replies.
I turn to Damon, unable to fight the smile off my face. "You really did it, Damon. I'm so proud of you."
He lifts an eyebrow. "Team effort, wife. You three also played a pivotal part in this. Along with the others, of course."
Byrone and Jillian were released a few days ago. From what I've been told, the pair of them immediately headed North, back to Byrone's home town to be near his family. They still keep in touch though and have promised to come back for Thanksgiving.
"So, what happens to Lilydale?" I ask. "After the investigation is finished, I mean."
Damon shrugs. "Technically I own the building. I'll probably demolish it and sell the land."
I slope back into the couch, pulling my knees to my chest. "Or…"
"Or what?"
"Okay," I murmur. "Hear me out. What if we—you—turn Lilydale into a proper facility? Like the one I was in over in Ridgeview Valley. They are obviously desperate for more space to accommodate patients. We could turn Lilydale into everything it was meant to be. A proper home to help victims."
The three of them watch me carefully, my cheeks reddening. Was it really that terrible of a suggestion?
"I actually like that idea," Grey finally chimes in.
"It would take a lot of work," Damon responds thoughtfully. "We'd practically need to tear down the whole internal structure and start fresh."
I nod. "No one would want to step foot inside any old format of Lilydale. But we could transform it into a real place of support. It would be the perfect fuck you to Alexander."
"Alright, I'm sold," Grey laughs. "Any fuck you to Alexander has my tick of approval."
Damon's eyes stay trained on me, a smile appearing on his lips. "Mom would have liked that."
"So, it's settled," Theo says. "Lilydale gets a makeover while I spend the rest of my days buried inside Avery."
"Sharing is caring," I laugh. "That's what theASS Scheduleis for."
"I'm going to order takeout," Grey announces, standing up from the couch. "Something tells me Avery is going to need all her strength tonight."
Resting my head against the couch, I smile at all of them, feeling completely at peace and loved for the first time in my entire life.
I guess Whittingham was right about one thing—Lilydale did save me. It was just in the form of three unhinged psychos.
And I have no complaints about it whatsoever.
Epilogue
Grey
Sometimes we take for granted just how nice the fresh night breeze can smell in summer.
The wind dances around in soft whispers, and when the wet belch interrupts the night sky, I nearly enact my plan early. This fucker is killing my vibe when I should just be killing him.
He wasn't hard to hunt down. People rarely change. When Avery gave me the minimal details she knew, such as the name of the bar her father frequented and his friend's first name that violated her, I found him within hours.
