Page 212 of Endgame
I tell her about the night I found Lotus bleeding and crying her eyes out. I tell her about Lotus running away from home.
About the searches and the millions of dollars we offered in exchange for the slightest clue.
Anything to bring her back to us.
Then I get to the part that turns my wound into a gash. I feel as if I’m bleeding all over the room. Over the floors, the ceilings. Over Aurora and me.
Everything is bright fucking red.
“Twelve years later, we found her skeleton in the woods. On the outskirts of Boston.” I bite my inner cheek, stifling a feral groan. Aurora hasn’t stopped crying the whole time. I won’t put her under any more stress by acting like an animal. “The coroner determined that she was around sixteen when she died. Less than a year after she ran away. And…”
Deep breath. Calm down. For her.
“And?” Her tears are like crystals on her eyelashes before they run down her cheeks.
“And that she gave birth before she died.” I gulp on air. My throat feels raw. “There was no sign of the baby or their skeleton. None. We—I thought you were dead.”
Christ, the anguish. It bangs from within my head. It cuts through my bones. Through my soul.
My jaw works. My pulse races.
Heart jackhammering in my chest.
“It’s okay. It’s okay.” Her palm scalds my jawline. My skin burns. The flames of guilt are licking my insides. “You couldn’t have known, Everett. Only a sick person would do something like that. Rape someone, steal their child, and kill them. I’ve never met your parents, and you could never take a close look at me. You couldn’t have known. You can’t take the blame for this. You can’t. It was all Winston.”
“My parents would’ve had it figured out,” I grind out. “My mother would’ve seen the similarities that I’ve missed. That has to be why he locked you in that house. Why he waited for them to die of heartache to bring you to the meetings.”
“Yes, it had to be it.” Aurora drags my hand to her heart, flattening hers on top of mine. “See? It wasn’t your fault.”
The room grows silent. Our souls reach for one another, finding solace. If only for a moment.
“It was,” I finally say, my voice hoarse. “I was too consumed with revenge to stop and look at you. When you turned nineteen, I was attracted to you. I saw how beautiful you were, regardless. How grown-up. I didn’t look closer. It had taken me forever to see it, even after you moved in here. I’m sorry, Aurora. I’m sorry I’d been lost inside myself for the past day and a half. For crumbling under the pain. For letting you down. I’m so sorry.”
“Shut up,” she hisses the command I’ve thrown her way so many times. Stumped, and frankly, in awe of her, I snap my mouth shut. “The past is dead. My mother is dead. But him… Winston is alive. A free man. What are we going to do about that?”
My heart warms with how much I adore her. “That’s another thing I needed to talk to you about.”
When the story about our meeting from yesterday comes out of me, a low growl reverberates in Aurora’s throat.
“Motherfucker.” Her punch to my chest hardly registers. “I bet he plans to cremate me once I’m dead. He wants to bury the evidence before you get too attached to me. Before you figure out I’m your—I’m your?—”
“My step-niece.” I kiss away her scowl. Can’t help myself. “AndbeforeI get attached? That ship has sailed. Iamattached. In love. I’m yours.”
“We’re taking him down, right?” Both her hands are on my face. She pulls me to her, and I let her, pressing my forehead to hers. “Promise me that we’re going to ruin him and Molly. Please.”
“We will. I have a meeting scheduled with two police detectives first thing in the morning tomorrow. They’ll be here. I would’ve called them here as soon as Winston left, except I needed the last evidence to build an airtight case.”
“The DNA test.”
“Yes. And another thing. Ever since you told me about the abuse, I’ve been building your case, Aurora. I’m getting justice for you. Everything you suffered in that house, them and their staff, they’re going down for it too.” I kiss her as fresh tears roll down her cheeks. I lick them away. Fuck, I love her. “Now that it’s settled, we’ll end this. And we’ll move on with our lives.”
She nods, then her face turns into a statue. Aurora is looking at me, but she’s staring through me.
“What’s wrong?” I massage the frown lines between her eyebrows.
“Nothing.” She blinks into focus. There’s still something missing from her gaze. Something’s lost. “I’m just tired.”
I don’t buy that for a second.
