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Another heavy sigh. “Don’t get caught in her web, Andrea. Get out before it’s too late.”
“And it isn’t because I don’t dare to face Seth.” She wanted more than anything to see him. She wanted to apologize for the horrible note she wrote. She wanted to tell him she’d never felt like this with anyone.
But she couldn’t.
She’d messed up. Every minute that ticked by further solidified how stupidly she’d reacted. Holly had set up this whole debacle to play her sick game, and Clary fell for it.
Stopping next to the car, Clary looked up at the mansion. The facade of the white walls was still well-maintained. No dirt. No algae. “Is someone still living here?” she asked, despite being able to look through the clean windows into the empty house.
“No. But it’s still an Eolenfeld property,” Uncle David said and gave her shoulder a squeeze. “Come on.”
Clary wasn’t sure why. She couldn’t look away, even as an overwhelming sadness swamped her. The horrors that happened in this mansion. She drew a deep breath through her nose.
“The investigators said the kids—the Andersons—raised several alerts and complaints.” Uncle David remained next to her, staring at the house, as if he too was contemplating the same horrors. “But nothing ever went too far because no one could think of Holly as an abuser.”
“Because she’s an Eolenfeld.”
“And because she was an excellent actress.” Uncle David shook his head. “You’ve seen her. You should know what I’m talking about.” His chest rose. “She could be the sweetest person one moment, then change one-eighty in the next.”
Clary swallowed her sigh.
“If you’re not willing to let Edward handle this, then maybe you should go to the most powerful person you know.”
Clary turned to Uncle David.
“God. Jesus.”
She licked her lips. How could she? “How can I do that when I know how wrong my choice is?”
“That’s exactly when you should go to Him, Clary.”
Sighing softly, Clary turned away from the house.
“He’s not going to turn away from you no matter what you’ve done or chosen.”
“I know that.” At least she thought she did. Yet she did exactly what she shouldn’t have. I should’ve paused and talked to you first, Jesus. Instead of reacting with her flesh. Instead of relying on herself and thinking that she knew what was best.
Clary drew a breath through her nose. Lord, I messed up. Help me.
She was an excellent actress.
Clary closed her eyes as Uncle David’s words pounded in her head. Then she opened her eyes and gasped. “Let’s beat her at her own game.” She turned and smiled at Andrea.
“What? I don’t like that look.”
Ignoring Andrea, Clary opened the car door. “Let’s go.”
“Where are we going?” Uncle David asked.
Clary got into the car. “We should get a good lawyer for Oliver, just in case.”
“And you should tell him to keep his mouth shut,” Andrea said from the backseat. “I think if you request it, he’ll listen to you.”
CHAPTER 23
Oliver’s eyes had been closed since Zane, Elton, and Aldric left. He sleepwalked, but he never had an issue with falling asleep.
But right now, no matter how hard he focused on his mindfulness exercises, he couldn’t get himself to relax. It could be because Zane had cuffed his wrist to the bed frame, making it impossible for him to get comfortable. The pins and needles probably didn’t help either.
