DNA Test Completed:DNA analysis is a 99.999% match to Carissa Helix
Living Relatives:Sebastian Helix (Spouse), Fallon Helix (Daughter)
Numbness grips my body, and I stare at the page for what seems like an eternity. My thoughts race with the betrayal right in front of me.They knew.They have had this information for years. They held me, tortured me, comforted me, made me trust them, and all this time, they fucking knew.
My chest grows tight as the room starts to spin. It's the pictures attached to the file that are the final straw. When my stomach churns, I race to my room on silent feet, emptying the contents of my stomach into the toilet.
I can’t catch my breath as I sit back, tears tracking down my face. No sound is coming out, as if every emotion is balled up and frozen insideme, fighting to be the first to break through. The cold tile is all that grounds me to here and now.
She is really gone.
I knew, deep down, that it was a possibility, but with this last thread of hope destroyed, I feel like the final tether to my sanity has snapped. After everything I’ve been through, after all the questions I’ve sought answers for, this is the one that will break me. And to add insult to injury, they knew. They fucking knew.
Rage is the emotion that breaks through first. Heat races up my spine, and my fists clench around the file. One sentence jumps out at me through the haze.Cause of death is ruled homicide.
I jump to my feet and rush to my bedroom to put on pants and a shirt of my own. I grab the blade Akio gave me after the O'Brian fiasco and tuck it into my pocket. After throwing on shoes that I can move quickly and quietly in, I toss the file on my bed and head down the hallway.
I know exactly what needs to be done and where he is right now.
Everyone else seems to be asleep. I just have to make it past Matteo so that I can get out of here. He is distracted with whatever he is making and I hold my breath as I pad silently past him to the door that leads to the garage.
I’ve watched Akio leave through the overhead garage door a thousand times, and I know they only arm this door sometimes because the doors that lead from the garage to outside arm automatically. I hold my breath as I try the knob.
It clicks open, and no sound comes from the system. I breathe out a sigh of relief as I make my way into the garage, silently closing the door behind me. I take the keys to Declan’s Hummer but I don’t go straight for it. I can’t have them following me.
Moving from car to car, I slash three tires on each one. Enough to render them useless, but not enough for insurance to cover the damage. When I get to Akio’s bike, I hesitate.His freedom.
My mind goes back to our talk in the kitchen, but it’s quickly replaced with the reality of the situation I’m in.They took my freedom.
I stab my knife into each tire with a grunt of rage.
Although I should feel some satisfaction from this, I feel nothing. It is like a void has taken over my body as I climb into the black Hummer and start the engine. I take a breath, and instead of all of the betrayal crowding my mind, all I see is Mom. Her face smiling at me, pushing me on the swing, holding me when I was scared, shielding me from Dad’s anger; just Mom.
I click the button on the sunvisor and wait numbly as the garage doors open up. I shift the vehicle in reverse and slam my foot on the gas pedal.
Whipping the wheel around, I shift into drive and hit the gas, spitting gravel as I peel out toward the main road, toward my revenge.
Silence rings through the Hummer as I race down the highway. I follow the same route into the city that they guys took each time they let me out with them.
Ringing stirs me from my thoughts as I look at the screen in the middle of the dash.
How are they calling a fucking car? I never got my phone from them. It allegedly needed to stay turned off to prevent it from being tracked.
I hit decline and keep driving.
Every few miles, it rings with another name on the screen, alternating between Akio, Matteo, and Declan. When a very familiar number flashes on the screen this time, I accept the call.
“Yeah.” My voice sounds devoid of emotion.
“Fallon, you have to stop. Come back.” Quinn’s voice comes out through the speakers.
“Did you see it?”
There is a distinct pause before she answers. “Yes. Fallon, there is more to it. You need to hear them out.”
“Fuck that.” Now I feel the rage returning, heat simmering in my veins. I never knew hate like I do now. I thought I did after that night Clay attacked me but this… This is so much more primal.
“Please, listen to me,” she pleads, but I don't want to hear any more. The idea of her siding with them, justifying what they’ve done, leaves a bitter taste on my tongue. Maybe I was always meant to be alone.
