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“I can hear what Sissy hears!” Mira snaps.

Elle chews her lip, looks at her sister, then looks back at me. “Really?”

“I think it’s best all around.”

It’s bad enough I have to terrify Elle out of her mind. I don’t want to traumatize the child too.

“Mira, go to your room,” Elle says.

“But—”

“Now, please,” Elle says sternly.

Mira huffs and grabs the back of a chair. For a second, it looks like she’s going to tip it. But suddenly she stuffs her thumb in her mouth and stomps out of the hallway. Elle lets out a broken sigh as she watches her go.

“Great,” she says with bitter sarcasm. “Now she’s regressing. How wonderful.”

“I’m sorry, Elle.”

“Me too,” she murmurs. “I’m being a bitch.”

“You have every right to be?—”

“A bitch?”

“I’d never call you that,” I grunt.

“I love her,” Elle whispers. “And I love how much you’ve helped her. But I don’t think things will be the same now.”

“No, probably not,” I agree somberly.

“So, tell me, then,” Elle says. “What’s the second half of this crap sundae?”

I wish there was a way around this. But I can’t keep hiding the truth from her.

Fuck, fuck,fuck…

I don’t want to do this.

“Rhett, stop delaying,” she sighs.

“Lucian has escaped from prison.”

CHAPTER 14

ELARA

Ionce read in a book,it was like she spoke in a foreign language. The news was so shocking to me. The line stood out because I remember thinking that there’s no way that words could literally not make sense because of shock.

But now I get it. He’s just told me that Lucian is out. But it’s also just like he spit gibberish.

I squeeze the edge of the table, lean back in my chair, and look over my shoulder to make sure Mira didn’t sneak back out here to eavesdrop. “How?” I whisper.

“He paid a guard to loosen his cuffs, staged an attack during a prison transfer, probably arranged for the transfer too.”

“Wuh-when?” I clear my throat, annoyed at the stutter.

“Day before yesterday.”