Page 23 of Twisted Elites

I clenched my teeth. What was the point of telling her that the headmistress had long given up on combatting the bullies, and the only person who had ever cared about stopping the bullies had tried to murder me? Twice.

“Thanks,” I snapped.

The operator hung up.

“Bloody hell.” I tapped the incident number into my smartphone. “No one’s taking this seriously at all.”

* * *

One morning during breakfast, Sebastian received a thick envelope from Mr. Pinkerton. It contained a receipt for a hundred and fifty thousand pounds signed by Ashley, all the documentation related to the transfer of Ashley’s share of the house to me, and a letter from Ashley stating that her memory from the assault had sharpened, and Prakash definitely wasn’t her attacker.

As Sebastian sorted through the mail and handed me the items relevant to the house, I asked, “Why haven’t the police released him, then?”

Leopold craned his neck to read the lawyer’s cover letter. “She needs to go into the police station to change her statement.” He reached into the envelope and pulled out a postcard-sized envelope. “This is for you.”

I opened it and unfolded a letter written in Ashley’s handwriting.

W

Thanks for finally doing the right thing and releasing my birthright. I can’t say it’s been a pleasure being your sister because it hasn’t.

Bones and I are emigrating to Ibiza, where we will live out our dreams. When the kings dump you, they, the queens, and the knights will dish out a spectacle that will eclipse what I suffered.

Quadruple it, and that will describe the daily shame and anguish I endured as your twin.

Dad always said, you reap what you sow. I wish you the life you deserve,

A

I stared at her note until the letters blurred, but there was no surge of emotions, and no tears pricked the back of my eyes. Why would they, when Ashley’s actions had already conveyed her resentment?

Sebastian leaned across the table and read over my shoulder. “She’s just writing that to hurt you. And in case you’re wondering, we’re not planning anything.”

With an absent nod, I slid the letter across the table to Leopold and nodded. “Yes, I know.”

Chapter 6

Days later, we sat at breakfast. Sebastian received a letter that drained the color from his face. He flared his nostrils, thinned his lips, and breathed hard. His fingers clutched the paper so tight, it warped.

My stomach flip-flopped. If something happened to Prakash while he was in the juvenile detention center... I gave my head a little shake and asked, “What’s happened?”

“Your fucking sister,” he growled.

My pulse quickened, and my gaze darted to Leopold, who sat opposite and stared at me with curious, aquamarine eyes. I placed my hands on my lap to stop them from shaking. “W-what did she do?”

“Mr. Pinkerton escorted her to the police station to retract her statement. They wouldn’t let him into the interview room be—”

“Because of a conflict of interest,” Leopold snapped. “What did Ashley do?”

Sebastian’s broad chest expanded and contracted like bellows with each breath, making my breakfast curdle in my stomach. Rage blazed in his green eyes, and he directed all his ire at me.

I shrank into my seat. “What happened?”

“She told the police she stood by her original statement,” Sebastian spat. “Then she had the gall to walk out, tell Mr. Pinkerton that she had told them the truth, and signed the fucking papers for the transfer of her share of your house.”

His words were like a kick to the gut, and I clapped a hand over my mouth to stifle a sob. Tears blurred my vision. “I’m sorry.”

Sebastian crumpled the letter and stormed out of the dining room.