AllFreeNovel
Share Us
His twisted mind was so difficult to parse. Almost everyone had fallen short in his mind and therefore deserved to be punished…to be cleansed.
“Was Sophia evil?”
His forehead scrunched up and he pursed his lips. “She was a distraction from your work. I was glad at first when it seemed as if you were learning how to be popular, how to act with people. You were suddenly at the top of your high school’s hierarchy. And then I realized it was just… luck. Not skill. You weren’t being purposeful.”
“You mean I wasn’t manipulating people? I just actually, genuinely, had friends? How awful.” I let out a short, sharp laugh.
He shook his head. “You’re meant for so much more, Aurora. You’re brilliant, resilient, strong. I don’t see why you have to make yourself so common.”
His gaze flickered to where Stellan and Pax waited for me. “For instance, are you making yourself a common whore for those men?”
“No. If you never lie to me,” I said. “Then tell me about my mother.”
I wasn’t sure where that had just come from, but I always wondered about her. Some part of me, deep inside, would always be that little girl swimming in her sweatshirt, sitting on the bench outside the gas station and waiting for her to come back.
“Ah, your mother,” he said, then smiled at me wickedly. “Well, you see, my dear, she was my biggest fan. My most faithful servant.”
I stared at him in shock, my stomach curdling.
Maybe this time, he was lying.
I had a thousand more questions to ask, but the guard stepped forward then, signaling that our time was over.
My father pressed his hand against the glass. “I do love you, Aurora. In my own way. I still do… and we’ll be together again soon.”
My blood turned to ice, barely flowing through my veins.
He always sounded so confident. But what if he really had a plan to escape this time?
“Sure you will, old man,” the guard said, grabbing his shoulder.
I stood there rooted to the ground, frozen.
Stellan and Pax were at my side in an instant, as if they’d read my body language.
“Are you worthy of her?” my father demanded.
“Worthier than you ever were,” Stellan spat at him.
My father’s eyes narrowed in on him, then relaxed, recognition coming over his face. “Ah, Stellan. I’m sorry I can’t shed any light on where your sister’s decaying corpse is. Someone else must have killed that little lesbian whore.”
Stellan’s every muscle tightened, but he didn’t move. The guards dragged my father away.
“Stellan, are you all right?” I asked, touching his shoulder, even thoughIwas not alright. Seeing my father had left me feeling shaken.
Stellan slid his arm around my waist, holding me up, as if he realized that, even though the movement was mechanical, distant. He seemed lost in thought.
“How did he know that my sister loved you?” he asked.
And the bottom fell out from beneath my feet all over again.
My father had gotten close to Sophia. But how? And what had happened afterward?
“I need to talk to him!” I called after the guards, but none of them were listening.
My father just looked at me over his shoulder and threw me a wink.
Chapter20
