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Twenty-Two
After Dr. Lindseycame back in and cleared me to leave, Tessa helped me change into clean clothes she bought for me, and we met everyone in the lobby.
“We won’t be able to get into the house to see what can be salvaged for at least a few days. Until then, we can stay in the apartment,” Dad said.
I tensed. “Does Juliet have a key?”
His face dropped. “Juliet and her . . . accomplice were arrested about an hour ago on their way to Indiana. One of our teams are interrogating them now. You don’t have to worry about her anymore.”
I expected to feel more relieved, but how could I feel better when he was in so much pain?
“I’m so sorry, Dad. I should have told you as soon as I found out who she really was.”
He knelt in front of my wheelchair. “Don’t apologize, Avalon. You have no fault in this. I was the one who couldn’t see what was right in front of me. I’m sorry I didn’t protect you.”
“No one here is at fault,” Daniel cut in. “I just received an update. Juliet’s ability is to persuade people to do what she wants. She’s able to plant ideas in someone’s mind and make it seem like they thought of it through objects.”
“Kind of Like Gwyn?” I asked.
He nodded, “But unlike Gwyn, Juliet can only use it against people without abilities. She wasn’t able to influence you.” He locked eyes on me. “It took her a while to realize it because of how quickly you became friends with the guys. You were doing what she wanted so she didn’t realize it as soon as she should have. It was only recently, when she was trying to get you to tell Mr. Peters what you were really doing during the internship that she put it together.”
“How could she have tried to influence me? I’ve been avoiding her.” I countered.
“That’s another difference between her and Gwyn. She doesn’t need to directly speak to you, she can leave impressions on objects that you’ll touch. So, she tried with your car, backpack, phone, books, but it wasn’t working.”
“How do you know all this?” I asked.
“A member of the team has the ability to force the truth from people.” He said quietly.
“So why did she and Mr. Peters come after me?”
“Because he could tell you were lying about your internship. They figured out that you were a part of the Society. Mr. Peters told her you started acting differently around him, and they assumed you knew who he was and likely knew about her. She had someone from the AS get into your phone and knew you were going to tell your dad. They thought they could stop you from outing them.”
“But if they knew, then why didn’t they go after the guys too?” I asked.
“Because of us,” Tessa said. “You were alone and vulnerable, because of Juliet. She’s been using her ability to keep your dad away from you all this time.”
I looked up at Dad to see his face pale.
“What?” He asked.
“It was because of her that you stayed at your apartment most nights rather than coming home. She wanted to keep you away from Avalon. She wanted Avalon to have the space to get close to the guys and make her depend on them. She wanted to use her to get information about them and the Society.”
So he hadn’t been staying away from me all this time because of his obsession with work? It wasn’t because he didn’t want to be around me?
What kind of evil would do that to a father and daughter?
Daniel glanced at his phone. “They admitted to planning on going after the rest of the guys but started with you.”
I didn’t want to hear anything else. I felt sick and I just wanted to crawl into my bed and wish it all away. But I couldn’t. My bed, my home, was destroyed.
Tessa cleared her throat, “The important thing is that they are going to be locked up for a very long time, and the kids are going to be safe.”
I looked between her and my dad. “Did you tell him?”
Dad nodded. “They told me about the new school, and I signed all the forms.” He swallowed. “I’m going to miss you so much, baby, but I want you to be safe and happy. This is what you want, right?”
“Yes, it is.” I thought it would be too hard to leave him, but as much as I’d always love him, the guys were quickly becoming my family—the ones I couldn’t live without.
