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I pull the tray closer with Thea’s help.
“What do you think is on it?” she asks.
My brow creases as I open the folder on the drive. From the scraps I know of the guys impersonating federal agents, it could be anything. “Let's find out.”
“Financial reports.” Devlin leans over my shoulder from the other side of the bed.
Not just financial reports. I jerk forward, trying to sit up, only to grit my teeth at the discomfort it causes. Some of the machines connected to me throw off warning beeps before settling down as I lay prone.
“What’s wrong?” Thea bounces her gaze from the screen to me. “Don’t move so much, you’re going to hurt yourself.”
“They’re statements of my accounts.” I nod to each file. “Trust fund and the private accounts.”
The ones I use to grow my bitcoin investments.
“So they’re watching you?” Devlin clarifies.
“No. Well, yes, probably. The balances are all tripled from when I looked at them last. That was only a few days ago.”
Whoever the hackers are, they’re powerful.
Devlin and Thea give me matching expressions, brows rising high. Blair whistles from the visitor’s chair across the room. I was close to my goal before, but this is beyond. With this much money, I no longer have to wait to escape Mom’s bullshit. A disbelieving laugh huffs out of me.
“Holy shit,” Thea murmurs. “That’s a lot of money.”
I already know what I’ll do with some of it. My gaze slides to her. Her dream is to open a bakery. I’ll make that happen sooner than she planned.
A commotion at the door draws our attention. Thea’s mom bustles in, arguing with the nurse on her tail. Thea tenses at my side.
“No, I will not stay out!” Mrs. Kennedy snaps. She takes one look at the two of us in the hospital bed and her lip curls. “Thea! Let’s go. You’re coming home right now.”
“I’m staying here.” Thea sits up, but remains by my side. “I’m where I belong.”
“You are not. Get away from that boy right now.” Mrs. Kennedy shakes her head violently. “When I heard from Maisy’s father what happened tonight with your teacher, hours later, I—”
“Mom.” Thea sighs and squeezes my wrist. Sliding from the bed, she goes to her mom, taking her by the shoulders. “You can’t keep smothering me. What you told me yesterday? The way you did it? You should’ve told me a long time ago instead of the way you handled it.” She lowers her
voice, but remains firm and strong. “If you had, maybe I wouldn’t have questioned everything that was normal about myself. I didn’t understand why you were so strict with the way I dressed because you weren’t open or honest about your sister.”
“Thea,” Mrs. Kennedy whispers, throat working. “I only wanted to keep you safe, but you still ended up in danger.”
Swiping away tears, Thea goes on. Her voice quivers with emotion. “I’m not blaming you. Or myself. It’s no one’s fault but Mr. Coleman’s for manipulating and preying on me in a vulnerable state. He’s the actual monster to blame for hurting me. It was a perfect storm, but I can’t go back and change it now.”
Pride blooms in my chest watching my girl stand up for herself and not allowing what she went through to bring her down. She’s so strong, even when the world is crushing her. I didn’t think I could love her anymore than I already do, but the warm glow fills me up from the inside.
Her mom is rendered speechless, expression crumbling. “I didn’t hear from you and I was so scared.”
“I know. I’m sorry, it was a crazy night and I forgot to call you once it was all over. Learning about the truth and getting attacked by him on the same day was a lot to handle.” Thea rubs her mom’s arms as she collapses against her, crying into her neck. Thea meets my eyes over her hysterical mother’s shoulder. “I’m okay, I promise.”
“I’m sorry,” Mrs. Kennedy cries. “I’ll do better.”
“Okay. Shh, it’s okay,” Thea soothes. “Why don’t you head home? You’ve seen I’m safe. I’m not sure if I’ll come back tonight or stay here.”
“Will you call me?”
“Yes. We have a lot to talk about.”
Sniffling into the tissue Thea hands her, Mrs. Kennedy nods, calming down. The door opens again and my mother steps in, phone pressed to her ear. Dad’s right on her tail, going to sit in the visitor chairs with a weary sigh.
