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“Jesus,” Ace grunts. “This is some next-level psychopath shit.”
I glance up at the sky and realize the sun is beginning to rise. There’s too much to go through. It would take me weeks. But for now, I’ve seen enough. I slam the laptop shut and drag a hand over my face, hanging my head.
“He fucking broke her,” I murmur. “And she came to me the last night I saw her, begging me to run away with her, and I said no. I told her I couldn’t do it, and I returned her to the goddamn devil.”
“You didn’t know.” Ace rests his hand on my shoulder. “You had your own demons to contend with, and you weren’t in the headspace to help her, even if you had known.”
I was balls deep in my addiction by that point, but that’s not a justification. I’ll never forgive myself for that decision. I don’t know how I can even face her after everything I’ve done. I’ve failed her in every possible way, and she deserved so much better.
“You can’t change the past,” Ace says. “But you can change her future.”
I look up at him, and there’s a softness in his eyes that wasn’t there before. He never had any reason to like Bianca. He never cared what happened to her as long as the truth came out. But I can see that what he just witnessed has changed him, too.
“We’re going to go back home,” he tells me. “And we’re going to make this right for her.”
Chapter 64
Madden
—PAST—
Adam’s new house is an eight-bedroom goliath tucked away on two and a half acres in a luxury subdivision. It’s stone and stucco with an ornate wrought-iron fence at the entryway that leads into the circular drive. I’ve seen photos of it in the emails he sent, but it’s even flashier in person.
It makes me uneasy trying to calculate just how much this cost him. This is the house he bought for Bianca to live in when they’re married. The indisputable proof he can give her more than I could ever dream of. But the question is there in the back of my mind. If this is what she wants, then why isn’t she here right now?
I help Ranger down from the cab, and he glances at the house anxiously before taking a seat beside me. Even he doesn’t want to go in. I snag my duffel bag and a few of his things and offer him a sympathetic glance.
“It’s okay. It’s just a night.”
He lets out a little whine as I lead him to the door, and I wonder if he’s picking up on my own anxiety. I really don’t want to be here. I wish I’d never fucking come at all. After the development in Adam’s office tonight, I can’t decide if I should even bother telling him the truth or if I’m just using it as a convenient excuse.
I unlock the door and wander around the space until I find an empty guest room, dumping our things onto the bed. It’s late, and I should just go to sleep, but I know I won’t be able to relax until I’ve checked the whole place out and gathered my bearings.
Ranger lets me know with a nudge against my palm he’s not letting me out of his sight. He tags along down the hallway as I stop to peek inside every room until, finally, I get to the biggest suite. I’m not at all surprised Adam has an obnoxiously large bedroom. There isn’t a speck of dust or a wrinkle in sight, and I can see the apple didn’t fall far from the tree in that respect. Stefan liked things crisp and sterile, and Adam does too. Everything is so white and sanitized I almost feel like I’m back in a hospital. It’s the way I felt my whole fucking life, growing up in our house. As I glance around the space, I can’t imagine Bianca living here. But when I open the closet doors, the proof stares me in the face.
Lined up along one side of the wall, rows of clothing hang neatly, organized by color. Beneath are her shoes, along with glass jewelry cases displaying her diamond-studded necklaces and bracelets. Things that probably cost more than I made in a year. I touch a few of them as if they’re some kind of mirage, but they aren’t. She lives here with Adam. Something she neglected to tell me during our time together. But why would she?
I pivot and glance at Adam’s side of the closet, where he has an entire wardrobe of polos, khakis, and every other douchey clothing item he wears to impress the members at TCA. I don’t know how it’s possible we could be raised together but still be worlds apart.
I catch myself opening his drawers, examining the contents for reasons I can’t really understand. I feel like a fucking stalker as I go through his collection of ties and watches, along with his ridiculous socks. But at the bottom of those drawers, I find something I don’t expect. There’s a menagerie of ropes with knots tied into them, and a hunting knife.
