Page 51 of Unstoppable


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“Of course you wouldn’t think I was. I protected you from it, Ana,” I tell her softly. She jerks and meets my eyes with derision. I rush forward, knowing she’s the only person in this world who could flay me alive anymore. The anger in her gaze makes me raw.

I want her to believe me, but I made my decision, and now she needs to make hers. I will give her all the facts, knowing she will need them. Her scientific brain is unable to accept anything but evidence.

“Father hurt me, Ana.” Her mouth opens on a rebuttal, but I surge ahead. “For years. He was not the man you knew, sis. He wanted me to feel like this. He wanted me to feel isolated, ashamed, helpless, and alone. I was scared to tell anyone, scared to tell you because I needed to protect you, even if it meant hurting myself in the process. He knew that by separating us, it would turn us on each other. Ana, you know deep down what I’m saying is true. You know he was capable of being cruel and cold if it got him what he wanted. You must have noticed the changes in me. I tried so very hard to hide the evidence, but I know you saw it, even if you didn’t understand it.”

“Stop,” she demands, shaking her head. “I can’t believe you are trying this.”

“What?” I ask, frowning. I feel the guys step closer behind me to protect me.

“To disparage his name and make me think he was evil. He was a good father. It’s not his fault you are a selfish bitch who skipped out on her family. You can’t come back and spin these lies now because you aren’t the favourite anymore. Did you know that? You were always his favourite. Whatever I did was never good enough and could never hold his attention while you were around. When you left, it was like you died. Those were the best years of my life because he finally paid attention to me.”

Fear pounds through me at the fact that I might have missed him hurting her like he did us, but when she carries on, I realise he didn’t.

“He finally loved me,” she confesses. “Just because you messed up, that doesn’t mean you can concoct these stories. You are probably doing it for money.”

“I don’t want money, Ana,” I reply sadly, rubbing at my aching heart. “I just wanted you to finally know the truth because I hate this. I hate you thinking the worst of me. He knew you would. He encouraged it, knowing that even if I was protecting you from afar, he was driving a wedge between us. It was a final blow to me, the only way he could hurt me anymore. I never should have left you with him, Ana, and I’m sorry. I ran because I was scared. You’re right. I was scared he was going to go too far and kill me, but I protected you. I promise.”

“I don’t need your protection!” she screams.

“You did! He was a monster!” I yell, ripping up my shirt to show her the scars he left behind.

“Those could be self-inflicted. You are so delusional.” She looks away.

I realise she will never believe me, too blinded to what truly happened, or maybe her mind is rejecting it to protect herself. Nothing will change her mind, unless . . .

My shoulders sag at what I’m going to have to do. I was a fool to protect her from this for so long, but I refuse to lose her again. I refuse to let him win on this. “If you don’t believe me, then let me show you.”

“Nova,” Louis snaps and turns to me, searching my eyes. “You don’t have to prove anything to her. If she doesn’t believe you, then that’s on her. She knows deep down what her father was; she just doesn’t want to see it. She doesn’t want to confront the fact that she let you be hurt over and over and did nothing about it.”

I cup his hands, leaning into him for a moment. “I have to do this. She has to see. She deserves the truth as much as we all do.” I look back at her. She’s watching us with a confused expression. “Give me five minutes. If you still don’t believe me, you can leave and continue to hate me. I will leave you alone.”

“Five minutes,” she agrees. “Lead the way.”

I turn and find Bert there. He steps forward and takes my hand. “For what it’s worth, Miss Nova, I never doubted you, but Master Louis was right. I was scared to tell the truth, for it meant that I was involved in something so terribly vile. My excuses and apologies don’t matter. I let him hurt you, and I never did anything. For that, I will spend the rest of my life apologising.”

I shake my head and kiss his cheek. “It only would have gotten you hurt, my friend,” I admit honestly. “I often begged for someone to notice, but I was selfish because it would have ended their life. You do not take responsibility for the vicious, cruel nature of that man, do you hear me? We are all victims here.” When he nods, I look back at Ana, who looks unsure.

Bert straightens. “I can help you now.” He looks at Ana then. “Miss Ana, everything Miss Nova is saying is true. Please do not make her relive this for your own peace of mind. She has already suffered so much. If I could protect you both from this, I would.”

“I need to see,” she responds, and he sags. I pat his hand as I pass, heading to the lab.

She follows me, as do the others, and at the door, she hesitates. “I didn’t know this was here.”

“No, he never wanted you to. This is why you never saw or heard it. This is the place of my nightmares,” I tell her coolly as I step inside. I don’t look around as I sit at the computer and pull up what I need, but when I look up, I see her staring at my cell in dawning horror. When she looks around and then back at me, there is fear on her face—a child’s fear that the man she loved, the man she looked up to as a hero, was actually a villain.

I have to burst her bubble, but I nod at the screen. Slowly, she steps behind me. I meet my guys’ eyes in the doorway. They crowd the entrance, offering me their friendship and love.

“I don’t want your pity or sympathy, sis, only for you to believe me. You are the only person in this world I care about believing me. After, I will answer everything you want to know.” I hesitate before pressing the button. It’s a random video file of me. My dad is there, talking and introducing it before it pans to the cell.

Ana gasps, the pure horror in the sound making me curl into myself. There is a surly, angry teenager strapped down to the bed. My head is turned as I glare at him, and he stops before me, device in hand. My eyes spit fire at him, even as he touches it to my chest and my body jerks with the shock, a scream leaving my lips.

I pause it, but she pushes me aside, her hands shaking as she clicks another. I don’t watch what’s playing, and instead, I watch her. Her face is pale, and horror and agony are written across her features as she watches video after video of me being tortured by our father. I was experimented on under her nose. I watch the moment her life crashes down around her and all the lies are unveiled. Her eyes dart to mine, filled with tears, as her lips quiver. Her gaze silently begs me to protect her from this.

For a moment, she’s the little girl I used to hold as she slept. She’s asking me to protect her from the monsters in the dark again, but I can’t, not anymore, because the monsters are real, and they got me.

“Ana, it’s okay—”

“How can you say that?” she screams, but it has an edge of hysteria to it. “I can’t breathe. Oh my god. I need to get out of here.” She rushes to the door where my men are. They look at me as she beats at them blindly, trying to get them to move. When I nod, they step aside, and she rushes out. I hurry after her in time to see her burst out of the front door. I step out after her as she falls to her knees, gripping the gravel like a lifeline. An anguished scream rips from her throat.

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