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Theparamedic shook his head. “Onlyone person is permitted to come along.Youcan drive behind the ambulance and meet us atNorthShoreHospital.”
Icaught a glimpse ofCadeninside the ambulance withRose.
“ButRoseismycousin?—"
Damonplaced a hand on the small of my back, forcing me to backpedal from the ambulance. “Noproblem.She’llmeet you there.”
Theparamedic used the opportunity to shut the door and speed away.Loudsirens drowned out the spectacle surrounding us.
Itwisted to get out ofDamon’shold. “Whatare you doing?Hospitalsdon’t allow non-family members to tag along.”
“TheypreferCadensince he’s a doctor and has been giving them stats on her condition,” he explained patiently. “We’llmeet them at the hospital.”
“We?Ifmy family suspects either of you are at the hospital…”Inoted my cousins coming out of the mansion, resembling a gang.
“Maxwell!”Gia,Nick, andSamstumbled out of the house, aiming their glares atDamon.Damon’smask was no longer intact.Enoughpeople must’ve recognized him and told my cousins that he had infiltrated the party.
“Howdare you show your face here?”Nicksnarled.
Damonappeared bored by their mere existence, though he had the good sense not to engage on their turf.
Myeyes dissectedNickwhen he stepped closer. “Notnow,”Iwarned.
Nickgave me an incredulous look. “Notnow?Areyou serious?Thisman killedRayyan?—”
Iput up a hand, uninterested in the tired argument. “Wedon’t have time for this.Rosewas taken to the hospital.Getyour car; we have to go.”
GiaandSamfroze at the mention of a hospital. “Whatdo you mean she was taken to the hospital?Whatare you talking about?”
“Shefell from the second floor.Ordid the people reporting back on him,”Istuck a thumb atDamon, “forget to mention that because they were starstruck?Theydrove off with her in an ambulance, so let’s go.”Ideally,I’dleave behind their useless asses, butIhad a lot to drink.Gettingarrested for drunk driving wouldn’t helpRoseright now.Whennone of them moved,Ireiterated, “Now!”
WhileSamandGiahad the good sense to shed their hatred in favor of their cousin’s wellbeing,Nickmulled over the information and turned towardDamon. “Hedid it.”
Iclosed my eyes, fighting the urge to pummel him into the ground.
Nickcontinued his rant. “Thelast time he showed up at a party,Rayyanended up dead.Rosejust fell from the second floor, and he happened to be there again.”
Iwalked away, refusing to participate in this madness.Damoneasily caught up, gracefully leading me to his car hidden at the back of the house.HeignoredNick’sshouted accusations that followed, busying himself with opening the passenger side door for me.
“Everythingwill be okay,” he murmured asIducked my head to climb in.
Inodded, strapping in.Itwas odd taking solace in my enemy, but he wasn’t the one spouting conspiracy theories propelled by hate.
OurcousinRayyanhad a heated exchange withDamonMaxwellat a party a few months ago.Hewas found murdered mere hours later.Itwas an unfortunate coincidence, butAmbanishad been on edge since his death.Theywere convincedDamondid it.Therewas also a home invasion at my previous apartment, and my family insisted theMaxwellswere behind it.Momcried and cried untilIfinally agreed to move in with her because my stepfather’s house was built like a fortress with numerous security measures in place.
TheMaxwellsthoughtIwas collecting evidence to paintDamonas a murderer.Itcouldn’t be further from the truth.Iwas trying to disprove the false accusation.Ofcourse, theCEOof a leading company and philanthropist promoting non-violent measures didn’t murderRayyan.DamonMaxwellwas the poster child for “good,” with many internationally recognized organizations to his name.Itmade him both famous and incredibly popular.Thefruitless conspiracy theories, provoked by my insane family members, were disregarded by law officials.Italso made us infamously unpopular for demonizing a public hero.
TheclaimDamonkilledRayyanin cold blood started a new era of the ongoing feud, which was previously confined to boardrooms.Somewheredown the line, this rivalry turned fatal.Theunproductive accusations cost both families millions of dollars in business, clients, and bad publicity.Therewere going to be mass layoffs unless we could put a stop to it.
Withthis newest development, theAmbaniswere bound to spiral further with their condemnation of theMaxwells.Itwas the reasonIneededSophieto retract her testimony.Forsome reason, she lied, assertingDamonwas the last person to seeRayyanalive.Unlesshe was hiding something worse than murder, it made no sense why one ofDamonMaxwell’sclosest friends would shine a poor light on him.Inany case,Sophieneeded to withdraw her deposition if we stood a chance at moving forward.
Iglanced atDamonas he drove off the property.Iwas horrified to open my blindfold and find his face hovering over mine, but there was suddenly a silver lining.Damonwas with me whenRosefell.Hecouldn’t have pushed her, and it was ridiculous to peg the world’s most beloved philanthropist asRayyan’skiller.YetDamonhad been shockingly quiet during the numerous accusations spouted against him.Perhapsit was time for him to break the silence.Whobetter to prove his innocence than the man himself?
ChapterNine
POPPY
Afew hours later,Istill mimicked a homicidal maniac doused inRose’sblood.Bright, crimson-red painted various parts of my hair.Itwas smeared across my cheek and ears, down to my neck.Theliquid on my arm was sticky like honey, though the smudges on my pants had dried.
