AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I’ll be brief,” I tell him. “I just needed to ask you some questions. I went and talked to Lorna Hull yesterday, the formerdirector of the Haven Center. She told me some things about you.”
Dr. Thornton lets out a barking laugh. “Lorna?” he asks. “She never liked me. She was strongly opposed to using psychology to help the children heal from their trauma. I think she had it out for me because I was young and I had big ideas for how to help the kids.”
“That’s not exactly the story she told me,” I say, crossing my arms. “She said you were exploiting the kids in your research. That you used them to make a name for yourself. I don’t understand why you’d do that. Your work could have stood on its own.”
“Sienna, I don’t know what you’ve gotten yourself mixed up in, but I can help you. I think you’ve spent too much time with the Ravenwood boys. Your view of me is colored by their experience. I know you want to protect them from what I did, but the best way to protect them is to leave the past in the past.”
Doubt gnaws at the edges of my mind. Have I been too hasty in judging him? But then I remember what Lorna said about him being so self-important. Is he manipulating me like he did the boys?
“You know, I used to think you were completely brilliant,” I tell him, staring at him with a mix of pity and disdain. “I looked up to you and after I read your book in high school, all I wanted was to study under you.”
“That’s very flattering but I don’t …”
“And now I think that you should have told me from the start that you slept with Emily,” I say, my voice steady but firm. “Because now I don’t trust you. And now I think that maybe there’s more you aren’t telling me.”
I raise my eyebrows. “Like how the grant money went missing around the same time you left to care for your dying uncle. But then you showed back up with this house.”
“I told you it was an inheritance,” Dr. Thornton says, jutting his chin out. “I never lied about that.”
“Funny,” I say, stepping forward. “Lorna said your uncle lived hours away from here. So why would your uncle have a house conveniently located so close to the university?”
“It wasn’t directly inherited. I used the money from my inheritance to purchase the house,” Dr. Thornton says, stepping backward. “You can understand why I wouldn’t go around telling people all the details.”
“I think that you always have an answer for every question I throw at you,” I tell him. “Like the necklace. If you rejected Emily, why would she give you her necklace?”
“Sienna, please, you have to understand that Emily was in a very fragile state of mind when she gave it to me,” he says, his tone pleading.
I take a step forward, invading his personal space. “Then why didn’t you give it to the boys? They would have cherished a keepsake from her like that. You could have reached out and given it to them, but you didn’t. You never wanted to mend the relationship with them, even when I threw you a lifeline.”
“How could I forgive myself for what I did to them?” he cries out, raising his hands in frustration. “You’re accusing an old man of doing something sinister, but you have no proof, only speculation.”
“I wonder what would happen if I look intoyourfinancial records,” I say. “Maybe the police would be interested to know you bought this place shortly after the center closed.”
“Sienna, I’m warning you. Leave this alone,” he says, eyes full of tears. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I think you’re full of it,” I spit out. “You’ve lied to me from day one.”
“Sienna,” Dr. Thornton says, a warning note in his voice. “Stop now.”
“I’m not leaving until you tell me the truth!”
Dr. Thornton's expression darkens, and in a swift motion, he lunges towards me. I scream, throwing my hands up but his hands wrap around my throat.
Pain hits immediately, followed by panic as I grab for his hands, and pull, trying to get him off of me. When that doesn’t work, I throw my body weight forward.
If I was ever grateful for being plus-sized, it’s now, as I shove him backward into a nearby wall, knocking off several pictures with a loud bang.
Spots start popping up at the edges of my vision as we wrestle for control and I push him into the wall as hard as I can, knocking his head against a framed photo. Glass shatters and sprays around us and he shrieks, dropping his hands from my neck to check on his head.
I pivot to flee, but before I can escape, his hand snatches my ankle, sending me crashing to the ground. I scramble for purchase on the oriental rug in front of me, desperate to get away.
My heart pounds in my chest like a drum as I grapple with Dr. Thornton in the middle of the living room. The rough texture of the rug scrapes against my skin as I thrash beneath him, my breath coming in ragged gasps. I can taste the metallic tang of fear on my tongue, the adrenaline coursing through my veins as I fight for my life.
He’s stronger than he looks, hauling me backward by my foot and pinning me underneath him. I stare into his eyes, the mask finally slipping away as he stares back. He looks deranged, face red, eyes manic.
Kicking out, I knock him backward into a side table, knickknacks tumbling down around us. I roll out of the way, but he manages to lurch forward and pins me in place with his body.
“You’re not going anywhere,” he snarls. I throw my hands up but the last thing I see is a heavy, marble statuette coming towards me.
