Total pages in book: 173
Estimated words: 163802 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 819(@200wpm)___ 655(@250wpm)___ 546(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 163802 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 819(@200wpm)___ 655(@250wpm)___ 546(@300wpm)
I dove into Alex’s closet and tore everything from its hangers. “Does a man really swallow it all and let it go when his mother-in-law helps a conman steal from him and his parents? All to make him dependent on her so she can keep controlling his life?”
The closet in tatters, I stumbled over the clothes piles and grabbed Alex’s desk chair—slamming it against the wall housing the vent. “Was I really so desperate to get back everything I’d lost—love, motherhood, security—I ignored all the signs, so I could live in the fantasy Sue stole from me?”
How familiar this was, standing on a chair to reach this vent—the only place my secrets and true thoughts were safe... until they weren’t.
But of course it was familiar, because Alexander was sleeping in my old bedroom.
I unscrewed the vent cover and flung it over my shoulder. Sticking my hand in, I slapped around, searching for what? I didn’t know. I just had to be sure that—
Crinkle.
My fingertips brushed against something. Straining on my tiptoes, I stuck my hand in farther and grabbed it, pulling it out.
“Ah!”
The bag opened and unloaded its contents on my face. Something struck my forehead and bounced off while cloth smothered the light. I battered it away and snapped down, gaze falling on the white suit at my feet.
I recognized it immediately. It was the suit Alex wore the night of the party. I knew from the silver buttons setting the suit apart. But it wasn’t the same as I’d seen it before, because this suit, was covered in blood.
I didn’t know how long I stood there, staring at the blood-covered suit, and the tiny flash drive lying next to it. I just knew I was up on that chair long enough for my legs to ache.
Long enough for the full, horrible truth of that night to dawn on me. All the lies I’d been told. All the ways I’d been steered and maneuvered. All the smiles to my face while the knife struck my back.
I stood there... and everything became clear.
Stiff, cramping legs bent and dropped onto the floor. Carefully, I tucked the clothes back into its plastic bag, and picked up the thumb drive. I didn’t know what was on it, but I could guess it was worth killing for.
There was only one thing to do with it all now.
I hurried down the stairs, the car keys already clutched in my hand and ready to take me away from here. It’s early, but Courtney will forgive me for waking her up. I need her with me when I go to the police stat—
“Hey, babe.”
I screamed. Whirling around, the light fell on my blown eyes and terrified face as he emerged from the front sitting room.
His smirk didn’t fade even as his gaze drifted down to the items in my hand. “Now, what are you doing with that?” Alex drawled, grin widening. “I’ve been looking all over for it.”
I breathed hard, breaths coming in rapid pants. Knees shaking, hands trembling, chest constricting, I stumbled over my feet—backing away as Alex slowly moved between me and the door.
“Alex, what. The. Fuck?” My voice was no more than a strangled rasp. “What are you doing here? You scared the life out of me.”
“Well, so did you,” he mused, shrugging. “When I woke up and found you gone, I got worried.” He cocked his head—that eerie smile even more unsettling the wrong way up. “It was when you took my phone to call that friend of yours, wasn’t it? You looked through my call logs and saw I never called my aunt that night.” He snapped his fingers. “Rookie mistake.”
I backed away until I hit the stair railing. What could I do? Did it even make sense to run? How far could I possibly get?
“You lied to me.” My hand shook holding up the plastic bag. “You lied about everything. You were in my mother’s room that night—you! And then you turned the clock back and swaggered into a change of clothes so that no one was the wiser. And this whole time, you’ve sat back and watched me—watched all of us—twist ourselves into knots trying to figure out the truth. You’ve watched people die!
“How could you, Alex? How could you!?”
He blinked lazily in the face of my rage. “All right, sure, I may have told a few fibs—”
Fibs?!
“—but, honestly, I’m finding all of this outrage a bit hypocritical. I mean, who are you to talk about liars when you’re not Soo Min.”
A deep, chilling quiet pierced my soul.
“This whole time you’ve been pretending to be my wife while fooling my daughter, and sleeping with Micah and Rhodes.” He cocked a brow. “Naughty, naughty imposter.”
“I— I don’t know what y-you’re t-t-talking about.” Everything went white and cold. I didn’t know what a stroke felt like, but it had to be this. “You’re cr—”