Page 52 of Veil of Lies

My stomach clenched. Knowing who Cancello’s daughter was would make zero difference but still, it mattered.

“Go on, then, spill.”

“It’s Stella.”

The news hit me like a freight train and left me reeling in shock. What? Blood pounded in my veins, cold sweat beaded on my forehead. How could this be true? No way. She was not the daughter of a scumbag fraudster. It was impossible. My head spun like the kid from the exorcist. We had coffee together yesterday.

We’d kissed!

I liked her!

Jesus.

My fists curled up and I wanted to punch the wall, or someone. What I thought of her was now immaterial. Her father killed mine. She was dead to me, whether I liked it or not.

Chapter 44

Harley

Avery’s scoop was all anyone could talk about. I hadn’t ventured off campus, but judging from the chatter in the cafeteria, there were reporters camped out by the main gate offering ridiculous sums of money to anyone willing to dish the dirt on Stella. Since most people at this college were filthy rich and not in need of cash, I doubted they had many takers, but people like Cassie would doubtless share whatever information they had anyway, just to boost their social clout.

Nobody had seen Stella today. I’d texted her several times, but she’d left me on read. Not that I blamed her. She probably didn’t know who to trust. Knowing she was having to deal with this all on her own made me feel really uncomfortable. While I was sure plenty of people believed she was just as culpable for her father’s crime, having got to know her in the last few weeks, I didn’t believe she was guilty of anything.

The Stella I knew was guarded and grumpy, but beneath the snark and scowls, she was all sweet and soft. She didn’t talk about her past, but from what little she had said, I got the impression she had spent a lot of time on her own growing up.

That made me sad, but I understood it. My Mom had abandoned us when I was small, so I too had been left to my own devices a lot. It was probably why I connected with her on a deeper level.

Being alone was something I could relate to. My policy to date had been to fuck every girl I could because sex filled the gap in my psyche. I had always been leery of forming a more permanent relationship, but with Stella, I was willing to try.

She made me want to be a better version of myself. She needed someone on her side. I was willing to give her until this evening, but after that, I was not taking no for an answer. I’d break down her door if I had to.

After my last class ended, I checked my phone. A billion social notifications, but nothing from Stella. Well I’d had enough. I needed to see her, to make sure she was OK. If she was stuck in her room, she likely wasn’t eating anything. A woman could not survive on cereal bars alone.

I headed up the stairs and down her corridor, ignoring anyone who so much as looked in my direction. Cassie appeared from her room just as I reached Stella’s door. Her face lit up.

“Harley! Have you changed your mind?”

“No.” I turned my back on her and knocked on Stella’s door.

“What the fuck are you coming to see her for?”

Cassie got more irate as the seconds ticked by.

“How dare you ignore me, Harley Jackson! That bitch’s father has ruined lives, yet you want to talk to her? What is wrong with you!”

Nothing Cassie said mattered to me. She was as insignificant as a mosquito, and just as fucking annoying.

“Your family owns a pharmaceutical company. Last I heard, they’d put the price of some diabetes medication up by a thousand percent, thus making it too expensive for many of the people that actually depend on it for life. Pretty sure that’s ruined a lot more lives than Stella’s father.”

Cassie flushed bright red and her mouth opened, but there wasn’t much she could say to defend herself. It was the truth, after all. Her family were money-grabbing sharks, just like her.

There was no sound coming from inside Stella’s apartment, so I hammered on the door obnoxiously loud. “Stella! Open the fucking door or I’ll kick it open.”

That had the desired effect. I heard some colorful cursing and the sound of a lock disengaging. The moment the door opened a crack, I forced it open and then slammed it shut behind me, to prevent Cassie from live-streaming anything that happened on social media.

Stella looked gray, as if she hadn’t slept for a month. Her vibrant hair was a tangled mess, her eyes were all puffy and red.

“What are you doing here?” she asked with a huff. “You do realize associating with me is akin to social suicide?”

---