Page 32 of The Villains We Make

“Mr. Higgins, this is Ophelia Hart.”

“Ophelia. Thank goodness.” He sounds relieved. “I’ve been waiting for you to call. I wasn’t sure... Well, you’ve seen the news?”

“I have. What’s going on?”

“I’m on my way to the hospital now. Can you get here?”

I look at Hamish. “Yes,” I tell him. “Please wait for me.”

“Let me know once you’re in the lobby, and I’ll make sure they let you up.”

I disconnect the call and turn to Hamish. “I’m going to see my father. I’m not asking your permission. I’m telling you I am going. Whether or not you accompany me is up to you. I can call an Uber and if you try to stop me, I will call the police and let them know where I am and that you’re holding me hostage.”

“Mrs. Cruz, Mr. Cruz left specific instructions. Keeping you safe is my one priority.”

“Then you can accompany me. Hamish, it’s my father. Silas was going to take me himself.”

He looks dubious.

I don’t back down. I will call the police if I have to. I don’t know where I am, but I’m sure they can trace my location. Hamish isn’t going to wrestle me for the phone. I know that and Hamish knows it too because he picks up his jacket which is hanging on the back of the stool he was sitting on and gestures for me to go ahead.

We hurry out to the SUV. I don’t even bother with an umbrella, several of which are in a basket by the door. We climb into the SUV and drive off the property in the pouring rain. It takes us twenty minutes to get to the hospital, and I text Mr. Higgins once I’m in the lobby.

Police officers are standing at the elevators, and a few minutes later, Mr. Higgins appears. I go to him, hugging him in my relief. He tells the officer who I am, and for a moment I wonder what I’d do if they don’t let me up, but they do. However, they stop Hamish when he tries to follow me on.

“Just her.”

“It’s fine. Just wait for me here. I’ll come back down as soon as I see my father. I promise. Where would I go?”

Hamish draws a deep breath in, and I know he doesn’t like it, but I don’t even wait for his response. Instead, I get onto the elevator and don’t look back as the doors close.

“Did Silas call you last night?” I ask Higgins.

He looks guilty. “He did.”

“And I’m guessing you arranged for him to see my father?”

“That wasn’t me.” He glances at the guard riding with us. “I just gave him Horatio’s room number.”

“Did he say what he wanted to talk to him about?”

“No. Just said Horatio would want to hear it.”

“And this is where they arrested him?”

“I believe so.”

The elevator doors slide open. “My dad’s confession, is it true?”

We step off the elevator and he draws me away from the uniformed officers standing there. “I don’t know. To be honest, I don’t know what the hell he’s doing. He’s not telling me much, which makes it very hard to help him.”

I nod, and I know already which room is my dad’s by the two additional officers standing outside of it.

“Come on. They’re transferring him back to the prison this afternoon. We’d better go talk to him while they’ll still allow it. But, Ophelia, one question for you. You were supposed to marry Ethan Fox. Silas Cruz—did he force you? I can help you if he did.”

I look up at him and consider his question. How do I answer it? I touch the back of my wedding ring with my thumb.

“It’s complicated,” I say, remembering how Silas had reacted when I’d used those same words to describe my relationships with my father and the Foxes just weeks ago. How everything has gone sideways since. “But I’m all right,” I add on, not sure why, maybe to reassure Mr. Higgins. Maybe because it’s true.

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