Page 93 of Chaos at Westbrook High

A heavy silence fills the room, and I drag a hand through my hair.

Eventually, Damon says, “He killed Leila, your biological mother, but you’re not talking about her, are you? You’re talking about her sister. Valerie.”

Derek nods once, his eyes as glassy as mine are.

“Why?” Wren asks.

Derek clears his throat again. “Hailey was born?—”

“Der,” I say, but he doesn’t stop.

“—a Kingston. Up until she was one year old, Maverick thought she was his daughter. When he found out she wasn’t, he killed Leila and Hailey’s real dad and made up some bullshit story to cover his ass. He said he walked in on Dante, Hailey’s dad, attacking Leila because she refused to let him claim Hailey as his own. He told the police that Dante killed Leila, and that he killed Dante when he tried to attack him. He said it was self defense.”

Kai looks up at his dad with his brows drawn in. “You believed this?”

“No.” Elijah shakes his head. “Maverick called me after he killed them. When I got to the house, he was unpacking their suitcases. Leila and Dante were going to run with Derek and Hailey.”

“But Maverick stopped them,” Wren adds.

Elijah nods.

“Why didn’t you do something?” Kai asks.

“I couldn’t bring them back, Kai. The only thing I could do was…” He pauses and looks at me, then back at his son. “Your mother and I convinced him to let us take Hailey, and in return, I let him walk.”

“You were going to raise her?” Kai asks. “Here? With us?”

Elijah nods. “Yes, but Valerie…” He lets out a quiet laugh. “She was only nineteen, but she fought like hell for her. She wasn’t leaving without her niece.”

“So you gave her away,” Kai says.

“Yes,” Elijah says. “I bought them their apartment and helped change Hailey’s name. I gave Val whatever I could convince her to take, assigned three guards to watch them day and night, and protected them from my brother as well as I could.”

“And you took Derek to see them every weekend.”

Elijah nods. “Just Valerie at first. And then Hailey, when Derek wanted to meet her.”

“Maverick didn’t go looking for them? For Hailey?”

Elijah shakes his head. “Not until recently.”

“Why now?”

“Why do you think?” Derek grits out, sneering at Kai.

Kai frowns, but then his eyes widen as it hits him. “Because of me.”

“Because you can’t take no for an answer and leave her the fuck alone,” Derek says.

“Hailey,” Kai says. “Look at me.”

Pulling in a long breath, I turn my head to look him in the eye. He looks terrified.

It would be so easy to blame him, but…

“It’s not your fault, Kai.”

Derek curses under his breath, dropping his head into his hands.

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