Page 16 of Silver Hills' Christmas Miracle

“It means someone is here who shouldn’t be.” I lightly squeezed Kitty's shoulder as I guided her into her room. “Stay here.”

“Wait, Rook?—”

“I’ll be right back. I promise.”

7

KITTY

An intruder?

I didn’t have a chance to say anything else. Rook closed the door, and the lock clicked into place, securely locking me in. I stepped back from the door and folded my arms across my chest.

Was someone really here?

I thought back to the email I’d sent a few days ago. The group of protestors I’d been working with weren’t dumb enough to come straight here. We all knew that would be a death wish and my father would end up using it as some way to twist the truth and make himself the victim, further securing his decision to keep up with that damned deal.

Sighing, I trudged over to my window and peered out.

The side lawn lit up with several beams of flashlights, and I spotted a few guards hurrying down the path back toward the house. Learning that Rook had installed a perimeter alarm was comforting, although I was curious why we didn’t already have one. Perhaps Dad was simply too caught up in other things and didn’t think anyone would be bold enough to come right to the manor.

I moved to my bed and flopped down onto the sheets. Then I grabbed my phone and went immediately to my email. The threats that had come through had greatly upset my mother, but she would be okay. Those threats were harsh, and despite my work with the protestors, each one still sent a chill through me. Not everyone knew I was on their side, but that was a risk I took. The fewer people who knew, the better.

Unfortunately, threats against me and Mom hadn’t shaken him in the slightest. If anything, they’ve made him more stubborn.

As I scrolled through countless emails from mailing lists and adverts for the newest and hottest makeup trends, a text came through from an unknown number.

‘Kitty, I need your help.’

I frowned and sat up. It only took me a couple of seconds to copy the number into my socials to see if the number was attached to any of my friends’ accounts, but it came up blank.

‘Who is this?’

‘Anton.’

Anton? I turned the name over in my mind, searching for a connection until the number sent another text.

‘We’ve been emailing about your father’s meeting?’

Oh! I hadn’t expected to hear from the protestor group through anything other than email, but I wasn’t alarmed that he had my number. If he knew where to look, then it was easy to find.

‘And now you’re texting?’

‘It was faster. You take ages to reply sometimes.’

‘A girl’s got shit to do.’

‘Well, does that shit include coming outside? Because we need to talk face to face.’

‘Why?’

‘No paper trail.’

Suddenly, a chill prickles down my arms and legs. ‘Wait, you’re outside right now?’

‘Yes.’

Fuck. Did that mean Anton was the one who tripped the alarm? If so, that meant Rook and the rest of the security team were out there right now looking for him, and if he got caught, then I had no guarantee he would keep his mouth shut.

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