Page 111 of Cruel Riches

“You weren’t in the house, so I told them you’d gone for a walk around the grounds,” Nate said. “It’s almost seven, and it’s fucking freezing outside, so it won’t be believable unless you look like you’re dressed for it.”

I bit my bottom lip as I considered the situation at hand.

“Why should I cover for you?” I finally asked, arching a brow.

Nate’s eyes narrowed. “What?”

“What’s stopping me from going up there and telling them the truth about everything?”

“I thought I made that clear earlier,” he said, taking a step closer. “Do you want something to happen to Sascha?”

I smiled thinly. “If I tell the cops everything right now, they’ll arrest you and drag you away before you even have a chance to hurt my sister.”

His hands shot out to my shoulders, and I yelped as he shoved me up against the wall behind me. “We both know what’ll happen if you do that,” he said in a soft yet deadly tone, mouth hovering right over my lips. “You’ll never win.”

“Why not?” I asked, voice barely above a whisper.

It was moments like this when I wished Nate wasn’t so attractive. With his face so close to me and his warm breath ghosting over my lips like he was about to kiss me, it was hard to think of him as the monster he truly was.

“You seem to have forgotten how much my family is worth,” he said, eyes flashing with derision. “Do you have any idea what kind of special treatment people like us get from everyone else?”

“Not enough to stop you from being arrested and charged for everything you’ve done to me.”

He smirked and drew back. “They might arrest me, but my lawyer would have me out within an hour. That’s not enough time for you and your sister to make it very far, is it?”

I swallowed hard as dread trickled down my spine. He had a point. The ultra-wealthy people on this island got away with everything.

“I really don’t want to hurt Sascha, because she’s innocent in all of this, but if that’s what it takes to keep you in line, I’ll do it,” Nate went on, eyes glittering with malice. “So what’s it gonna be? Are you going to cry to the cops, or are you going to be a good girl for me?”

“I’ll be good,” I mumbled.

A smug grin spread across his devilishly handsome face. White-hot fury spiraled inside me, and my fingers itched to hit him and claw at his skin. Make him bleed. Hurt him the way he was hurting me.

Instead, I swallowed my rage and wrapped the scarf around my neck. As I pulled the beanie onto my head, a new idea struck me, and I glanced over at Nate. “I need to pee before we go,” I said, hoping he couldn’t hear my thunderous heartbeat.

He lifted one shoulder in an indifferent shrug. “Fine. I’ll wait at the top of the hatch. Don’t take too long.”

He stalked away, and I waited until I could hear him ascending the steps at the end of the passage before I sprang into action. I dashed over to the toilet, licked my finger, and ran it along the base, which was coated in a thick layer of dust.

Using the partially-wettened dust as a sort of paint, I wrote a quick message on a single piece of toilet paper.

HELP ME.

I breathed warm air onto the paper to make the words dry as fast as possible, and then I folded it in half and slipped it into my coat pocket.

“I’m done,” I called out, hurrying up the passage.

Nate barely even glanced at me as I joined him at the top of the steps. He didn’t suspect a thing.

We trudged across the estate grounds and headed up to an entrance on the western side of the mansion. It led into a large, well-lit kitchen.

Colette was standing at a marble counter, loading coffee cups onto a silver tray, and a tall woman with dark hair was watching her, face drawn with worry. “Take them out to the police now,” she said, waving a hand at Colette when the tray was full. She glanced over at us when she heard the door, and her face lit up. “Oh, thank god. You’re finally back.”

She stepped over to us and held out a hand toward me. “You must be Alexis. I’m Annalise, Nate’s mother,” she said. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here to welcome you when you arrived earlier. I only just got back from my trip.”

“That’s all right,” I replied, shaking her warm hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“You too,” she said, eyes flickering with curiosity as she stared at me. “You know, I had no idea my son was seeing someone. I have to say, though, I’m very glad to hear it. I’ve always thought the greatest loves are those you meet when you’re young.”

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