Page 24 of Thorns of Malice

My chest tightens, thinking about my father, and I tear up. I blink hard and look away.

Matt puts his hand on my arm. "Ivy, are you okay?"

I wipe my wet face and sniffle. "I'm sorry, my father died last week. I buried him yesterday. I..."

"Oh my God, Ivy. Are you okay?"

I take a deep breath and then raise my chin. "I'm as good as I can be, but... Well, that's why Jaxon wanted me to meet with attorneys."

Matt stays silent.

"Why are you in Georgia?" I question again.

He licks his lips. "I work for a national law firm. There was a position open in Georgia, and I too thought it was best to get away. I thought it might help me eliminate the bad memories," he confesses.

"Bad memories?" I inquire.

His jaw clenches. He breathes a few times and slowly nods. "Yeah, you weren't the only one they tormented and tortured."

My heart sinks. "Matt, I'm sorry. What did they do to you?"

He glances at the ceiling, sniffs hard, and shakes his head. He meets my eye. "Nothing worse than they did to you."

"Who hurt you?" I question.

He scoffs. "The Carringtons. Avery, mostly. Bobby. Professor Dyer. All of them."

"Dyer? What did Professor Dyer do?" I blurt out.

His expression grows dark. "All you need to know is he's scum, just like the rest of them. And he's all part of their game."

I take a deep breath. "I'm so sorry, Matt. You didn't deserve whatever they did to you."

An understanding passes in his expression. He swallows hard. "You didn't deserve any of it either. What they did to you was horrible. Is that why we're here, to discuss some sort of lawsuit for what they did?"

I blink a few times and shake my head. "No, that was a long time ago."

"You could still sue them," Matt states.

I roll my eyes. "I don't think suing the Carringtons is a good plan. Not with all the money they have at their disposal. They'll bankrupt anybody who tries, I assume. Don't you think?"

Matt's face falls. He nods. "Yeah, I think you're right. But if that's not why I'm here, then why?"

My stomach dives, and my chest tightens. The air in my lungs turns stale. I open my mouth, but once again, no words come out.

Matt waits, continuing to stare at me.

For some reason, I trust him. He wasn't one of them. I know he wasn't. He was just like me. He wanted to be accepted and fell under the Carringtons' spell.

I don't know what they did to him, but I have a feeling it left just as many scars. Since he saw the video, I should be embarrassed to be around him, but he was always kind. So far, he hasn't said or done anything to show me differently. So, for some reason, I trust him just like I trust Jaxon. I finally admit, "Dax stole something from my father."

Hatred fills Matt's face. "What did he steal?"

My mouth turns dry. My voice cracks. "He stole..." I lick my lips and swallow. Then, I clear my throat. "He stole my dad's hybrid, the new Seducing Ivy flower that was used for Avery's perfume."

Matt gapes at me.

I continue, "The patents... That hybrid is my dad's."

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