Page 53 of Sacrifice

“There it is,” I said, looking at Rose. “Proof that she knew what my father’s side of the family was doing. Or suspected, anyway.”

She nodded. “It looks like there’s more as well. Can you move the screen down again?”

I scrolled to reveal the next entry.

I visitedthe hospital today to look at the archives in the hope of finding some sort of proof regarding my suspicions. They didn’t let me in at first, but I have certain persuasive skills (you really have to in my line of work!)

I found evidence of missing embryos, dating back almost two decades.

I now believe that Adam (and the rest of the Thorne family too) is providing the Covenant with embryos stolen from reproductively challenged people, along with IVF technology (perhaps this is how they’ve avoided inbreeding issues in recent years?). But the connection to the psychedelic mushrooms… I don’t know. Clearly, there’s something there. I just need to figure out what it is.

Re. our marital relationship - this sounds terrible but, to be honest, I don’t even feel guilty about the affair anymore. Adam has lied to me so much. Hidden so much. He is a complete hypocrite.

Part of me wants to pack up and leave him. But I’m afraid of how he’ll respond. I have a feeling he’ll get vindictive and try totake full custody of Seb. He already harps on about what a bad mother I am for having a career. It wouldn’t surprise me if he got his lawyers to argue the same thing. His family has money on their side and access to the very best legal teams, too, so I know I would get utterly squashed in court.

So… is leaving him the wisest course of action? Should I stay quiet about this enormous secret instead? Not just to keep my own life from blowing up, but also to avoid hurting Seb? He would be devastated if Adam and I divorced; I know that.

If I did leave Adam, where would I go? I know Augustus wants me with him, but I couldn’t pull Seb out of his world and make him live in Alderwood. I couldn’t even live there myself. I love him, despite everything, but I love the modern world too.

God… what to do. What to do…

“She was thinking about leaving him,” Rose said softly. “Even without all the other stuff, that alone could be seen as a motive for your father to snap and kill her. No wonder he hid this.”

I nodded, gritted my teeth, and scrolled down again. The final diary entry was much shorter than the others.

I did it.I told him about the affair, and I also told him I knew about his family’s secret. Knew about all his lies. We have betrayed each other, so I said the only way our marriage can continue is if we seek therapy as a couple. I want to get past it for Seb’s sake. Perhaps we can, perhaps we can’t. I suppose we shall see.

I was too nervous to say any of it to his face, so I put it all in a letter and left it on his pillow before I left with Seb for his birthday trip to Pinecrest Falls. I’m writing this from there now. I haven’t heard anything from him yet - no calls or texts. Perhaps he is still thinking about it and trying to find the right words.

Who knows? I hope he will drive up here to join us for Seb’s birthday tomorrow, at the very least.

“That’s it. The very last entry she ever wrote,” I said, staring at the words until they blurred together. “Fuck… it’s all there. All the proof we need that my father did it.”

Rose put a hand on my shoulder. “I’m so sorry, Sebastian. It’s so awful.”

I pressed my lips in a thin line, one hand rubbing my forehead as I sagged in my seat. “I already knew he did it after everything your dad told us, but some tiny shred of me was hoping—”

I abruptly trailed off, shaking my head.

“Hoping he was innocent after all?” Rose asked, eyes filling with sympathy. “That it was all a huge mistake?”

“Yeah.” I grunted and shook my head again. “Fucking stupid.”

“No, it’s not stupid at all. He’s your father. He raised you. It’s understandable that some small part of you was holding out hope.”

She was right, I knew it, but that didn’t stop me from feeling like a total fool as the suffocating weight of my father’s culpability settled over me. It felt like a knife was twisting in my chest, even worse than the other night when Augustus first told me the truth.

My breaths quickened as the storm of emotions rose inside me. Fury, grief, betrayal, all swirling into an unbearable heat. It felt like I was burning from the inside out, my skin prickling from the intensity of it.

“Sebastian,” Rose said, placing a hand on my forehead. “You look and feel very hot. Perhaps you should cool down with a bath?”

Her soft voice pulled me out of my spiral, and I nodded and rose to my feet. “Yeah. You’re right.”

“You know I’m here for you, don’t you?” she said, wide eyes filled with tenderness. “I’ll always be here for you. Just like you’ve always been here for me.”

I stared down at her, slightly shaking my head. “I don’t deserve you,” I muttered. “How the hell did I get so lucky?”

“Youdodeserve me. We deserve each other.” Rose smiled and went on, squeezing my hand in hers. “I’m so glad we found each other. So, so glad.”

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