Page 151 of When Hearts Awaken

Wordlessly, I hold up the USB, and his gaze sharpens, his brow cocked in question.

“I-It’s not mine,” I whisper, my pulse beating against my ears. “What she said in the room…the proof, the hiding place. It could only be this spot here.” I motion to the loose floorboard. “Only she knows about this place, where I store my precious knickknacks. I found this USB there.”

A muscle pulses in his jaw, and he swallows, his throat rippling. He loosens the tie around his neck and sits down next to me, powering up the laptop.

After it loads to the home screen, Charles takes the USB and plugs it into the port. There are two video files on it.

We play the first one.

Alexis’s strawberry blonde hair fills the screen. I squint, taking in her beautiful dress. It looks familiar—it’s the same dress she wore to Hotel Renegade. It has to be.

Her eyes dart around—the background is dark, but I recognize the rooftop studio.

“Tay, Tay, I’m recording this for insurance, okay?” Alexis whispers. “I know you’ll keep this safe because it’s in your mom’s gift to you. I hope you’ll never see what’s on this drive, because I’ll get him to confess what he did to you.”

Her voice chokes up and sobs rip from her throat. “I-I’m so sorry, Tay Tay. I’m so sorry I didn’t get to you in time before it happened. I’ll avenge you. You’re my best friend, and I’ll gut him for hurting you. But I need to talk to my brothers first. They need to know about this. They’ll know what to do.”

My heart drops to the floor as tears spring into my eyes. Is she saying what I think she’s saying?

The clip ends, and Charles immediately clicks the next file.

Screams and whimpers fill the air, and I take in my writhing form on a leather couch. My clothes are torn. I’m clearly out of it. Ian leans over me, zipping up his pants. There are other women in the frame, all in equal states of distress, if not worse.

Nausea rolls through me and I sway.

“Fuck!” Charles pulls me into his embrace, shielding my eyes. He snaps shut the laptop.

“I need to know. I can handle it, Charles.” I pry his hands away even as acid works its way up my throat.

I need to know what happened.

He clasps his hand on my cheek and turns me to face him. “Don’t do this to yourself, Tay. I’ll get this to the authorities.”

I shake my head. “No. Ineedto know.” I lost too much that day and not knowing is a hole in my heart.

A muscle tics in his jaw and he closes his eyes before his hand falls away from the laptop.

My fingers tremble as I open the lid and hit play.

“No,” I hear Alexis whisper under her breath, horror and shock clear in her voice. “Uncle Ian?What?”

“Welcome to The Association, Ian. There’s a recording of you raping this poor girl, but that is the price of admission.” A man speaking in a heavy French accent appears in the frame, his back turned toward the camera.

Laurent Archambeau.

Ian spits on the ground, his frame heaving. “You motherfucker.”

Archambeau laughs. “That’s what they all say, but then the lure of power is too big to resist, no? And come on, you enjoyed it. We all saw you.”

He slaps Ian on the back and leads him out of view.

Suddenly, the camera jolts and the screen turns black, but the audio is still on. I hear some hurried footsteps and Alexis’s winded breathing.

“Young lady, this section is restricted,” someone commands.

“I-I’m sorry, I lost my way. Was looking for the r-restroom.” Shit. Alexis sounds so scared.

A few seconds pass and I hold my breath, not letting it out until I hear the man say, “It’s that way. Don’t come back here again.”

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