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“I-I was trapped in a closet. She…”

“Helped you out? How convenient. Don’t you think?”

Shock rips through me, rocking my world off its axis. So that means the man I’ve come to care for, his family, they hate us?

Bile rises, and my head spins, thoughts colliding and scattering. Sloan seemed so genuine. “I didn’t know.”

“You should have,” he says. “Landon warned me about not including you in this.” Uncle Marc sighs. “I’m sorry you had to find out this way. I hoped to shield you from all this, but I can see now that was a mistake. You must end it immediately. I can’t have our business or families associate in any way.”

“But Uncle Marc—”

“No arguments, Lilian. The Barrons cannot be trusted.”

My chest constricts, heart breaking at the thought of losing…

Gemma’s been my closest friend since I don’t know. I have never had such good friends with whom I could talk openly. Yes, Jason’s my best friend, but since I found out he’ll tell everything to Uncle Marc or my brothers, I don’t trust him anymore.

Gemma wouldn’t do something like this, right? Did she know? Did she lock me in the room? And Sebastian. It was a coincidence that I rushed into his room. How would he have orchestrated that?

“If you continue to associate with the Barrons, I will have no choice but to bring you back here,” Uncle Marc says. “There are plenty of other colleges.”

How can he ask me to choose between them and the only family I have left?

“Lilian? Do you understand me?”

I choke down the sob rising in my chest. “Yes, Uncle Marc.”

“Good. I’m glad.”

After a heavy silence, Uncle Marc sighs again. “How’s college?”

“Good.”

“Any other problems I should know of?”

Problems. Sebastian. Gemma. Problems? “No.”

“You’ll find other people. Jason’s there.”

Jason. “Yeah. I have to go. I have a lot of homework to catch up on.”

“Of course. Study hard. And remember what I said.”

“I will.”

“Sleep well.”

“You too.” I end the call, staring at my phone while silent tears escape my eyes.

I want to scream, throw my phone across the room, and watch it shatter into a million pieces, like my heart. But I can’t. I’m frozen, numb, the weight of Uncle Marc’s words crushing me.

The Barrons are the enemy. They hate us. They’ll only use me.

Was it all really a lie? The way he touched me, the things he said—was any of it real?

I sink deeper under the covers. My world has fractured into pieces I don’t know how to reassemble. I don’t know who to trust anymore.

Things about your parents. About the Barrons’ role in… everything. Did they have something to do with the accident?

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