Page 56 of The Forbidden Secret

“I was afraid I would have to convince you not to go after him.”

I gave Jaimie the coldest stare I could. “Everyone in my life has believed me to be socially unaware and ignorant. I thought you saw past that?”

“I do,” she said, standing her ground. “But I also see too much empathy. Reckless, self-sacrificing bullshit runs in your blood.”

I bit my bottom lip.

She was right. If it would get Zeke out of the situation, I would have happily given my life and well-being. He deserved an opportunity to heal and meet our daughter. He deserved so much more than what my bad fortune had gotten him.

I grabbed the phone from the ground and looked at the picture again, staring into Zeke's resilient and determined eyes. He would never want me to come for him. But he deserved something to be done.

My eyes drifted to a shelf over his shoulder where a small box sat, an empty photo frame on top of it.

Irecognizedthe box.

“He’s not being held at Clide Newton’s house,” I said, thrusting the photo in front of her. “This is my father’s garage.”

That box had been sitting on the garage shelf for years. It was an old memento box of my mother’s—likely something that had fallen through the cracks when she’d escaped. I had always wanted to look inside but never had.

But it was unmistakable.

“He’s holding Zeke at my father’s house, and they plan on killing him when I turn myself into Clide. They never intended for me to see him alive,” I said, working through the angles in myhead. “My dad will probably be waiting with Zeke, and Clide will be waiting for me at his house. We won’t be able to take out the biggest threat, but if I face my dad and kill him… Alonzo will be free to make his allegiances known, right?”

“You can’t go anywhere, Evelina.”

I pushed my phone into her hand. “How are you going to get into my father’s garage then?”

“You’re going to tell me how.”

“There is only one way into that house where we won’t get caught. And if they know we’re there, the plan is toast. We’re toast. You need me.”

“If they see you there, they’ll kill him on the spot. You’re not going.”

I smirked. “Iamgoing, and I’m going to kill my father myself.”

Chapter Twenty-Three

Evelina Bianchi

The way into the house would be the same way I snuck out for years. It was a coincidental gap in my father’s guard rotations that made the path almosttooeasy. Jaimie looked suspicious of the ease, though if I hadn’t used this exact path hundreds of times before, I would have been just as wary.

An easy stroll across the side of the tennis court, a beeline through the shrubs, and straight toward my second-story bedroom window where a tree branch hung low enough to the ground to get proper leverage. Against Jaimie’s warnings, I went first, demonstrating the best way to swing toward the windowsill and push open the always-unlocked window.

When Jaimie effortlessly followed me inside, she gaped down at me. “It’s that easy to break into your father’s house?” she whispered.

“I took the time to grease the windows and memorize the guard routes, so it was easy for me,” I replied with a shrug. “I had to sneak out somehow.”

“You continue to surprise me,” she muttered. “Can I convince you to stay in here while I get Zeke out?”

“Not a chance.”

“Figured as much.” Jaimie handed me a knife and then pulled out one of the four guns attached to her. “Stay behind me, and stay quiet. They can’t know we’re coming.”

My heart pounded with adrenaline as I followed Jaimie’s order. She had already pulled up the blueprints of the house, and we swiftly went through guard placement and the best way to reach the garage. She knew as much as I did, and I followed her through the house, seamlessly avoiding the handful of guards that stood at their usual posts.

It was exactly as I had remembered it.

He didn’t seem to prepare himself at all for the potential of an attack. Allowing him to believe me stupid for so many years had paid off.

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