Page 124 of Altered

"You stole his wife!" Derek roared.

"She was never his to steal, old man," I shot back heatedly. "And trust me when I tell you that she came willingly."

"Because she's a whore, that's why!" Annabelle snarled. "A spoiled, entitled daddy's girl, who walked out that door, knowing Jordan was a wreck, and never looked back."

"Don’t speak about my daughter like that," Lee growled, but Annabelle didn’t listen.

"You left him there to die, Hope," she hissed. "You knew he was on the edge and you left anyway. You practically handed him the knife –"

"Get out of my house!" Lee screamed, stunning the hell out of all of us.

I'd known the Carters' for a few years now, and never once in all that time had I ever heard Lee Carter raise her voice.

But she was raising it now like a lioness.

"Lee, this isn’t Annabelle's fault," Derek chimed in. "She is Jordan's best friend. She's just trying to protect him."

Now, it was my turn to laugh.

"Protect him," I chuckled. "Good one."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" she snarled, eyes flashing with outrage.

"You do realize what you've let into your house, don’t you?" I asked Hope's mother.

"Hunter?" Hope choked out. "What do you mean?"

"That one right there." I pointed at the blonde bitch with the giant chip on her shoulder. "Is your husband's half-sister." I turned to look at Annabelle and smirked, "Isn't that right, Annalisa?"

"He's lying," she screamed, face turning purple. Shoving her chair back, she jerked to her feet and hissed, "David isnotmy father!"

"He never said he was," Hope countered angrily. "He never mentioned the name David at all." She glared at the blonde. "You just played yourself."

"You think she gives a shit about your son?" I tossed out, turning my attention on Derek. "Wake up, Derek. She's a fucking implant, man. Been watching the whole lot of you for years now."

"I love Jordan," Annabelle announced, focusing on Derek. "I do. He's my best friend. We've been looking out for each other for –"

"Get out of my house," Lee hissed, rising from her chair. "Now!"

"But I –"

"Get the fuck out!" Hope screamed, coming to her mother's aid. "Or I swear to god I will hurt you."

With a furious expression, Annabelle turned on her hooker heels and stalked out of the room.

"When you run home to Daddy to tell him all about this, make sure you tell him Lucky says hello," I called after.

"Oh, I'm sure you'll hear from him soon," she spat.

"Excellent." I grinned. "Something to look forward to."

The front door slammed, and Lee sank back down in her seat, looking weary and sad.

I hated that.

She was a good woman.

Fucking hated seeing her like this.

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