Page 62 of The Weekend Getaway

He’d been dealt a bad hand, but he wasn’t going to fold. He would play a different game. One he knew he could win. A game where the key to success wasn’t a winning hand, but a bold strategy that required ruthless choices and cutthroat decisions.

“Don’t you think it’s your fault?” Alex asked.

Her eyes darting wildly, Mia asked, “How is it my fault?”

Lowering his voice, Alex said, “Sarah got raped because she was drugged.”

Mia looked down.

“But Phil didn’t drug her … did he?”

Mia remained silent.

Placing a finger beneath her chin, Alex lifted her head, forcing her to look at him. “You drugged Sarah.”

Shaking her head, Mia opened her mouth.

Alex shushed her, pressing his finger against her lips. “I know you put the Grover in Sarah’s drink. Chris told me youasked for it. After he gave it to you, he watched you to see what you would do with it.”

Tears brimming in her eyes, Mia said, “I didn’t mean to?—”

“Of course, you meant to drug her,” Alex said. “You hate Sarah.”

“That’s not true!” Mia hissed under her breath.

“We both know you’re jealous of her,” Alex said. “You could have killed her.”

Mia looked stricken. “I didn’t want to?—”

“What if you had given her too much?” Alex asked, delighting in her misery. “We’d have to be covering up a murder right now.”

“I’m sorry …” Mia cried, leaning toward him, tears streaming down her face. “You have to believe me! I never wanted this to happen to Sarah. I just …”

“If you’re really sorry,” Alex said, caressing her cheek. “Then you’ll convince Sarah to keep her mouth shut about Phil. What happened to Sarah was terrible. But we can turn the situation around. No one has to suffer. We can make things better for everyone. We can do this together because we’re a team, right?”

Mia nodded.

“I’m counting on you, Mia,” Alex said. “Don’t let me down …”

CHAPTER 58

MIA

“What?” Jason sputtered. “No. Alex wasn’t serious when he said that Phil should have an accident.”

“Alex was serious,” Mia said. “The story about Alex taking Phil to the main island was a lie.”

Sarah scoffed. “Why am I not surprised?”

Ignoring the scorn in Sarah’s tone, Mia focused on Jason who’d always relied on Alex for direction and guidance, and despite not always agreeing with Alex’s tactics, would nevertheless reserve judgment.

“Phil was going to destroy all of us,” Mia said. “Alex was trying to prevent that. He was looking out for us.”

“By killing Phil?” Jason asked.

“By making sure that Phil wouldn’t be able to ruin our lives,” Mia said, annoyed by the censure in Jason’s voice, which she resented and hadn’t expected. If not for Alex, Jasonwould be nothing. Fifteen years ago, Alex had generously made sure that Jason benefitted from a scheme he could never have imagined let alone pulled off, so he should be forever grateful, not critical of Alex’s motives.

“Don’t you see that Alex had our best interests at heart?” Mia asked, staring at Sarah, then Jason.

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