Page 144 of Lush

Dad will see him as the screw-up he always knew he was. The Kings will turn on him. He’ll get the blame while I’m long gone with her. The money’s ready, she’s ready, and by the time the smoke clears, they won’t even know where to start looking for me.

Reese will be left holding the bag, and I’ll finally be free.

The journal slipped from my hands.

Conrad.

Laurene and I had had a plan. But Conrad had a plan too.

All those years of rivalry, of resentment, and he’d weaponized them against me.

My pulse thundered in my ears as it all clicked into place. The missing money. The discrepancies in the accounts I’d been chasing for months. Every lead that felt like a dead end. Holy shit.

Conrad had planned to frame me.

My knees felt weak as I stared down at the journal in my hands, the truth staring back at me. All this time, I thought I was uncovering some external threat, some outside force threatening the company. But it was him. Conrad.

It wasn’t enough for him to leave and disappear. He needed someone to take the blame for his mess.

Me.

CHAPTER 29

Laurene

“You didn’t haveto do all this,” I said, eyeing the feast in front of me Noelle had brought. I pushed myself up higher in the bed, wincing as pain shot through my side.

“Hey, take it easy.” Serena was at my side in an instant. She gently pushed me back down. “Relax. Lemme fix you a plate.”

“Igotit!” Gigi jumped up from her chair, rushing to the table to intercept Serena. “You’ve been in her face since she woke up. Let somebody else do something for once.”

Serena shot her a glare. “Excuse me, but I’vebeenhere, making sure she’s okay. Where were you? Off shopping for new shoes again?”

Gigi’s mouth fell open. “Lu understands that I needed those Paloma Blossom Sandals to go with my dress for Coachella! At least I came back with snacks, which isimportant.Second of all, stop micromanaging!”

Walter, who’d been napping in the purse, woke up to bark.

“I’ve been meaning to try out some new recipes, anyway. And there’s no way we were going to let you starve in here.” Noelle sighed, stepping between them, eyeing them warily as she set another container of food on the table.

I glanced at the table, now crammed with food that smelled heavenly, and my stomach growled loudly.

“It’s not that bad,” I said, though the bland, rubbery pasta from last night begged to differ.

Noelle raised an eyebrow. “Laurene. That last tray had Jell-O cubes that looked like they’d been alive at some point. You deserve better.”

Gigi and Serena ignored her and continued arguing.

“You came back with a half-eaten bag of chips and a chocolate bar.” Serena frowned.

“Both of ya’ll,” Erik’s voice cut through the bickering. He stood in the doorway, arms crossed and eyebrows raised.

Serena and Gigi both froze, midglare, like kids caught raiding the cookie jar.

“Imma kick both of y’all out if you can’t behave.”

“I wasn’t fighting,” Gigi muttered under her breath, though she side-eyed Serena.

“You werebothfighting,” Erik said matter-of-factly, strolling over to the table. “Now, hand me that plate. I’ll fix it.”

---