Page 63 of (Un)Rivaled

“If you two are going to act like horny teenagers, you’re going to need to rent another room,” Laurel said, her tone even and almost cold. She knelt next to the boxes, searching through the first one. “But the rest of us would like to destroy David, so either scurry off or help.”

Tomas stared up at her with stars in his eyes. Maybe he wasn’t kidding about the whole mean kink. He chuckled as he looked back at me. “Never thought you’d be the cuddly one in your family, querida.”

“You should meet our younger sister,” I said, joining his side. “She practically exudes rainbows and sunshine.”

“He’s not meeting her,” Laurel said as she stood back up. She dusted off her hands before moving further down the line. Her focus was on the documents, but she said, “Calla is not getting involved in this, and that’s final.”

My jaw tensed, and I took a step forward. “And what gives you the right to make that call? Just because you’re older doesn’t mean?—”

“I said no.”

I shook my head. “That’s something you are going to have to learn, Laurel. You are not in charge here. Yes, you work the closest with David, but that does not mean you get to make all the rules.” My anger bit at my heels, a tangible beast. Maybe it was her attitude. Maybe it was finally being so happy after years of misery. But I was done playing nice, even if we were sisters. “Your rules already cost me—” I took Gray’s hand in mine. “Costustoo much.”

Her eyes widened, and for a moment, she looked truly remorseful. She shook her head and said, “I’m not going to apologize for trying to keep you safe. I’ve failed you and Calla plenty of times, but you need to know I’ve had your best interests at heart.”

“Then you should have talked to us!” I yelled. “Instead of becoming someone we didn’t even recognize!”

“You think I don’t know that,” Laurel bit back. “If I could take it back, I would. I would have never agreed to any of this, not if I knew this was how my life was going to turn out. If I knew it meant sacrificing you and Calla, meant leaving home and never coming back...” She slammed her hand down on the box. “But this investigation—this is my entire life, Devyn. I need him to pay. I need to make sure he doesn’t hurt anyone else the way he has hurt us. I can’t—” Her voice broke, and she turned away from me, bringing her shaking hand to her mouth. When she turned back around, the crack in her veneer was gone. “I need him to pay for what he did to our family.”

As I watched her, a cold sense of dread crept into my veins. While I hated David, this was so much more, a deep-seated need for vengeance. I searched through my memories, trying to think of anything David had done to my sister, at least in front of us. But there was nothing, not a single snide comment or uneasy situation. She was his perfect protégé, unlike Calla and I, who were thorns in his side.

“What did he do?” I asked, trying to keep my voice strong.

Laurel shook her head. “Trust me, you don’t want to know.”

“Tell me.”

She stared at me, trying to read my expression. Butstubbornness ran in our blood, and there was no way I was leaving here without some answers.

Laurel broke first, sighing as she turned toward the door. She reached down, pulling out a file folder sealed with a thick rubber band around the center. She passed it over to me, but before I could open it, she placed her hand on top of mine. “You wanted to know, but be prepared. Once you see what’s in this file, you’re not going to be able to walk away from this. So this is your chance, Devyn. Take your husband, and go live your life.” She smiled softly at me. “All I’ve ever wanted was for you and Calla to move on past our crappy childhoods. So please, Devyn. Walk away.”

I shook my head. “I can’t do that.”

Laurel sighed but lifted her hand, letting me pull the rubber band off the file. As I lifted the cover, the first thing I saw were photographs of different people, all attached to death certificates or missing person reports. My hands shook as I flipped through each one, and my throat dried out. My words came whispered when I asked, “Who are all of these people?”

“They are people who have either been killed or gone missing after interfering with one of David’s businesses. Most of their deaths looked like accidents or natural causes, but it’s too much of a coincidence to be true. People in David’s orbit tend to die when they piss him off, and he has enough power and resources to keep them buried.”

I reached the end of the file, and my hand stalled on the last picture. It wasn’t a headshot, but instead, it looked like the scene of a car accident. Gray sucked in a sharp breath at my side. “Is that…”

But the rest of their words were warped as I looked down at the car, recognizing the frame despite all the damage inflicted—the same silver sedanthat had been parked in our driveway when I got home from school, making me run a little faster to the door. The one I would wait up for on nights he worked late, hoping to get one last story before bed. The ringing in my ears almost pulled me under as I kept staring at the photo until I saw the red stain on the driver’s seat. A vicious roar sounded in my ears as I stared at the dried blood covering the fabric.

It was only then that I noticed the name attached in the corner.

Peter Winters.

Our father.

When I let out a soft gasp, Gray took my shaking hand. It was frozen to the image, unable to let go. As he lifted my hand, he closed the folder, sealing the image away, but I already knew it would be seared in my brain for the rest of my days.

“That can’t be—” I croaked out, my eyes still stuck on the place the photographs just sat. “Laurel…”

She looked up at me and nodded, the movement so subtle, I almost didn’t see it. “David’s been eliminating any threats for a long time, and I think our dad was one of the first.”

THIRTY-THREE

All the color drained from Devyn’s face as she stared down at the closed folder. Her brown eyes were cold, as if she was still staring at the image through the papers blocking her from it. I would’ve given anything to reverse time, to erase that picture from her mind. Devyn would never have wanted that, though. Because this was fucked in more ways than I ever thought possible.

I knew Laurel had a grudge against their stepfather, but she’d never told me about the connection with their father. When we first started, we were just looking for something that might show insider trading or other shady business dealings, something the authorities could handle. However, as we kept digging, we uncovered darker secrets, some that haunted me in the middle of the night. We didn’t know if David was responsible for all forty-eight deaths in that folder, but he was involved in some capacity. They kept me up at night, imagining who we’d have to add next. The worst nights were the ones when I imagined it was Devyn’s picture being added to the top, and there was nothing I could do to stop it.

---