Page 160 of Dirty Grovel

He will disappear into the ether with all the other missing persons that have been lost over the years.

I’ll make fucking sure of it.

“Does this mean my sister-in-law won’t be charged?”

The detective raises her eyebrows. “I would have thought you’d be more concerned about the fact that you have officially been cleared as a suspect in your uncle’s death.”

I snort. “I knew those suspicions had no merit. I was never concerned about that. The only thing that concerns me is my fiancée’s happiness. And right now, that is directly tied to her sister’s freedom.”

The detective’s face softens. The blue in her eyes reveals a tinge of green I hadn’t noticed before.

“The charges will be dropped against your sister-in-law,” she says. “But she will be required to finish her three-month stint at Alice Matlin Psychiatric Institute.”

“That won’t be a problem. After what she’s been through, she’s going to need to be rehabilitated.”

She nods in agreement. But something about her pinched expression gives me pause.

“Detective… you mentioned that Sydney was abused at the hands of LipovskyandAnton.”

“Yes?”

“What do you mean by that?”

She frowns, clearly hesitant to answer.

“Please,” I say smoothly. “Knowing will help me help her.”

Detective Cooper sighs. “Days before Lipovsky disappeared, we have footage of your sister-in-law being assaulted… by Anton.”

My stomach drops.

It makes sense now.

This is why Sydney risked everything to botch our trap. She wasn’t really trying to botch anything—she was simply trying to get revenge for what was done to her.

“It seems that Lipovsky was the one that handed Sydney off to his right-hand man… as a punishment.”

I rise to my feet, ready to end this meeting. “Thank you for coming all this way to let me know.” I look at each of them in turn. “Detective. Sergeant.”

The moment I’ve seen them out, I turn towards the staircase.

I can’t wait to tell Sutton that Sydney is officially off the hook. I won’t tell her everything, though.

She doesn’t need to know how badly Sydney was abused. Unless, of course, Sydney decides to tell her one day.

Selfishly, I hope she never does.

Both women have been through enough.

I take the steps two at a time up to Sutton’s bedroom door. But when I walk in, the room is conspicuously empty.

What’s more, it looks pristine. The bed hasn’t been slept in. The windows are still drawn open from the night before. And Sutton’s familiar scent is absent.

“Where is she?” I murmur, my spine turning icy.

I circle the house once before calling to security at the front gate. Pavin answers, his deep voice resonating over the phone.

“Yes, boss?”

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