Page 70 of Filthy Elites

Curling my hands into fists, I take a menacing step toward her. “You had no right.”

Her gaze narrows to slits. “I have every right in the world. This is my house. If you didn’t want anyone to know about your sickness, you should have pulled all this shit down when Isabelle died.”

I can’t waste my time trying to understand my mother’s motives. I have to go after Isabelle and explain to her I’m not a psychopath like her ex.

“When I thought you couldn’t sink any lower…” I grit out. “I can’t deal with you right now. I have to go after Nicola.”

I start for the door, but my mother gets in my way. “You’re not going after anyone. You have to play soon.”

A crazy laugh bubbles up to my throat. “You must be out of your goddamned mind if you think I’m going to perform for your fucking guests.”

Her blue eyes spark with rage, and the hard slap to my face comes a second later. “You willnotdisrespect me, Jason. Now grab your violin and get ready.”

My ears are ringing from the hit, and my cheek burns, but she could beat me senseless and I still wouldn’t play. “I’m sorry, Mother, but my years of bowing to your whims are over.”

The urge to shove her out of my way is enormous, but I won’t stoop to her level and resort to violence. I walk around her instead and then sprint down the hallway and stairs. In the entry foyer, I have the misfortune to bump into Sloane and her friends.

“Jason, I was look—”

“Not now, Sloane.” I rush out of the house, but I don’t see Isabelle anywhere.

I ask one of the valets if he’s seen her, and he tells me she just left. She wised up; she drove her own car tonight.

My car is in the garage, which is currently blocked by all the other vehicles.

“I need a car,” I tell the valet.

“Sir?” The guy looks at me like I’ve lost my mind.

“Don’t fucking ‘sir’ me. Give me the car that’s closest to the exit. I’m Victoria Petrov’s son.”

Dropping my mother’s name does the trick. The guy grabs a fob from his stash and runs down the driveway. He returns a minute later, driving a Maserati Levante SUV. I have no idea who this car belongs to, but it’s fast, and that’s all I care about.

Traffic is nonexistent on the way back to campus, but as fast as I drive, I don’t see Isabelle’s car on the road. The valet must have lied about the time she actually left the party. In the dorm’s garage, I see that her car is there. Naturally, I head straight to her dorm room, but I knock first, because bursting in will not do me any favors.

“Isabelle, please open up,” I plead.

She doesn’t answer.

Hell. I use my master key then, because I can’t simply wait for her to calm down. That might never happen and she’s a flight risk. I find her room empty though.

What the hell. Where did she go?

A quick search of her room tells me she didn’t pack up and leave, but the violin I gave her is missing. On a hunch, I head to the main school building. The master key also works there, but the issue is the new alarm system they installed. They change the passcode every week, and I haven’t bothered to get the new one yet. There are other ways to gain entrance, though.

I circle the perimeter until I find one of the security guards.

“Hey, Jonas.” I wave at him.

“Jason. I would ask what you’re doing here, but judging by your attire, I can guess.”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re looking for your girlfriend, right? Pretty girl wearing a red dress?”

“Yes, have you seen her?”

“I just let her in. I normally wouldn’t, but she looked distressed and begged to use the music room. I can’t stand to see a girl cry.”

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