Page 121 of Begin Again

Selene stands in front of her, shaking out her fist.

Silence.

Mo lets out a low whistle. “Damn.”

Aubrey stares at Selene in disbelief, her breath hitching as blood drips onto her shirt. “You—you broke my nose, you bitch!”

Selene shakes her hand out again, her expression calm, unbothered. “Oh, sorry,” she says flatly. “I must have miscalculated.”

And just like that—watching her, standing there, fearless, ready to take on the world—then it hits me.

Fuck.

I think I’m in love with her.

This is the worst possible moment to realize

it, but there it is. Lodged in my chest like a goddamn bullet.

Aubrey glares at all of us, but there’s a new emotion in her eyes now.

Fear.

Aubrey looks up, her face pale and stricken. “It doesn’t matter though. None of this does. I can explain everything away. The town loves me. At the end of the day you have no proof,” she whispers, her voice trembling. “It’s just your word against mine.”

Before I can say anything, Mo lets out a low chuckle, shaking her head. “You don’t get it, do you?”

Aubrey blinks, her confusion evident.

Selene crosses her arms, her tone sharp. “You think we’d come here unprepared? This isn’t just us, Aubrey.”

I nod toward the tree behind me and the graves nearby. “The FBI’s been watching you for weeks. There are wires on that tree, on the stones around us. Everything you’ve said today? It’s all been recorded. Every word.”

Aubrey’s eyes widen in horror, realization dawning on her face. “No,” she breathes, shaking her head. “You didn’t—”

“We did,” Mo says, her voice sharp and final. “This was never just about us. Your son is the one that was looking into his past. He was looking into his father then you by extension. That’s who Gabriel caught looking into all those files. He didn’t know it at the time but he was uncovering the truth—and now we know it. Thanks to you.”

I watch the cracks spread across Aubrey’s mask, her carefully constructed world caving in. And for the first time, I see something genuine beneath it—not the cold, calculating woman who played us all, but a terrified person losing control. She looks at each of us, her chest heaving, her mind racing for a way out.

For a second, I expect her to run. I almost hope she does.

But then, her shoulders slump, her body folding inward like she’s suddenly too tired to fight.

“It wasn’t supposed to happen like this,” she whispers, her voice breaking. “I just…I just wanted to protect myself.”

The words are a slap in the face, and a heavy darkness churns in my gut. She’s still lying—to herself, to us. I think of Gabriel, of George, of my parents, and the countless lives she shattered to “protect herself.”

“No, Aubrey,” I say, my voice steady. “You wanted to protect your lies. And now, they’ve caught up to you.”

The sound of footsteps in the distance grows louder. The agents are moving in, closing the net around her, and still, she doesn’t seem to notice.

Aubrey’s face turns ashen. Her breaths come too fast, too shallow. I see it in her eyes—the slow, sinking realization that this is the end of the road.

She glances toward the edge of the cemetery, her eyes darting like a cornered animal, finally noticing the hulking figures coming towards us.

“You’re smart though, you planned for this, didn’t you?” Selene’s voice is low and steady, like a hunter closing in on its prey.

Aubrey doesn’t answer, but the tremor in her hands gives her away.

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