Page 87 of Shifting Gears

The two men were standing next to the black car that I’d seen parked out front, the butler getting into the driver’s seat as the man in the striped suit stood by the open passenger door. He looked up at the house and smiled. There was no way he could see me, but it felt like he was staring straight into my very soul.

The hairs on the back of my neck stood up, and my heart pounded.

But just like that, he slid into the passenger seat, and closed the door, and they drove off toward the front gate and out of my sight.

I hope I never see that man again. There is something about him that makes me want to crawl out of my skin.

I shook it off and turned, directing my attention back to the door with the keypad. I walked over to it and punched in the numbers I’d seen him do.

“Three, eight, six, eight, one,” I counted out loud as I pushed each button.

A click, and the lock unlatched. I twisted the knob and pushed the door open.

Kaito’s office was huge. It was ornate, with lots of objects on display around the room, a wall of bookshelves, and a big desk with two chairs in front of it at the opposite end.

The most noticeable thing in the room, however, was a wooden statue sitting on the ground and a shelf behind his desk turned sideways.

I dashed through the room and over to the opening. A small room was there, with money and precious metals stacked on shelves in a massive, wall-mounted safe.

This must have been what that man was getting into when I was outside the room.

I noticed that two shelves contained no money or gold, but held documents and random objects.

I dug through them furiously. As I picked through paper after paper, I realized just what a scumbag Kaito had been. There were so many titles, certificates, and other things spread out before me—and I had no doubt he’d gotten any of them by legal means. Ours wasn’t the only family he had tormented by the looks of it. After ten minutes, I finally found what I was looking for—a folder with my family name on it.

I carefully opened it. Inside were papers between Kaito and my father—the original agreement that had gotten us into this mess. The next was a new agreement for the property in exchange for a marriage, signed by Raven. Finally, there was the deed to our land. I took the whole folder and closed it.

It’s finally over, Raven. We will never be plagued by Kaito ever again.

I was tempted to take some of the money, but knowing he had probably gotten it from probably destroying other people’s lives left a foul taste in my mouth. So, I walked away from it, and I hurried to get out of this cursed house.

The gate opened automatically from the inside, so getting back to AJ’s car was much easier than when I’d had to get into the estate.

I started the car and took off, leaving the worst chapter of my life behind.

Once I was a safe distance away, I pulled over. It dawned on me that I should message Touma and let him know to stay with Regan tonight and that everything was going to be fine.

I unlocked my phone and clicked on our text messages.

Sydney

Hey, I wanted to check in and make sure you two were okay.

Touma

Jesus, Sydney! What the hell happened? I’ve heard from multiple people that the fight club got raided by the cops tonight. We’ve been worried about you. I had to stop Regan from leaving to go look for you three times already.

Sydney

I’m sorry. Things got out of control, and this is the first chance I’ve had to get in touch. I’m fine. Tell her to stay put, and I’ll be home to explain everything tomorrow.

Touma

I’ll tell her. And you’re okay? You’re safe?

Sydney

Yes, I’m fine. I borrowed someone’s car, and I need to return it. I’m going to stay there because it’s getting way too late and I’m exhausted. Tell my sister I love her and will see her soon.

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