Page 111 of The Casting Couch

“You know what hurts the most?”I breathed.“It’s not that you tried to blackmail me.That’s honestly pathetic.What hurts the most is that my mother agreed to it.She chose to hurt me.Again.”

My phone buzzed in my pocket.

I didn’t want to look.But I did.

Bank Alert: Unusual login attempt detected from unrecognized device.

The air left my lungs like I’d been kicked in the chest.

I looked at them both.My heart pounding, and my face flushed with a rage I didn’t even know how to contain.

“You tried to get into my fucking bank account?”I said, voice shaking now.

My mother’s eyes widened.Thom looked smug for half a second before he realized what I meant.

“I have two-factor authentication, jackass.Did you think you’d just waltz into Wells Fargo and guess the password?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said, too quickly.

And her?

She didn’t say a word.

Didn’t even deny it.

Mom just looked away again, like the sidewalk cracks were more interesting than the son she betrayed.

I swallowed hard, my throat raw.

The heat, the lights, the betrayal.It all swirled together until I wasn’t sure if I was going to scream, cry, or both.

“I let you back in to my life,” I whispered.“You came to my apartment.I fed you.I gave you the benefit of the doubt.And this is what you do.”

“Nicholas, baby, it’s not like that…” she started.

“No,” I said, turning away.“It’s exactly like that.”

I locked eyes with Thom and let my smirk creep up slowly, like a cat about to unalive a clueless mouse.“Seriously, Thom?If dumb was an Olympic sport, you’d win the gold and a participation trophy.”

His face flushed a deep, angry red, like he’d just sucked down a bottle of homemade moonshine.His jaw clenched.Then, without warning, his fist snapped out like a striking snake.

The punch barely grazed my shoulder, but it was enough.

Bradley came barreling down the sidewalk like a freight train, eyes blazing.His mouth set hard.Before I could even catch my breath, he was on Thom—fists flying in a blur.

“Brad, no!”I yelled, lunging to grab his arm, but adrenaline had him locked tight.His grip was iron, and his punches kept coming, pounding Thom into the cracked concrete.

Thom stumbled, trying to shield himself, but Bradley wasn’t letting up.Blood blossomed on Thom’s temple, stark against his sunburned skin.

From the open studio doors, people spilled out, eyes wide, phones whipping out to capture the madness.

“Someone call the cops!”Nessa’s sharp voice sliced through the noise, already striding toward the commotion with that fierce glare that meant business.

I tugged harder on Bradley’s arm.“Please!Stop!This isn’t worth it!”My voice cracked with panic, but it was like shouting into a storm.

Suddenly, flashing blue and red lights painted the street.Two cops jumped out of their squad car, moving fast, hands on their holsters.

The policemen separated them.Thom, grimacing, was cuffed and pushed to the ground.The other officer pulled out a handheld scanner and pointed it at Bradley’s ID.

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