Page 62 of It Will Always Be You
“Yeah,” Liam nods. “He told me to wait for you before heading down.”
“Typical,” I mutter. “Fucker loves building suspense.”
Clapping my hand on Liam’s shoulder, I step through the doorway, letting him close the door and lead the way. As the sounds of wet work get louder, so too does the stench. “Jesus,” I rumble, grimacing at the foul odour. That shit never gets less offensive. We round the corner and there he is—Jimmy. Still hanging, still taped up, still painted in pain.
“You work fast,” I mutter.
“No time to waste when kids are getting sold off.” Ciaran spits the words like venom. The blood on his shirt is fresh, his hair a mess, his whole body humming with rage.
“What brings you down here?”
“Liam, why don’t you take over interrogating Jimmy here for a second?” I toss over my shoulder as I steer Ciaran away from prying ears. While I trust Liam with my daughter’s safety, and I can’t see Jimmy ever making it out of here alive, one can never be too careful.
“What?” Ciaran barks, impatient. Looking him over, taking note of the way his once pristine white shirt is splattered in blood, at thebags under his eyes and the way his normally slicked back hair falls across his forehead, I let out a breath before meeting his eyes.
“I need you to breathe. Just… for a second.” He glares.
“It’s Jen.” His face stills.
“She’s on the server. We’re still confirming how deep it goes, but…”
The silence stretches. Then, in the blink of an eye, he shoves me back, turns, and punches straight through the wall. Plaster rains down as he whirls around, grabbing his hatchet off the table.
“Ciaran—wait—”
He storms back into the room before I can stop him.
Liam barely has time to get out of the way before the hatchet swings.
Jimmy doesn’t scream. Not through the duct tape.
But I do.
“Ciaran!”
He doesn’t stop. Blow after blow. Blood spraying. Rage uncontained.
I stand there, useless, watching my brother fall apart with every strike.
And deep down, I know—this isn’t about Jimmy. Not really.
This is only the beginning.
And God help us when the rest comes out.
Chapter 56
Seeing the puzzle pieces finally lock into place should feel like relief. Like progress.
But instead of peace, all I feel is pressure. A heavy, suffocating sense of responsibility settles in my chest as I look around the penthouse. The room is alive with fury and heartbreak—raw, undiluted chaos bubbling just beneath the surface.
“I fucking told you she was a no-good, gold-digging whore!” Matt explodes.
He’s been a live wire since walking in with Owen and Cora, his fury eclipsed only by his heartbreak. He’s never hidden his contempt for Jen, but now it burns with bitter vindication.
For years, everyone brushed him off—said it was just loyalty to his mother. That he’d get over it. But now? Now it’s obvious he was right.
And it’s about to cost us more than we ever imagined.
