Page 72 of Twisted Truths
I pick it up, cringing slightly at the cocky smile on my face. That arrogant bastard knew he was getting out, chasing his dreams. I run my finger over Mum’s cheek, eyes stinging at the proud look on her face. Paul’s arm is wrapped around her shoulder and she’s leaning into him, wearing a carefree smile I never saw when she was married to Dad. Rylan’s not looking at the camera. His head is angled towards me, while Ziggy’s making a cheesy kissy face as she leans in and presses her cheek to mine. We look like we don’t have a care in the world. Back then, we didn’t.
I replace the frame and drink in the other memories lining the shelf. Zara’s thirteenth birthday. Rylan’s baptism. My first championship game. They’re interspersed with photos of events I wasn’t here for. Mum and Paul’s tenth wedding anniversary. Rylan’s first basketball game. Zara’s graduation.
Hadley is staring intently at that particular photo, a small frown marring her features. “Who’s this?” she asks, pointing to Tanner Crawley, who’s wrapped around my sister from behind, like the greasy octopus he is.
“He was Zara’s boyfriend.” I can’t hide the disgust in my tone.
She bites down on her bottom lip, picking up the frame to take a closer look.
My heart races. “What is it?”
Hadley glances at me before looking back at the photo. “I can’t be sure. It was dark, but I’m pretty sure I saw him at the Circle.”
Her words twist in my stomach. “Tanner? What was he doing there?”
She shrugs. “Like I said, it was dark, but I’m almost positive I saw him talking to Seraphina. It was a Thursday night after Reflection, maybe a month or so before Zara had the baby.”
“You think he was looking for her?” My fists clench by my sides.
“Maybe,” she says. “I don’t know.”
A thought occurs to me, turning my blood cold. “He’s probably the father. Do you think he knew she was pregnant?”
“He had no idea,” a confident voice says from behind us.
We glance over our shoulders to see Gabriel standing in the doorway. “How do you know?” I challenge. “How do you know your precious mother hasn’t known all along that Franklin wasn’t yours?”
He crosses his arms. “Because I helped Zara get away from him before he could find out she was carrying his child.”
The way he says it, so calm and sure, alleviates my fears that my nephew is in any immediate danger, but I can tell Gabriel knows something he’s not sharing.
“What did Tanner do to her?”
Something akin to fury flashes in Gabriel’s eyes, but he shakes his head. “You don’t want to know.”
I turn to face him, anger bubbling inside me. “What did he do?”
Gabriel’s gaze darts to Hadley, then back to me. “Knowing won’t bring her back.” There’s a hint of pain in his voice.
“What did he fucking do, Gabriel? She’s my sister. I want to know what that slimy fucker did to her.”
I don’t even realise I’ve taken a step towards him until Hadley’s delicate hand lands on my tense forearm. She squeezes, and a tingle shoots up my veins, straight to my heart.
It does the trick.
I take a deep breath and lower my voice. “Please tell me.”
Releasing a sigh, Gabriel hangs his head. “He was abusive. He’d get angry and put hands on her. She tried to leave him once on her own, and he—” He closes his eyes, his face twisting as if this physically hurts him. Gabriel may not have loved my sister, but he cared for her. “He raped her.”
Hadley gasps, her fingernails digging into my skin, and I welcome the pain. My pulse pounds in my ears, and I wonder when the hits will stop coming.
“I’m going to fucking murder the bastard,” I grit out.
“Get in line,” Gabriel mutters.
“Tanner will get what’s coming for him,” Hadley says in her soft, calm tone. “I promise we’ll find a way to make it happen, but right now, we need to focus on figuring out who murdered your family, and how to get Franklin back safely.”
I clench my jaw, but I know she’s right.
