Page 81 of Bliss with a Billionaire
Julia heaved a sigh. “We know you saw her. Alex found a security video showing a number of people visiting her just before she fell. You were the last one on that video.”
Sierra leapt from her seat and stalked a few steps away, wrapping her arms around herself. “So, you think I did it.”
“We aren’t saying that,” Julia answered as she rose and slid her arm through Grant’s. “But given that you were the last one on that footage, we were afraid the police would go after you.”
“Do they know?” Sierra asked, still refusing to face them. “Is that why you’re home? Are they going to come for me?”
“No,” Julia answered. “Alex made sure the footage went missing. They have no idea who went to Lydia’s tonight.”
“Outside of the people who admitted to it,” Grant added.
Sierra’s features scrunched as she twisted toward them. “Who?”
Grant took another sip of his bourbon before he answered. “Me, Julia, and Worthington.”
“Worthington?”
“Sierra, you weren’t the only one who confronted Lydia before her death.” Julia crossed to her, taking her hands. “Kyle did, your father, me, Worthington, and then you.”
“Everyone?” Sierra asked, her voice a whisper.
“Everyone. We all went to talk to Lydia,” Julia said with a nod.
Grant set his glass on the desk and rose. “But none of us were the last one to see her. So, please, Sierra, you need to be honest. If we’re going to protect you, we need to know what happened.”
Sierra’s lips tugged into a frown as she flicked her gaze to the floor. “You think I killed her.”
The statement stung him. He didn’t know how to respond. Thankfully, Julia took the lead.
“We don’t think anything, Sierra,” she said. “We only know what we saw on the video. And now we’re asking you to tell us what happened. We just want to know so we can figure out the best way to protect you.”
“I don’t need protection,” Sierra answered, her voice icy.
This conversation was going worse than he’d anticipated. Sierra’s ability to shut down when hurt or upset would make this a battle.
Julia slid a lock of hair over Sierra’s shoulder. “That’s not true. We all need to protect each other. Especially if when you left that room, your mother was alive.”
“Julia’s right. We’re just asking what happened. We need to know. And if your answer is that you were somehow involved in what happened to Lydia, that’s…we’ll handle it, Sierra. Okay?”
“So, if I said I went there, and I killed her…you wouldn’t hate me?” Sierra’s eyes flicked between the two of them.
“I could never hate you, baby,” Grant said as he slid a hand onto her shoulder.
Sierra’s eyebrows knitted as she focused on Julia.
“Me either,” Julia answered.
Grant wrapped an arm around Julia’s shoulders. “She’s telling the truth. Sierra, she went to the police station tonight and told them she was at Lydia’s not just to save me, but to shift any suspicion from you just in case. That’s how much she loves you.”
“You did that for me?” Sierra asked, her voice a squeak as her eyes turned glassy.
“I did. When I saw that video, I reacted. I didn’t want them coming after you.”
Sierra pulled Julia into a hug. “Step-mommy, I love you so much.”
“I love you too, Sierra,” she answered before she pulled back. “And I would do it all again for you. But if the police somehow find out you were the last one at Lydia’s, we need to have a plan in place to protect you.”
“I don’t need protection. I…I didn’t kill her.”
