Page 110 of Victorious: Part 3
I scrub my hands down my face, feeling the weight of everything pressing down on me again. “I, uh… I’m honestly still trying to process it all.”
Maverick huffs out a breath, jerking his chin toward the door. “Right, well then, Clover better come too. We’ll tell them both together.”
“This sounds serious,” Clover states, and there’s something in her voice, a steeliness that reminds me she’s not just Maverick’s little sister anymore. She’s a woman who’s been through hell and come out stronger.
She’s my wife, and I need to be open and honest with her about everything.
Even if it’s painful as hell.
“Come on, let’s rip off the Band-Aid. Everyone out,” Maverick states firmly. We hesitate for a moment, and Maverick’s glare intensifies. “I said, let’s go!”
Clover chuckles, shrugging with that carefree attitude that somehow makes everything feel less heavy. “I have no clotheson, Mav.”
Maverick groans, sniffing the air, then physically shudders as he spins around and stalks toward the door. “Just hurrythe fuck upthen.” He leaves the door half open as he storms out, and Clover giggles as we quickly jump out of bed and get dressed. Her mood has lightened considerably, whether from the glucose, the great sex, or the absurdity of the situation, I’m not sure, but I know there are questions building in her eyes.
A few minutes later, we make our way into the main clubroom, where Sadie and Maverick are waiting with plates of food set out for all four of us. There’s even a small bowl of cat food on the floor, and Dracula immediately abandons us to attack his lunch.
“Thank you for thinking of Dracula,” Clover says warmly to Sadie as we settle into our chairs. Clover leans over to Sadie, giving her a quick sister-in-law type hug.
Sadie smiles, but there’s an obvious tension around her eyes. She knows something heavy is coming.
Maverick clears his throat, looking between Sadie and me. “All right. We need to talk about what happened yesterday when Phoenix and I went into the prison.”
“Okay,” Sadie says slowly, her fork pausing halfway to her mouth, her eggs hanging in limbo.
I take a deep breath, knowing there’s no easy way to say this. “I guess this is where I come in. While we were in the prison, we ran into someone we definitely weren’t expecting to see.”
“Who?” Clover asks.
Maverick and I exchange a look, then my eyes shift to my sister, knowing this is going to impact her just like it did me. Finally, I find the strength to force the words out. “Sadie… I don’t know how else to tell you this, but in the bottom cells, underneath the prison, we ran into our mother… Layla.”
Sadie’s fork clatters to her plate, her eyes wide as saucers,her mouth opens wide in shock. “What?She was in jail? As a prisoner?”
“Oh, God, was she one of the surrogates?” Clover’s voice is barely a whisper, her hand sliding out to take mine in hers.
Sadie’s eyes widen in fear, her hand shooting to her mouth like that could be the worst outcome. My stomach churns, sweat tops my brow, and I freeze. Not knowing how to move forward with telling Sadie that our mother was the reason for all those surrogacies down in that fucking hellhole. My desperate eyes seek Maverick, pleading with him, and he simply nods in understanding.
Maverick leans forward, his voice grim. “Cupcake… she wasn’t a surrogate or a prisoner, not exactly.”
Sadie furrows her brows, tilting her head at Maverick in confusion. “W-what do you mean?”
My shoulders slump, and I let out a stuttered breath. Clover notices the anxiety rolling through me and cuddles into my side instantly.
Maverick continues, “She was recruited. Layla’s been working with Javier, with the Cartel, for years, helping them to run their operation inside the prison.”
The color drains from Sadie’s face as she jerks back, shaking her head in disbelief. “No… that can’t be right? She was working with them?Willingly?”Her head snaps to me to seek clarification, but the moment her eyes meet mine, and she sees the state I am in, she knows. She can already tell that everything Maverick is saying is the truth.
I nod, feeling sick all over again as I reach my hand across the table for hers. “Sades… she’s the one who’s been overseeing the surrogates they’ve been keeping underground. The pregnancies, the babies… fucking all of it. Our mother was the goddamn caretaker of the whole damn thing.”
“Jesus,” Clover murmurs as Sadie just stares at me like she isin complete shock.
“It gets worse,” Maverick says, his jaw tight, and Sadie slowly turns her head to look at him.
“How can it get worse than that, Mav?” she whispers, a tear sliding down her cheek.
He furrows his brows, his eyes instinctively dropping to her pregnant belly, then back up to meet her glistening eyes. “When Layla saw us, when she realized we were there to shut down her operation, she threatened you, Sadie.”
Sadie’s hand flies to her throat, a shocked gasp escaping her. “Threatened me?How?”
