Page 176 of Rosetti Family New York
I look at him, taking in every raw edge and hurt, so similar to my own, though my grief feels a bit more controlled while his pours out all at once.
"We're going to find out what really happened," I insist, breaking through the looming quiet. "I promise. I won't let them say what they did about her."
He meets my gaze, and even a small, bitter smile flickers across his face.
"I should be the one promising that, shouldn't I?"
"Then promise me too," I say, my voice steady despite the turmoil inside. "We can't let them get away with this."
"Okay," he nods, and a slow determination returns to his eyes. "Yeah. Okay."
"We start now," I declare. "Who would want her dead?"
A shadow crosses his face, and he pulls back as if the table has suddenly closed in. He opens his mouth, then closes it, finally fixing his gaze on me, eyes so much like Maddy's that it feels like she's watching me too.
"You might not want to hear this," he admits in a low, heavy tone.
I hold my breath, waiting.
"She was seeing someone… someone bad news," he continues softly. "I told her not to get involved, but she didn't listen. She never listened." He pauses, rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand. "I shouldn't have let it happen."
"Who?" I ask, feeling a rush of dread.
"You didn't know, did you?" he whispers, shaking his head in a tired, sorrowful way. "Of course not. She knew you'd tell her to drop him, just like I did."
Maddy's voice echoes in my mind—bright, a bit defiant—and I realize I never really listened.
"So, who was he?"
"I don't know." His fists tighten for a moment before loosening. "She never told me his name."
I stare at him, a swirl of questions rising inside me. How had I not known? How could she keep this from both of us?
Lucas leans forward, his face pale and eyes full of urgency.
"We have to find him, Sloane. It's got to be him. There's no one else."
His voice is desperate, just like his texts or the calls I never answered.
I cling to his words as if they're an anchor.
"We will find him," I promise firmly. "We'll figure this out."
He seems about to say something important, but he stops himself. His eyes dart toward the window, and for just a moment, I see naked fear there.
"Lucas," I say carefully, "is there something else? Something you're not telling me?"
He swallows hard. "I'm just worried about you getting involved in all this. It could be dangerous."
"I can handle myself," I assure him.
"That's what Maddy thought too," he says, so quietly I almost miss it.
Our eyes meet, and for a moment, the gap between us disappears. We aren't the same people we used to be. Maddy changed that, and the secret she left behind stretches the distance between us. But for now, we're here together, clinging to what truly matters.
"It wasn't drugs," I say, my voice growing firmer. "And we both know she didn't just end up in an alley with a bullet by sheer chance."
Lucas winces, as if the truth is too heavy for him.
