Page 50 of Betrayal (Corrupt Empire 1)

The video cut off. Avery put a hand to her mouth. She didn’t look at me as she shoved the tablet back in my hand before fleeing the cell. I followed her as she ran to the bathroom.

I set the tablet and the glass of water down on the side of the bath. She fell to her knees and threw up in the loo. I pulled her hair away from her face. She didn’t have much in her stomach, so it was mainly water, spit and bile. It’s why I hadn’t let her eat first.

When she was spent, she put her head on the seat and tears fell down her cheeks.

“Why did you make me watch that?” she whispered.

“You know why.”

“I don’t. You made me face my nightmares again and now this. Did they mean what I think they did? Does my family deal in human trafficking?”

“Yes, but it’s more complicated than that.”

“Why was she being… punished?”

“She threatened to go to the police. She even got away from where she was kept.”

“Is she still alive now?”

I wasn’t sure why she was asking these questions, but the truth was more important than keeping her in the dark.

“No, she’s not. She killed herself not long after that happened.”

“When did it happen?”

“Ten years ago.”

She let out a wracking gasp before dissolving into quiet sobs. I moved away, picking up a face cloth from the sink. Wetting it and wringing it out, I brought it back over to her. I squatted down and tugged her away from the toilet. She let me wipe her face and clean her up.

When she looked at me after I was done, her eyes were haunted and full of pain and sorrow.

“Do you want me to hold you?” I asked.

“I hate you.”

“You can hate me, but I’m all you have now.”

“Is this why you hate my family?”

“One of the many reasons.”

She didn’t say anything, just put out her arms to me. I tugged her into mine and held her close, stroking her hair.

“I hate you, Aiden,” she whispered. “So why do I still need you when all you do is hurt me?”

“The truth hurts.”

“Why are you doing this to me?”

“Because you are going to help me destroy them.”

“How can you be so sure of that?”

“You won’t be able to live with the knowledge of what they’ve done and not do something about it. Only when you know the whole truth, you’ll understand.”

She clutched me tighter, wetting my t-shirt with her tears.

“My life is built on a lie. If that’s who they really are then I don’t know them at all.”

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