Page 48 of The Heart of a Villain

“I’m so going to get fired for this,” Jesse mutters and crawls to Lavender, placing her hand on her back, but the girl doesn’t even acknowledge her. “She’s afraid of their dad from her childhood, so whenever she sees him, she thinks it’s their father.”

If she wasn’t old enough to remember her mother, does this mean their father died later and managed to hurt his kids too?

But… didn’t Rush say both of his parents died because of my dad? Then it would mean something happened to them together, right?

Or did I just assume it all? So is he the monster and not their uncle?

The bag of questions continues to grow with no answers in sight, and I hate it so much, the annoyance traveling into my every cell and filling them with disappointment.

“Sedative.” Lavender’s voice brings me back to the present, and I take a deep breath, rubbing my neck, probably sporting a bruise there already. “Sedative, Jesse.”

Jesse jerks to the bedside table, ready to find the syringe, but I stop her. “Wait.” Then I focus on Lavender, who still watches me like a hawk. “Are you afraid?”

She hides her face between her knees, avoiding answering, but I can’t stomach the idea of putting more drugs into her system. If she isn’t sedated as frequently as I originally thought, then it means she still might have a chance to regain some control of her life.

And something tells me she only asks for a sedative so she’ll be unconscious and not afraid.

“Okay. Let’s go to my room,” I suggest, and she pauses her rocking and looks at me again while Jesse’s jaw drops. “Monsters don’t come there. You can bring your crayons and paper.”

“Different room?”

My heart squeezes at the wonder in her tone, and she jumps up, and we do right along with her, as she gathers several colors and blank papers.

“Let’s go! Room. Away from here!” She jumps up in excitement.

“We aren’t allowed to do that,” Jesse whispers to me. “We’re going to get in trouble.”

“Leave it to me. And you won’t have to stay with her.” A beat passes, and I say, “You know, once my father comes, you can come work for me. I live in New York.”

She blinks at me and then grins, although worry still etches on her features. “It’s a deal. God knows I’m dead meat once they find out what we did.”

Our laughter fills the hallway as we step outside, and Jesse links her hand with Lavender’s, pulling her in the direction of my wing, while I try to think of how to get into the garden right now.

If their mom loved to go there, then she might have left something in the greenhouses.

What if she hid her diary in there?

I’m about to come up with an excuse to leave, when a black, almost burned-down door snags my attention, and I halt my movements. “What is this?” I point at the door, and Jesse stops as well, with Lavender humming a song, drumming her fingers on the paper with a glassy expression on her face.

“Oh.” Jesse shifts uncomfortably, and I know she doesn’t want to answer, but she caves under my pleading look. “It’s the master bedroom.”

I frown in confusion. “Isn’t Rush’s room the master?”

“Nope. Their parents lived in this one, and he never touched it. Even after the fire.” She bites her lips, clearly hating herself for spilling so much already. “No one is allowed to enter it. It’s forbidden. And locked.”

My heart speeds up at this, excitement pouring into my veins as I feel the victory nearing.

Locked master bedroom? The diary must be there!

“Who has the key?”

“Why do you need to know that? Aileen, I’m serious when I tell you that you are gonna get us in so much trouble.” She huffs at my shrug. “Rush has keys. Not sure where he keeps them, but even George and William don’t know.”

Even the butlers have no access to it?

Jesse grabs my elbow and pushes us to my room, muttering, “Let’s go before anyone hears you.”

Instead of listening to her, though, I rip my arm away and order her, “Take Lavender to my room and stay with her. Don’t leave her side at all. No one comes to my room but you and George with William. Tell them I’m in the bathroom.”

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