Page 74 of Betrayed by Your Love

Tessa reached out and put her hand on my shoulder. “There are some things we need to tell you.”

He looked between us, waiting.

“Starting with Juliet.” I got the words out despite a tightness in my throat that had nothing to do with the smoke.

“What do you mean?” He was so confused. So unprepared for what was coming.

“She’s not who you think she is. Who she’s led you to believe she is,” Tessa started.

Dad shook his head. “What do you mean?”

“Her name is Juliet Grovel, and she’s a member of the Anti-Society, the group that works to expose the members of the Sorcerer’s Society.”

“And hurting them,” I added.

His eyes shot to mine. “What?”

“They’ve been attacking members around the world. Men, women, and children.” I held his gaze. “They’re out to destroy us.”

“No, Juliet doesn’t know anything about the Society,” he argued.

“I wish that was true, Dad. I wanted to believe in her, but there’s too much evidence.”

Tessa nodded. “One of her known associates, Freddie Haul, is also a member of the AS. They were college sweethearts, and we confirmed recently that not only are they still in a relationship, but he’s been using a fake identity to get close to our kids. You know him as Mr. Peters. Avalon’s guidance counselor.”

His face fell. “What?”

This was too much. We just dumped on him what I had weeks to accept.

“I’m so sorry, Dad. She isn’t the woman you think she is. She’s cheating on you and has been using you to get close to the Society.”

He fell back in his chair and rubbed his face. “How?”

I turned to Tessa. That was the part I didn’t know. How had she fallen into our lives so perfectly?

She rubbed my shoulder. “Gavin just figured that out tonight. He was able to piece together enough from various conversations and emails that Mr. Haul was assigned to Arlington Park to watch the boys. The AS knew they were our children and planted someone close to monitor them. Juliet began working at your company for the connections. Not only are some of your employees, including yourself, rich and powerful, but so are your clients. She worked her way up and accepted the position as your assistant, not knowing anything about you or Avalon.” She swallowed. “It was pure luck really, a coincidence that worked out perfectly for them.”

“What do you mean?” Dad asked.

“She wanted to be closer to people in power and told her boyfriend about her new boss, and he did some digging. He found out about Avalon, and together, they found available houses in the Arlington Park area near the school. She, acting as a helpful assistant, had them sent to you through the HR manager.”

Dad sucked in a breath. “That’s right. He sent over a brochure about Arlington Park Academy and several homes that would be close enough. He personally recommended the school, so I enrolled Avalon and bought the house.”

Tessa nodded. “Like Juliet hoped you would. At first, the plan was that she would get close to your daughter and encourage her to become friends with the guys—especially Gavin, since he was right across the street.” She pursed her lips. “There was a specific email of her bragging how well things were going. You became friends with all the Society boys without her even having to intervene.”

I trembled. “Does she know about me?”

“We don’t think so. There’s no proof that she does,” Tessa answered.

“So what was the rest of the plan? Just watch the boys?” Dad asked.

“From what Gavin has put together, they were supposed to monitor the boys and our families. Juliet sent in anything Avalon told her about them, but it wasn’t much. I think it was more of a long-game for them.”

“Then why date me?” Dad choked out.

“That, I’m not sure of.” Tessa ducked her head. “We don’t know.”

Because she’s insane. “She probably thought she could get closer and get more information.”

---