Page 76 of Twisted Secrets

“Nothing. What can I do?” It’s a rhetorical question, so I keep going. “Crew and Jagger are moving back into the house as we speak. Neo says he’s not going anywhere. It’s about to be really fucking awkward at The Lawless house. Not to mention, Maddie still doesn’t know I’m dating her ex.”

Riley bends down and lifts the trap door, letting it drop hard against the cement slab. She turns around and takes the first step. “Yeah. Your life’s a mess, but all messes get cleaned up eventually.” She continues down, and I follow her lead.

We walk through the tunnels, talking about Hannah and Melody’s blowup at lunch today. Apparently, Hannah shoved Melody’s face into her mashed potatoes and gravy, which led to Melody trying to shove an apple in Hannah’s mouth. Then chaos unleashed and a food fight broke out. I’m just sorry I missed it. I’d love nothing more than to see Melody get everything she deserves.

When we reach the door to the room Jude’s in, Riley hesitates. “Promise me you’ll keep an open mind and hear him out?”

I sigh. “Fine. I’ll try my best.”

She pushes the door open and we step inside. Really, he doesn’t look bad. He’s been fed and watered. Looks like he’s gotten some sleep. If it weren’t for the dried blood all over his face and clothes, and his wet pants, I’d say he’s not doing so bad.

I growl at him on instinct. Like an animal seeking out her prey. Then Riley nudges me and whispers, “You promised.”

“All right,” I throw my hands up, “I really have no interest in beating around the bush here. So un-tape his mouth,” I tell Riley. Once she does, I drop to my knees in front of Jude. “Am I your sister?” I say, point-blankly, while holding my composure, even if my heart is ready to burst through my chest cavity.

Jude looks at Riley who says, “Tell her the truth. You have to be honest with us. It’s the only way we can help you.”

Help him? My ass. I’m not helping this psycho. But I don’t tell her that. Instead, I narrow my eyes and ask again. “Am I your sister?”

“I…I think so.”

My knees quiver, while all the air is sucked out of my lungs.

There it is. The truth.It would be too much of a coincidence for more than one person to tell me this, so I have no reason not to believe it.

“And our sperm donor is Jeremy Beckett?”

Jude nods, and in this moment, my world comes crashing down.

Kol isn't my dad. The man who gave me piggyback rides and picked me up from school every day. The man who built forts with me when Mom had to work late and made me hot cocoa with extra marshmallows. He’s the one who watched out the window, waiting for me to come home at night. He bought me a pearl necklace for my sixteenth birthday and said, “No matter how old you get, you’ll always be my little girl.”

My chest trembles. My hands. My legs. My lips. Everything trembles. Everything hurts.

I have to pull it together. I have to know everything.

“When did you find out about me?”

“I’ve always known you were my sister. Jeremy brought me along every time he’d go see you. I think my first memory is when I was like eight. We went to your school. You were playing on the playground and a little boy pushed you. You were wearing a pair of black pants with holes in the knees and a dirty jean jacket.”

“He watched me?”

“All the time,” Jude says. “Every birthday. Every hol—”

“My birthdays?” I gulp. “So it was him. But how did he leave me this…” I slap the note in Jude’s lap. “If he’d dead.” Jude looks away suspiciously, so I shout,“Tell me, dammit!”

“It was me. I left the note.”

“Jude,” Riley says softly, “we need you to start from the beginning. Tell us everything. It’s your only chance to survive.”

Jude’s gaze dances around the room. He licks his lips. He wiggles his hands. He does everything he can to buy time, but when time is up, he begins, “Jeremy might be my father, but he was no dad to me. He looked at us both as pawns in his game. He wanted to use us as a wedge between The Blue Bloods and the Becketts. But, deep down, I wanted to be one of you guys. I hated myself for what I was. Still do.” He swallows hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “He killed my mom.”

Riley and I share a look, because we already knew that to be true.

“So I killed him.”

Now that we didn't expect.

Riley crouches beside me, eyes on Jude. “You killed Jeremy Beckett?”

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