Page 51 of Reminders of Her

In the span of a single night, our lives were upended.Father, my sister, and I were dragged away into Witness Protection, leaving behind the smoldering ruins of our old lives.Evelyn spent the first three months in the hospital recovering from the torture she had endured.Secretly, I prayed she would die or at least didn’t walk again.

That wasn’t the case.One of the best orthopedic surgeons operated on her.The FBI or whatever agency in charge of us paid for her medical expenses, including her therapies.

I stayed with her and pretended to be the most dutiful sister as we waited for the day when we had to stand in front of the judges and the jury, and tell them our story.

That’s when they assigned us counselors to help us navigate through the trauma we had experienced after the kidnapping.But the problem was, I couldn’t bring myself to speak.I couldn’t reveal what I had done.I couldn’t confess that I was the one who orchestrated the abduction of my own sister and her boyfriend.

The only loss I had experienced was Regan, but I couldn’t talk about him either.The man who had stood by my side, doing anything I asked to make me happy was dead.I had already betrayed his memory by calling him the mastermind behind the operation.

They tested me and found his DNA in me.They believed me when I said he had molested me, but since I was obedient, they didn’t hit me like they did my sister and her boyfriend.

One night, while we were still in the hospital, Evie finally told me, “I’m sorry.”

When I looked at her, her dark eyes stared at me with sorrow.

My first thought was: How dare she apologize for something I did to her.

“What?”I sneered, defensive walls up.

“I had no idea you had been a victim of sexual abuse,” she said, and I froze, feeling a wave of shock and anger.How dare she pity me?

“I’m not a victim,” I snarled, my voice filled with bitterness.“You’re the victim, not me.If it were up to me, you’d never walk again.”

She gave me a pitiful look, and if it weren’t for the guard stationed outside the room, I might have lashed out, then smother her with a pillow or choke her with both hands.

“Do you think I wanted to be Mommy’s little doll?”she scoffed.“I despised every moment of it.Of course, it wasn’t as terrible as living with our father.Did he ...?”Her voice trailed off, insinuating something unspeakable.

“Eww, that’s disgusting.”I glared at her, repulsion etched on my face.“He’s my father.”

“Is that why you brought him into WITSEC?”she asked, seeking understanding.“Because you love him and don’t believe he did anything wrong?”

I shrugged, feeling a mix of confusion and guilt.“Honestly, I don’t know why I said he wasn’t like them.He allowed things to happen, you know.I begged him for help, but he said, ‘It’s your duty.’”

“You should talk to your designated counselor,” she suggested, her voice calm and filled with undeserved kindness.

“I don’t want your help,” I snapped, the bitterness seeping through my words.After everything I had done, she dared to offer her support, which only fueled my resentment toward her.

ChapterForty

Sanford

Then...

“How in the world did this happen?”I mutter, the weight of disbelief heavy in my voice, as we arrive at the location where Grey and my ballerina might be held captive.“When I left them a month ago, they were doing fine.”

“Can you focus on the mission, or do you need us to call another sniper?”Harrison Everhart, the man who trained me, asks.

“I’m alright.I can do this,” I reply, masking the turmoil that churns within me, even when everything feels far from fine.

I can’t wrap my head around the facts.Enya Carlton is some kind of Drug Princess who might’ve orchestrated the abduction of her sister and our boyfriend.

What strange, twisted dimension have I stumbled into?If this is a horrendous nightmare, I silently plea for someone to wake me from it before it becomes a night terror.

Beacon pats my shoulder.“It’s going to be okay, I swear.”

“The fucking FBI is involved,” I groan, my frustration seeping through.“They’ll keep them away from me until they interrogate them, won’t they?”

“Are you certain you can handle being part of this operation?”Beacon, who is the team leader, dares to question me.

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