Page 76 of Created in Chaos

I scoff into the phone, but I can’t really mount a response at the moment because I don’t even know what she’s talking about yet.

“If you do not return home and take your place in the family, I will ruin the Morningstars.”

“And how do you plan on doing that?” My tone is cocky.

“You’ve already done it for me, Nova.” The confidence in her words rekindles the fear I felt moments ago. “I’m not sure how much they have told you, but even we have rules. You have broken the most sacred rule of the island.”

“What is that?” I ask softly. I don’t really want to know the answer, but I think I already do.

“You have formed an alliance within the families, created a united front, and weakened the others by doing so. It’s grounds for banishment. They would lose everything, my dear—their home, their money, and their power, which is the one thing they crave more than anything else.”

Her words ring with truth. Lucian warned me about what could happen if the families joined, creating a stronger front. It’s exactly what I used to threaten Nox when I thought I wanted to leave. God, I’m dumb.

Lucian also made me believe Astrid would never pursue that avenue because she wouldn’t risk losing her heir. “You can’t prove anything,” I reply, though it already feels like a lost cause.

She lets out a tinkling laugh. “Why do you think I’ve allowed you to carry on so long? All I had to do was wait, and I knew you’d give me everything I needed, but don’t worry, they didn’t help themselves either. Too arrogant for their own good.” She nearly mutters the last part.

“What proof?” I’m not doing anything she says just because she states she has something on me.

“Well, would you like to hear everything or just the most damning evidence?” she asks conversationally.

I roll my lips in and bite down to keep from saying something I might regret.

After a moment of silence, she says, “The juicy bits will do, I’m sure. After you were attacked, we made sure to tighten security on campus, which is how I was able to witness your little tête-à-tête on the stairs. You freely admitted to everything.”

My stomach drops. I can’t even argue. I need to go to Nox and Lucian. They will have an idea.

“Just imagine how hard it would be for them to defend themselves against their transgressions without all that money and power they are used to, and really, dear, how appealing do you think you would be to them when they know you are the cause of their downfall? How soon before they hate you just like they hate me?”

I can’t say that the thought of them hating me isn’t a concern, but it’s small compared to the other fear. Lucian could go to jail for the rest of his life for what he did last night. He told me that money and power buy his ability to get away with anything. I can’t let that happen.

Resignation sours my stomach. I want to vomit on the spot. Hot saliva pools in my mouth, but I don’t allow myself to cry. It takes a few times of opening my mouth to finally get a single word past my tight throat. “Fine.”

“Where are you?” she asks too quickly with an eager tension that’s been absent the entire conversation.

“Where do you think I am?” It seems when I’m being nasty to her, I have no problem speaking.

“Can you get to the gate?” she inquires impatiently.

“I’d never make it out. They have too many guards.” I sound like I’m bragging.

“I suggest you figure out a way to get past them, unless you’d like me to make a call for an emergency meeting.”

Damn it, I was hoping I could at least see them again, try to explain, or…or nothing. I don’t know if I would have the strength to leave if I did see them. “Can you send a boat?” I look at the dock in the distance, the same one we left from yesterday. God, that almost feels like a lifetime ago.

“Where?”

“The Morningstar dock. There’s a big building near the water, like an airplane hangar.”

“Leave your phone and anything else they can use to monitor you behind, and, Nova, I’m so happy you’ve finally seen things my way.”

The line goes dead before I can tell her to fuck off, but I say it anyway.

As the seconds tick by, nervousness fills my stomach. If they find me now, I know I’ll tell them everything, and their lives will be ruined. I have to make sure that doesn’t happen. I wait until I hear the boat before placing my phone on a nearby rock. It’s so tempting to take it with me and hide it somewhere so I could try to explain once I’m gone, but I can’t risk it.

I start to run toward the boat, but I skid to a halt on the pebbly water’s edge. Alden is behind the steering wheel with a grim expression on his face. “Get in the boat.” He doesn’t need to raise his voice, even though he’s at least ten feet away from the dock.

I look down at the water, knowing what he expects, then jump in. I’m not a good swimmer, though I make it to the back of the small craft easily enough, but climbing the silver ladder hanging off the back is a different matter. I feel like I weigh three hundred pounds with my clothes dripping wet, but that’s better than being naked.

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