Page 97 of Mad Love

She grinned at me through the screen. “And then tear their fucking hearts out.”

A grim smile pulled at my lips as resolve tightened around my own heart.

She exhaled slowly. “There’s one more thing. Something that… Fuck, I think I actually got it wrong. I’m hoping I got it wrong.” She worried her lower lip between her teeth before looking down at her hands and lifting her left one, her engagement ring flashing. “Ryan Cain.”

My breath caught.

“I thought he was just like his father. Like our father. Him and his friends, the way they acted and the shit they did. I even found out they started their own little side venture.” She snorted, shaking her long hair over her shoulders. “But I think I might’ve been wrong. I think… Well, what I think doesn’t matter. It’s what I can prove. There’s tapes on them, too, but the more I watched, the more I wondered if I just got so used to seeing bad guys that I lumped them in with the rest.”

But she’d been right; Ryan and our friends were nothing like their fathers or ours. God, if she’d only trusted him…

“The plan is for you to never know this video exists,” she explained. “I’m going to Europe to meet with someone I think can help me. He hates our father more than I do, which is saying something. But Charles seems like a good guy, and his cousin is some insane tech wizard. She should be able to verify that all the recordings I have are legit.”

Taking a deep breath, Madelaine leaned forward. “Here’s where it gets tricky, sis. As soon as you use what’s on these recordings, you’re going to piss off a lot of powerful people. There’s nothing old white men hate more than when a smart woman takes them down with their own hubris. Make sure you’re protected before you start taking shots.”

She glanced down again, looking lost and oddly vulnerable. “I never did that. I never found someone who would protect me. A person I could trust. Well, I might’ve found him, but… It’s too late for that, I guess.” She lifted a shoulder with a wry smile. “Maybe that’s because, in a perfect world, you would have been that person. My twin. The other half of my soul.”

With a sharp laugh, she wiped under her eyes. “And now I’m getting emotional, so clearly it’s time to end this shit.”

Don’t go, I wanted to beg. I wanted more. I wanted to hear every story, know every secret from her own lips.

I’d never have the chance.

“I’m sorry I left you with such a mess, Madison. I’m so fucking sorry.” She rolled her bottom lip between her teeth before giving me a sad smile full of heartbreak and fear. “I really hope that five years from now, we’re cracking up watching this video and drinking to see how dramatic my ass is, but if you’re watching this, then I guess I won’t be there.”

Her blue eyes, identical to mine in so many ways but somehow so much older and tired, met mine through the screen. “I never loved anyone, Madison, but I think I could have loved you. I’m sorry I’ll never know.”

A sob ripped from my throat as she stood up on camera and leaned forward. A second later, the video feed went dark. I buried my hands in my face and cried, desperately wishing for the one person I could never have.

CHAPTER 35

MADDIE

I sat until the lights flickered off. Only then did I stand and wipe away the last of my tears, vowing to get the justice my sister and I both deserved. With the lights back on thanks to my movement, I pulled the thumb drive from the TV and tucked it into my pocket before gathering up the rest.

By the time I was done stuffing them in my purse, it bulged and barely zipped. I triple checked to make sure I’d grabbed everything from all the drawers, knowing I wouldn’t be coming back here.

I glanced around the room, looking for any last traces of Madelaine and disappointed when there were none to be found.

The door opened behind me, and I turned with a forced smile. “I’m ready to—oh.” I stared at Jake as he filled the doorway a moment before pushing inside and not quite closing the door.

“Uh,” I started, backing up and wondering if I could make it past him. “Where’s the guard? I thought he was—”

“She’s really gone then?”

His question stunned me for a heavy beat, and then I realized why the voice on Madelaine’s tape was so familiar. It was Jake’s. The bartender?

“You knew my sister,” I managed to get out, still working past my shock.

He nodded, jaw tight. “Laine’s… She’s dead?”

I nodded, my movements sluggish as my body and brain tried to reconnect.

“Fuck,” he hissed, his expression full of pain as he landed hard against the door. “I told her to be careful. That she was too close.”

“What did she tell you?” I asked, edging closer to him as if proximity could make her memory more tangible. “How did you—”

He shook his head. “There isn’t time to talk. You need to get out of here, Madison.”

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