Page 96 of Mad Love

“Okay, Lainey, what the hell were you hiding?” I started with the drawers and wasn’t disappointed. “Holy shit.”

Rows of thumb drives, each painstakingly labeled with dates and initials.

There were dozens of them. Same thing in the next drawer. The third was empty, but I felt compelled to open the fourth, and when I did, my heart stuttered.

There was only one flash drive here, labeled with a single word.

MADISON.

CHAPTER 34

MADDIE

The TV had a USB port, and my hands trembled as I inserted the drive into it. The screen flickered to life and Madelaine’s face appeared. The video instantly started.

She sucked in a deep breath and sat down in what looked like this room. She looked beyond the camera and smiled. “Don’t go far, okay? I’ll be done in a few minutes.”

“Take your time, sweetheart,” a rough but familiar voice told her. A second later I heard the door click shut, and my sister faced the camera.

“Hey, Madison,” she started with a small smile that wobbled at the edges. “God, this sounds so pathetic to even say, but here we go. If you’re seeing this, then things didn’t work out the way I wanted. And I’m so fucking sorry for that.”

My heart twisted as I sat down on the edge of the chair to watch my twin.

“But,” she countered with a nervous laugh, “if you’re here, then you’re smart as hell. Maybe even smarter than me, especially since you probably pieced this shit together out of breadcrumbs. But that’s not enough, big sister. You have to be better.”

She sucked in a shaky breath, her gaze dropping to her lap. “I guess I should start at the beginning, right? I left you with an absolute mess, and you deserve to know it all. Everything. Every fucking detail. Even the ones I wish I could forget, and believe me, I tried.”

Her head tipped back, throat working as she blinked back tears. “Fuck, Laine, get your shit together. Stop being a bitch.”

I smiled, amused that her inner voice sounded a lot like mine.

“I found out about you when I was thirteen,” she admitted. Dark fury spread across her features, her mouth tightening. “My thirteenth birthday was supposed to be… I don’t know. But let’s just say it ended up being one of the worst days of my life, and I had this idea that I could file for emancipation from my dad.”

My heart slammed painfully into my ribs, because I knew what had happened the night she turned thirteen.

Looking down, she picked at her nails for a second before realizing what she was doing and straightening her shoulders to turn her attention back to the camera. “I found my birth certificate… and yours. That’s how I found out I had a twin sister.” She shrugged a little at the camera. “It sounded like something from one of the mystery books I read as a kid. You know the one with the girl who’s always finding random shit and solving cases?” She waved a hand. “Yeah, her. So, I decided to solve the mystery of you.”

Madelaine’s nose wrinkled as she sucked her teeth. “There wasn’t a whole lot to work with. And Dad wasn’t sharing. We had this whole big fight and he told me…” Her gaze shuttered. “Well, it doesn’t really matter now, does it?” Her gaze snapped to the camera. “Madison, if you haven’t figured it out by now, stay away from him. He’s dangerous, and…”

Her fingers shook as she ran a hand through her blonde hair. “Stay away from Adam, too. He’s a fucking pedophile. He’s been coming into my room since the night I turned thirteen.” A gruesome smile twisted her lips. “Adam told me that he’d been sent by my dad to keep me in line. That was why I needed to get my birth certificate. I had to get away, and I was stupid enough to think I could actually get emancipated.”

She was silent for a long moment after that, and I flinched when I felt something wet hit the back of my hand. I stared in wonder at the wetness smeared across my skin, and it took a second to realize I was crying.

“For what it’s worth,” she added, stroking the inside of her wrist where a jagged scar lay, “I tried getting away once. I wanted it to be over. Maybe I would’ve tried harder, but Dad… Well, his threats can be pretty persuasive.”

Madelaine sucked in a deep, fortifying breath and met my gaze through the screen. “There’s enough in those drives to make sure that asshole goes away for life, and there’s nothing guys in prison love more than a kiddie rapist on the block. They’ll do far more damage to him than I ever could, and I gotta admit, I love the idea of him being on the receiving end of everything he did to me for years. For what he tried to do to…” She trailed off, shaking her head. “It doesn’t matter. But just remember that he’ll use the people you love to hurt and control you.”

All emotion drained from her face. “If you don’t love anyone, then they really can’t hurt you. I learned that early on. I cut out every person who mattered before they could be ruined like me.”

Bex. She was talking about Bex.

She rolled her neck, working out tension. “I’ve done a lot of shitty things, many of which you probably know about by now. I made a lot of mistakes, and I tried to fix what I could, but it wasn’t enough.”

My heart broke for her. All I wanted to do was reach through the screen and hug her. To wrap her up and protect her the way no one ever had either of us growing up.

It wasn’t until Ryan that I’d found out what it meant to be loved and protected. To have someone willing to fight for me, no matter the cost.

“Everything you need is on those drives. It took me years to compile them all, but it’s amazing the things men let slip when you’re a pretty decoration in their bed or on their lap. They think you’re stupid and ignorant. Long legs, nice tits, big blue eyes, blonde hair… Men will see all the parts of you as sparkly ornaments on a doll they think they own. They’ll never realize each piece is another weapon in your arsenal. Use that. Let them think they’ve won, Madison.”

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