Page 108 of Live To Tell

“Too late now anyway,” I grumble and take the envelope from Rowan. “Annabelle left and we don't know where she lives. Rowan can’t find an address.”

“Yet,” he puts in. “At least we have something. Hopefully.”

Grayson slants his head. “I took a look at Annabelle’s car. There're two stickers in the rear window. One for a local soccer team and one for a school. She also has a clipboard on the front seat. And a pile of those things that kids wear over their shirts when playing sport. I reckon she's involved with the team.”

My mouth parts. “I'm impressed with your detective skills, Grayson. You're improving.”

“Yeah. Nobody lost any internal organs,” says Rowan. “Good improvement.” Grayson scowls at him.

Ignoring them, I sit on the bench and tip the contents of the envelope onto my lap. Torn pages with lines and writing that match Madison’s diary, and one piece of paper folded into a small square, which I unfold.

This isn't over until I say, Maddy. You don't get to screw around with me, then kick me aside for that pathetic asshole. I took care of you because I love you. I don't understand why you accused me of suffocating you, when all I wanted to do was keep you safe. You stopped answering your phone, and I worried, that’s why I followed. I apologized for what I did and swore that would never happen again, but you won’t speak to me. Now you’re avoiding me. After everything I’ve done for you, you’re an ungrateful bitch. I'm warning you that if you stay with him and humiliate me there'll be consequences.

I'll be at the dance on Saturday and you will be too—wearing what I gave you.

You don’t want me to keep you safe anymore? Fine, but if you don’t stop this, you'll need keeping safe from me. I’ve told you what I could do to you if you try to leave me.

Yours forever, V

I raise both brows and shove the paper at Rowan. “Well, he sounds like a thoroughly unpleasant individual. Exactly the type of male who deserves to be castrated.”

Rowan frowns as he reads. “This is incriminating to whoever V is, if he's still around.”

“Show me.” Grayson holds out a hand and as he takes in the letter, I pull out the missing page from the diary.

If you have this, Vik won.

Hopefully I stopped the worst.

I warded the jewelry because I know he'll try to destroy it. He can't. Please, please keep your promise not to tell anyone what you know. THEY will come after you too. THEY will protect him and I don’t want anybody else to die. Just wait. One day someone will find what I wore and know what happened. Vik can't hide forever. The whole fucking family needs taking down and I wish I could be there to see that happen.

I love you both, M

Rowan goes completely still and his hand shakes slightly as he takes the scrawled page from me.

“Is X actually Vik?” I ask him. “Is there a Vik Whitegrove? Or in the Circle? I bet he gave her the Whitegrove tiara to wear!”

“There was never a V referenced in her diary or the name used even once on the video clips. I’ll go back through Circle records, but I don’t recognize the name and it’s not a typical one. “

“We have a name though!” I take a steady breath. “I know you don't like my normal response to unpleasant findings, but this is amazing.”

Rowan chokes. “Not really. Someone likely connected to a senior Circle member might've killed a girl, and they covered this up for years.”

“And they won't get away with murder any longer,” I say in triumph.

“Won't they?” Rowan shakes his head. “You told me Dorian doesn't care about random murders from thirty years ago. If this isn't linked to whoever's plotting against Dorian, or to Sawyer and necromancers, he won't do anything, Violet.”

“But that's wrong,” I blurt.

“Haven't you always said Dorian Blackwood lives by his own definitions of right and wrong?” says Grayson quietly.

I shove the papers at Rowan and grit my teeth.

“Exactly,” says Rowan. “The famous Blackwood justice.”

I smile slowly at him. “And I'm a Blackwood and capable of dealing justice of my own, with or without my father. The world already knows that.”

Chapter 37

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