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Mom sucked in a sharp breath, and I waited for the bullets to start flying, but she said nothing. Eventually, when I couldn’t stand the charged silence any longer, I spoke.
“Was that it? Can I go now?” My hangover headache had returned with a vengeance and any good mood gained from the jaunt out with Stella was long gone.
“Honey, I’m sorry,” she said softly. “I shouldn’t take it out on you. I’m just…frustrated…at the lack of developments. Until that man is sentenced and in prison, I won’t find peace.”
I guess it was an apology of sorts. “It’s OK, Mom, I get it, but lynching Cancello’s daughter isn’t going to solve our problems.”
“I know.” She paused again and I stared at the photos on my screen, still trying to work out if I had seen this girl. “I guess I’m really angry at your father, for leaving us in this mess,” she admitted. “It was selfish, we could have worked together to minimize the damage, but he didn’t tell me what was going on. He just made a unilateral decision and that was that.”
This was the first time she’d admitted to me how she felt. Until now, she’d put a brave face on things. I guess I had done the same. Both of us wanted to protect my sisters, shield them from the reality of our new life.
“I miss him so much,” she told me.
“I miss him too, Mom.”
Chapter 42
Stella
A faint knock on my apartment door woke me up. It was late. I’d fallen asleep while reading a book, so I was still dressed in sweats and a hoodie. I really didn’t want to see anyone.
Harley had kept me up half the night…again…and I was running on fumes. I mean, I wasn’t exactly complaining, because who would? But at some point, he needed to sleep in his own bed and let me recover. My poor vagina was about to have a breakdown from overuse.
I glanced at my phone and frowned. There were several missed calls from Michael, as well as a terse message telling me to call him immediately, and a voicemail. What was going on? Had the trial date changed?
There was another sharp knock, this time louder.
If this was Harley, he was about to get dick punched. I’d told him to give me a night off, and although he’d pouted like a little bitch, he had agreed. He better not have come here hoping to change my mind. I was much too susceptible to sexual coercion. And he knew it.
Not bothering to peer through the peephole, I unlocked my door and pulled it open. Big mistake.
“Avery?”
“Hey Stella, can I come in for a minute?”
I stared at her in surprise. Aside from a few chats where she had tried to persuade me to join the college newspaper crew, we’d barely spoken. It wasn’t as if we had a lot in common, after all. She was a social butterfly and…I…well, I was not.
“Erm…OK, yeah.” The door swung open and she walked in like she owned the place. It was kind of irritating and I scowled at her. “Is this important because I am busy?”
“It is important, yeah.” Avery scanned my room, her eyes taking in everything. I felt like I was missing something. She seemed tense, excited almost. A sudden shiver of dark premonition slithered down my spine. She knew. I could feel it. What the fuck had happened? Was this why Michael had tried calling me several times? I really should have listened to the voicemail.
“Go on, spit it out,” I snapped. I really wasn’t in the mood for games. If Avery had something on me, I needed to know before it blew up in my face.
“I know who you are, Estella.” She watched my reaction and seemed a bit disappointed there was none. Well fuck you, Avery. My poker face was shit hot, but beneath the calm, I was raging. This changed everything. If people on campus knew who I was, I wouldn’t get a moment’s peace. And…the boys.
My heart turned to ash in my chest. There was no way any of them would want to talk to me once they realized I was Daniel Cancello’s daughter. I was tainted by his crimes. People assumed I’d known what Dad had been up to, which I hadn’t, but guilt by association was a powerful thing. No more Harley in my bed. No more flirting with Quinn in the library. And whatever I had with Brax was done. Officially dead in the water.
I steeled myself. It would be OK. I had come to this college with nothing, so leaving with nothing wouldn’t kill me. It was situation normal. Having friends made me vulnerable. Lovers too. It was better to be alone. That way nobody could hurt me or be hurt by their association with me.
“Who am I, Avery?” I folded my arms across my chest and stared at the wannabe investigative reporter. She clearly thought she could trick me into admitting who I was, but I wasn’t falling for it. Admit nothing. Deny everything. Michael had told me that before I left. He’d warned me reporters would eventually track me down, and when they did, it was better to keep my mouth shut so I didn’t inadvertently jeopardize Dad’s defense.
“You are Estella Cancello, Daniel Cancello’s daughter.”
I said nothing. What evidence did she have? Probably nothing.
“Look, Stella, your ex-boyfriend has done an interview in the New York Times. I assumed you’d seen it, but maybe not. It blew up this morning. There were a couple of photos. Not especially clear ones, but I could tell it was you.”
My stomach lurched in shock. Brody? Why would he do that? What did he hope to gain by spilling shit about me?
