Page 56 of The Icon | AllFreeNovel

“I’ve spoken to him,” she says. “Recently. He has regrets, Shae.”

“He regrets everything except the part where he got away with it.” I haven’t spoken to the old man since Pismo. Haven’t seen him since he prayed behind me in court while I sat on trial for the murder of a federal agent. My father loves redemption stories—especially the kind where he doesn’t have to apologize.

“He wants to give you a second chance,” she says.

“The only second chances our father believes in are his own.” I push off the counter and walk to the window. “So he gave you everything you wanted? Just handed me over like a peace offering?”

“He didn’t know better,” she says. “He thought I was harmless.”

I snort. “You’re telling me the man who taught us how to lie didn’t recognize one?” I stare out at the garden. “Ironic, considering he didn’t raise me to be strong. He raised me to be quiet. Now he’s singing like a damn bird.”

She hums, thoughtful. “I didn’t tell him I’d already been watching you.”

I stop walking. “Definewatching.”

Another soft laugh. “That sounds accusatory.”

“It is.”

“I live nearby, Shae.”

My chest tightens. “Definenearby.”

There’s a smile in her voice now. I can hear it. “Close enough to notice when you turn out the lights. When you wake up. What time you leave for Hearth & Hands every day.”

I don’t answer.

She doesn’t rush to fill the silence. She lets it stretch—lets me sit with the image of her somewhere in this town, collecting details I never offered.

“You’re good,” I say finally. “I’ll give you that.”

“Thank you.”

“That wasn’t a compliment.”

“I’ll take it anyway.”

I turn away from the window. “You don’t get to do this. You don’t get to drop into my life like some long-lost moral authority and expect me to—what? Feel something?”