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Chapter Twenty-Four

Natalie

Long after my friends pass out I’m still awake, staring at those damn fairy lights. Papa came to check on us again about an hour ago, and since he found us all still “sleeping” and quiet, I’m pretty sure he’s gone to bed.

Turning my head, I look at my friends, sleeping soundly in their makeshift beds on the floor.

They’ve given me the story of a fucking lifetime on a silver platter.

Rich men taking what and who they want without consequence, blackmailing and kidnapping women, stripping them of all their choices and forcing them to live as their babies forever on an island in the middle of nowhere.

I still have no actual proof to back it up, but maybe it’s time to ask for help.

There’s a paper trail, I know there is because I followed it here.

Which means a team of us could probably crack this thing wide open.

But at what cost? My friends genuinely seem happy here and even though I now know the truth about how their Daddies got them here, I don’t really want to see them in prison. Or dragged through the mud by every news outlet in the world, which will certainly happen if this story breaks.

And yet, I can’t imagine just sitting on this information.

Not only is my journalistic integrity at stake here, but on a very human level I can’t imagine just letting this go.

What if they bring more women here against their will?

How can I live with myself, knowing the truth about what’s going on here?

Because I don’t have any easy answers, I slide from my bed as silently as possible and tiptoe to the door, holding my breath as I ease it open. Luckily, it doesn’t creak even a little bit, and I’m able to slip out of the living room without being discovered.

It’s disconcerting, trying to find my way in the dark, but I manage to make it to Daddy’s office. Once more, I settle into his office chair and stare at the black, empty computer screen in front of me.

This is the right thing to do. It is.

Moving as quietly as I can, I pull open his desk drawers, just like I did the last time I was caught here. But tonight may be my only chance to search like this, with Daddy gone and Papa upstairs asleep, so I’m going to take full advantage of it.

Just like before, though, I find nothing but that same picture from before of the woman beaming at the camera and cradling a child to her chest. Who are they? Why does Daddy keep a framed picture of them in his desk?

Maybe there’s a clue on the back of the photo. A name or a date or something. This isn’t why I’m here, but since I probably won’t get a chance like this again anytime soon…

I turn the frame over and carefully flip the tabs that allow me to pull the backing free. And what I find there is even better than information about the mystery woman in the photo.

It’s a small piece of paper with what looks like a computer password printed in careful handwriting.

Jackpot .

Hands trembling, I reach for the mouse and give it a shake to wake the computer up. Blue light illuminates the room as I tap the combination of letters and numbers into the box on the screen and hit enter.

I’m in.

Holy shit, I’m in.

My heart is pounding so hard and so loud, I wonder how it doesn’t wake up the whole damn house as I click on the icon to bring up a web browser.

It takes me three tries to log into my own email, thanks to the excitement vibrating through my entire body and scrambling my brain, but then I’m in and my stomach drops a bit at the number of unread emails.

Giving myself a mental shake, I hit the button to bring up a fresh, blank email.

And I start typing out the story of a fucking lifetime.

Evander

As exhausted as I am after a week of literal and figurative battles, a rush of adrenaline has me sitting up straighter as the home I share with my Little girl comes into view.

Fucking finally. I can’t wait to have her in my arms again.

After a shower and a few hours’ sleep, though. She should be asleep already anyway, so there’s no sense in waking her up just to put her back to bed. The morning is early enough to surprise her.

But when I step inside the house, I know I won’t be getting any sleep right away. A familiar blue light spills out of my office and even though every cell in my body is crying out for rest, I can’t help but grin as I slowly approach the door.

Perhaps my homecoming will be more eventful than I expected.

Sure enough, I find my naughty little kitten sitting in front of my computer, the glow from the screen illuminating her wide eyes as her fingers fly over the keyboard.

“What are you up to, naughty girl?”

Jolting backward, she jerks her head up, her eyes wild in her too-pale face as she meets my gaze. And I realize as I take in the bone-deep terror in her eyes that she’s not just up to something a little naughty.

“You’re supposed to be in New York.”

The woman in front of me isn’t my sweet Little girl, not right now. She’s Natalie Bauer, the ruthless reporter who hunted down a story with zero regard for her own safety or well-being.

What the hell happened while I was away?

Pulling the door to the office closed behind me, I take a careful step forward, doing my best not to spook her.

While I do enjoy the chase, right now I’m far more invested in finding out exactly what she’s doing in here.

“I was. Now I’m home. And I’m going to ask you again. What are you up to, Natalie?”

“I was just… checking emails.”

Just checking emails wouldn’t put that look in her eyes. “I see. Anything interesting?”

“Not really. I, um, should probably be in bed, anyway so I’ll just…” Without taking her eyes off me, she reaches for the mouse, probably to get rid of the evidence of whatever naughtiness she’s gotten herself into.

“Stop right there, little girl.”

Freezing in place, she inhales sharply as I approach, her gaze darting around the room. Searching for an exit route.

“If you run, I will catch you. And if I catch you, kitten, I promise I will make you regret it. So I suggest you stay right where you are and don’t fucking move.”

“Y-yes, Daddy.”

So she hasn’t entirely forgotten who I am.

Good.

Not that it will save her ass. Because even if she’s not doing anything truly wrong, sneaking out of bed to break into Daddy’s computer is enough to earn her a very thorough strapping with my belt.

How did she even figure out my password?

My answer is lying right in front of me as I round the desk. The picture I keep hidden away is cast off to the side and the piece of paper bearing my current password is sitting out in the open.

Clever little kitten.

I shift my gaze to the computer screen and for a moment, time stops. Right there, in black and white, is the story she’s been dying to tell since the moment she overheard Jasper and Juliet up on the Empire State Building.

But not just their story. Maxwell’s sins are there as well, and Gideon’s, which are arguably the worst of all of us. There are some glaring omissions, of course, but more than enough to make life very, very difficult for our family.

Movement catches my eye and I look over, pinning her in place with a furious glare. “One more step and you won’t sit comfortably for a week.”

Taking her shocked squeak as agreement, I turn back to the computer screen, scrolling through the detailed email she’s typed up. The recipient box remains blank, which I find rather curious. Who was she planning to send this to? Does she even know?

Again, I see her taking another step closer to the door out of the corner of my eye. Sighing heavily, I ensure the email is saved in her drafts and straighten up from my hunched position over the computer.

But before I can tell her how much trouble she’s in, my naughty little kitten does what she does best. Turning on her heel, she bolts out the office door and a dark glee fills my chest.

I was so hoping she’d run.