Page 20

North

Connor lounged on the couch, scrolling through his phone like he didn’t have a care in the world. Victor sat beside him, his elbow resting on the armrest, watching something on the TV without really paying attention. I stood by the window, arms crossed, staring outside at the yard, trying to ignore the gnawing sensation in my gut that hadn’t left since last night.

Everything had gone back to normal for them. Like nothing had happened. Like we hadn’t just destroyed someone’s life.

I couldn’t get Quinn’s face out of my head.

I’d spent the entire night trying to justify it, trying to remind myself why I did it, why she deserved it, why it wasn’t supposed to matter. But it did. More than I wanted to admit.

The way her voice had cracked when she realized what I’d done. The way her entire body had gone rigid like she was trying to shrink into herself, like she could disappear if she just made herself small enough. The way she ran.

I had done that to her.

And it was fucking eating me alive.

I clenched my jaw, breathing through the tightness in my chest. It was fine. She would get over it. She was strong. It wasn’t like I’d actually hurt her.

That was the lie I kept telling myself. I didn’t know why I cared so much.

The front door slammed open so hard it rattled the walls.

All three of us jerked toward the sound, startled, and my stomach dropped when I saw who was standing there.

Aiden McIntyre.

He stood in the doorway, his chest heaving, anger rolling off him in waves. His injured leg was stiff, his posture tense like it was taking everything in him not to explode. His eyes—green, sharp—locked onto us with the kind of fury I’d only seen in people who had nothing left to lose.

Of all people to show up, it had to be him. Aiden McIntyre, dragging his injured leg through my door like he was about to deliver a fucking verdict.

“What the hell have you done?” His voice was like a blade, cutting through the air.

For a second, none of us moved.

Connor frowned, sitting up, his tone bored. “What are you talking about? Done what?”

Before Aiden could respond, the door opened again, and Evie stepped in.

And behind her—

Quinn.

My entire body locked up.

She didn’t look at me. She didn’t even glance in my direction. Her shoulders were tense, her arms crossed tight over her stomach like she was trying to hold herself together. Her hair was messy, her eyes red-rimmed, her face pale like she hadn’t slept all night.

I felt something twist in my gut.

Guilt.

Shame.

Regret.

And then Evie’s voice cut through my thoughts like ice.

“He’s talking about the video you took last night.” Evie was looking at me as she said that, her expression beyond disappointed.

My stomach sank.

Aiden stepped further into the room, his limp more pronounced with each step, his anger barely contained. He didn’t even look at me—his focus was on Connor.

“You stood there and laughed while they humiliated her. You encouraged it.” His voice was low, dangerous. “What the fuck is wrong with you, man?”

Connor scoffed, rolling his eyes. “You’re making it sound like we killed someone. It was a joke, Aiden. Get over it. Besides, you know who her father is. You can’t honestly tell me she doesn’t deserve this.”

My stomach turned.

I had said that. I had believed that.

But standing here now, watching Quinn shrink into herself, unable to even meet my gaze—

Nothing about it felt justified.

Before I could say anything, Aiden moved.

His fist connected with Connor’s face so fast none of us had time to react. The sound of it was sharp, a sickening crack that sent Connor stumbling back, clutching his nose. Blood dripped down his fingers.

“Aiden! What the fuck?” Connor choked out, his voice filled with shock.

Aiden didn’t flinch. His hands were still clenched, his entire body vibrating with rage.

“You think it’s funny?” he growled. “You think ruining someone’s life is a joke? You’re a fucking disgrace, Con.”

“I did it for you!” Connor shouted, his voice shaking, eyes flashing with something desperate. “You can’t even fucking walk properly, Aiden. He ruined your life!”

Aiden stilled.

And then he let out a harsh, bitter laugh. “That better not be your fucking excuse for this, Connor, or I swear to God.”

Realization flickered across his features as the silence grew. “All three of you are fucking idiots! I ruined my own life,” he said, his voice shaking with something close to agony. “I ruined my own fucking life.”

The room fell silent.

But Aiden wasn’t done.

His eyes locked onto mine, and suddenly, I felt like I was the one who had just been punched.

“You think you have some kind of moral high ground because of what Robert Harley did?” Aiden’s voice was bitter, sharp. “You’re no better. None of you.”

Evie’s eyes narrowed. “What are you talking about?”

“Your father. Mark.” His gaze bore into mine, cold and cutting. “He covered it up. Just like my dad. Just like Robert.”

The words hit me like a punch to the gut.

The room went still.

I couldn’t move. Couldn’t speak.

“What?” Connor whispered, his voice hoarse, his face still bloodied from the punch.

Aiden exhaled, shaking his head. “You want the truth? Robert Harley didn’t act alone. He took the fall for all of them. Mark, my dad, Robert—they were all in on it. And you know why?” His voice broke slightly. “Because I was the one fucking driving that night, and I was just as drunk as he’d been. Lila was already dead when they came to help me, so they made something up on the spot to try and cover it all up. No one expected my leg to be fucked. Not that it fucking matters.”

My pulse pounded in my ears.

No.

That wasn’t—

“That’s not possible,” I said, my voice cold, sharp, barely above a whisper. “My father didn’t have anything to do with that fucking accident.”

Aiden scoffed. “You really think so?”

Evie looked stunned, her voice shaking. “Aiden, what are you saying?”

Aiden ran a hand over his face, exhaling sharply. “They buried the truth to protect me. To protect all of us. And now you’re out here destroying Quinn for something her father did when all of your hands are just as dirty.”

I felt like I couldn’t breathe.

Everything I thought I knew—everything I built my anger, my hatred, my revenge on—

It wasn’t real.

I had spent weeks punishing Quinn, tormenting her, humiliating her for something she had no control over. For something her father had already taken the fall for.

And all this time, my own father had been guilty too.

Quinn finally spoke, her voice small but steady.

“You… you were drunk?”

Aiden turned to her, his expression softening. “Yes. And I’m sorry. For all of it. For what happened to Lila. For what they’ve done to you because of it. None of it was fair.”

She looked at him for a long moment. Then she nodded.

Just like that.

Like she was ready to accept his apology, even though he had played a part in the thing that ruined her life.

But me?

She still hadn’t looked at me.

She still wouldn’t.

And I knew—right then, right there—

That I had done something much worse.

And I didn’t know how the fuck I was going to fix it.

The room felt like a pressure chamber, the air thick with tension, the weight of unspoken words pressing against my chest.

Connor slouched on the couch, wiping the blood from his nose with the sleeve of his hoodie, scowling like he was the victim. Victor sat stiffly beside him, his arms crossed, his face unreadable. And me? I stood frozen by the window, staring at the floor, at the cracks forming in everything I thought I knew.

And Aiden stood in the middle of it all, breathing hard, his fists still clenched, his face twisted with barely contained rage. His injured leg trembled under the weight of it, his jaw tight like he was holding back everything he wanted to say.

Connor let out a strangled noise, shaking his head. “No.” His voice wavered, his confidence from earlier splintering. “That’s not true. You weren’t driving. They told us—”

“They told you what they needed you to believe,” Aiden cut him off, his voice sharp as a blade. His eyes flickered with something I didn’t recognize—something raw, something broken. “Because the truth would have ruined everything. And you? You let them turn it into this crusade, this fucked-up revenge story.”

I felt like I was standing outside of my own body, watching the walls of everything I’d built start to crumble.

No.

This wasn’t how it was supposed to go.

Aiden had been the victim. His leg had been shattered in that crash. He had lost everything. That was the story we’d been fed. That was the truth we’d all sworn by. That was the reason we justified what we did to Quinn.

But now—

“I don’t believe you,” I muttered, the words automatic, mechanical. “My father didn’t have anything to do with that fucking accident.”

Aiden scoffed, shaking his head. “You really think that?” His voice was tired now, as if he’d been carrying this secret for too long like he was finally too exhausted to keep it buried. “Then phone him.”

Evie looked like she’d been struck, her voice barely a whisper. “Aiden, what are you saying?”

“I’m saying,” Aiden exhaled sharply, dragging a hand through his hair, “that we were all drinking that night. All of us.” His throat bobbed. “I got behind the wheel, even though I shouldn’t have. I was drunk. Not just a little tipsy—wasted. We all were, even Lila. Robert might not have been paying attention on the road, but I caused the accident that killed Lila.”

He let out a bitter laugh, shaking his head as he continued, his voice thick with something close to self-hatred. “I don’t even remember what happened next, not really. Just the sound of tires screeching. Lila screaming. The impact.” His jaw tightened. “By the time I came to, Robert was trying to get me out of the car while he phoned my dad and Mark. Lila was on the side of the road, I made him help her first, but she was already gone. So Mark decided to make the call.”

My breath caught.

“What call?” Evie asked, her voice sharp.

“The call to cover it up,” Aiden muttered. “To make sure no one found out the truth. I was just some dumb teenager who made a mistake, and they weren’t going to let that mistake ruin my life. So, they did what rich, powerful men do. They buried it. Robert was the easiest one to take the fall, and they knew there wasn’t enough evidence for him to get away with it. My dad made him swear he’d keep his mouth shut, and in return, they made sure he didn’t go to prison for life. That’s why the case was handled so quickly. That’s why he didn’t fight it harder. He knew what really happened. And he let them protect me.”

Silence.

I couldn’t fucking breathe.

I felt like I’d been punched in the gut, like all the air had been sucked from my lungs.

Quinn.

I finally looked at her, really looked at her.

She was staring at Aiden, her lips parted slightly, her face pale.

Aiden’s expression softened, his anger draining just slightly as he turned to her. “I told you I’m sorry for it; this is why,” he admitted, his voice quiet.

She let out a shaky breath.

All this time, I had blamed her.

I had taken everything out on her and made her feel like she was responsible for something she had no part in.

And all this time, I had been the one who was blind.

This was why Aiden had never gone after the Harleys the way the rest of us had. Why did he never feed into the same hatred? Because he had known—he had always fucking known.

And instead of seeking revenge, instead of pointing fingers, he had carried the guilt of it alone.

Connor was shaking his head, his face pale, his hands clenched at his sides. “How were we supposed to know any of this?” he muttered. “They didn’t tell us.”

“You didn’t need to know,” Aiden said flatly. “You just needed an excuse to be cruel. And you took it.”

My stomach twisted.

He wasn’t wrong.

We hadn’t just gone after Quinn because of what we thought her father did.

We went after her because it was easy.

Because we could.

Because it gave us a villain to blame, someone to take our anger out on.

And I was the worst one of all.

I had seen her walls breaking down. I had seen the way she was starting to trust me. I had seen her—really seen her—and I still went through with it.

And for what?

For revenge that was never even fucking real?

I ran a hand over my face, nausea churning in my stomach.

I wanted to say something.

Anything.

But what could I say?

Sorry?

Saying sorry wouldn’t fix what I had done. Sorry wouldn’t erase the way she had looked at me last night, like I had stripped her down to nothing, like I had broken something inside of her that would never be whole again.

I forced myself to look at her again.

She still wasn’t looking at me.

Like I didn’t even exist.

Like I wasn’t even worth her hatred anymore.

And somehow, that was worse than anything she could have said.

Aiden turned back to Connor, his voice low, final. “You fucked up,” he told us simply. “And you don’t get to take that back.”

I just stood there. Because for the first time in my life, I had no idea what the hell to do.