Page 41

Chapter 41

Greedy

“Son, wake up.”

My brain is pulled from its drowsy state with such intensity I can’t pinpoint the source of the voice. Heart lurching, I jackknife to sitting, my eyes flying open. Did something happen? Did Hunter wake up?

“What’s happening? Is she okay?”

“No. She’s gone.”

I scramble to my feet, nausea roiling in my gut, and scrub the sleep from my eyes. My heart rate has tripled, but quickly, thank fuck, I spot Hunter, and relief washes over me so violently I stumble.

She’s not gone; she’s right there.

Bruised. Cut up. Swollen.

My beautiful angel girl, her blond hair fanned out around her like a halo against the thin pillow under her head.

“She’s right there,” I whisper, intent on keeping our voices down so she can get the rest she needs.

“What? No.” The volume of his words makes me wince. “Not Hunter. Magnolia . Magnolia’s gone.”

I exhale the most steadying breath I can manage. Of course this is about fucking Magnolia.

With bated, hopeful breath, I ask, “What do you mean, gone?”

“She’s gone . She left. She’s not in her room, not in the computer system, and everyone in this goddamn hospital is acting like she never existed! She’s not at home or answering her cell. Her injuries were too severe for her to just get up and leave.”

His agitation and desperation are like living entities in the room, causing the air to charge. What he’s saying makes no sense at all. And yet… Spence was here. But he didn’t want me to know. Magnolia is gone, and apparently, there’s no trace of her at all.

“Let’s go out in the hall. I don’t want to disturb Hunter.” I shake Levi awake, and when he cracks his eyes open, I say, “Everything’s okay, but I’m going down the hall to talk to my dad. Spence and Sione should be here soon.”

“Got it. I’m up.” Sleepily, he stands and stretches his arms overhead.

Satisfied Levi won’t let our girl out of his sight, I put a hand on my dad’s shoulder and guide him out of the room. As I turn back to close the door, I catch Levi gingerly climbing into the hospital bed. I can’t fight my smile or the tenderness that makes my chest constrict. I love them both so much. I’ll do anything—fight anyone, including my own father—to ensure their safety and well-being.

My mind drifts to Spence and Sione as I follow my dad down the hall. I don’t know where they are. More importantly, I don’t know what they did. All Spence’s secretive planning makes sense now. I’m about to look my dad in the eye and swear I have no idea what happened to Magnolia, and it’ll be the truth.

His office is several floors above where we currently stand, but there, we’ll have complete privacy. We walk the hall and take the elevator up in silence.

He’s barely closed his office door when his panic flares once more. Eyes wide, he takes a step closer to me. “You have to help me. We have to find her.”

His office is large and well-appointed. It’s the place he spent most of my childhood. Rather than at home with me.

Resolutely, I shake my head. “Magnolia pushed Hunter down the stairs, Dad.”

His body stiffens. “You don’t know that.”

“I do. I heard Hunter cry out. I think you heard her, too.”

Hands in his pockets, he stalks around his executive desk. Rather than sit, though, he paces. Three strides to the right, then three strides to the left, like a caged animal with no way out.

“Magnolia fell, too. Don’t you understand?”

Frustration ripples through me. He’s the one who isn’t comprehending. “Magnolia—” I inhale a calming breath and choose my tense with the utmost care. Although my gut tells me she’s no longer a problem, I have no interest in breaking that news to my dad. “She’s not a good person. She’s been manipulating Hunter for years.”

“That’s not true.”

His blind determination to defend her frays my final thread of patience.

“It is true,” I holler, arms flung out wide. “Magnolia mistreated Hunter for years . In high school, she’d leave her alone for days at a time. She wouldn’t pick up groceries or check up on her daughter. Sometimes Hunter wouldn’t eat for an entire day because she didn’t feel safe leaving her room. Magnolia wouldn’t even meet up with her in Europe when Hunter tried to make contact. She’s not a good mother. She’s not a good person .”

I’m breathless by the time I end my tirade.

His shoulders lower. “How…how do you know all that?”

There it is. I tip my head back and close my eyes, digging deep for the nerve to confess what I should have told him years ago. With my gaze still fixed on the ceiling, I speak.

“Because Hunter and I were together before you and Magnolia were a thing.”

The room is silent. Too silent.

I drop my chin and look at him, worried he didn’t hear me.

His face is screwed up in devastated bewilderment. Oh, he definitely heard me.

“What?” The word is more of a croak.

“We met at the end of our senior year. We fell in love the summer before college. We were together for the couple of months before you and Magnolia ‘introduced’ us at your engagement dinner.”

Swaying, he grips the edge of his desk. “Why didn’t you say something?”

Rage rushes through me at his question. Why didn’t I say something? I was a kid. He was the adult. “Because you don’t listen .”

Fuck. It felt incredible to let that out. Though it isn’t the full truth, nor is it fair to my dad. That night at the country club was a literal nightmare for my girl. She was experiencing so much more pain and loss than I could have even fathomed. She asked me not to tell them about us, and I na?vely agreed, thinking we’d figure out a plan together once the dust had settled.

That’s not all on my dad.

“I’m sorry.” I swallow past the lump in my throat. “That’s not fair. Originally, I didn’t say anything because it was awkward. We were young and had no idea how to handle the situation. But soon after that night—” A wave of regret and sadness washes over me. “Something changed. You changed. You only heard what you wanted to hear and saw what you want to see. I always assumed that was because of Magnolia.”

He shakes his head, his mouth opening and closing, but he doesn’t speak.

“You were happy, I get that. You were busy, too. But you missed a lot. Remember my freshman year? I was struggling. I lost weight. My grades were so bad I had to drop two classes in order to save my GPA. That didn’t occur out of nowhere. I was heartbroken. Devastated. A shell of a human. And you didn’t even notice.”

“I—” Eyes wide, he huffs out a breath. “I don’t really remember any of that. I don’t know what to say.”

I stare back at him from across the desk, showing him my truth. I won’t argue with him or beg him to believe me. My experience is valid. It’s real, whether he believes me or not. Given his devotion to Magnolia, there’s a good chance he won’t accept my version of events. That’s okay. At least I tried.

“You and Hunter?” he asks, disbelief etched into the wrinkles and worry lines on his face.

“Yes.” I nod resolutely. He needs to know. “Since the summer before college.”

“And now?”

“I’ve loved her all this time. I still love her.” The still , though, doesn’t feel like a strong enough word for my devotion. “I love her more than ever,” I amend.

He only gapes at me, his lips turned down in a confused frown.

“I didn’t want you to find out like this, but you deserve to know the truth. The whole truth. Hunter and I are together. Levi and I are together, too. The other two guys we’ve been spending time with… they’re… involved as well. It’s complicated, but we’re making it work. And Dad?”

He holds my gaze.

“I’m happy. Really happy. I love Hunter. And I loathe anything that negatively impacts her, including her mother.”

His eyes widen, but I press on before he can argue.

“Magnolia makes her miserable. She dims her light on a good day. She kidnaps her or shoves her down the stairs on a bad day.”

His harsh inhale tells me the joke didn’t land. With a shake of his head, he looks over my shoulder to the door, lost in thought. After a few breaths, he focuses back on me.

“Do you think Magnolia left on her own?” he asks pathetically. “I don’t know what to do. Should I file a missing person’s report?”

Disappointment washes over me. Despite everything—baring my soul, sharing my truth, and trying like hell to reason with him—he’s intent on living in his own world. It’s like he’s been brainwashed. Like it’s impossible for him to even consider anything beyond what he’s believed to be true for all these years. He’s not stupid. But in this moment, there’s no getting through to him.

Still, I need to try. I want to try. I don’t want to lose my dad, but I’ll walk away if I have to.

“Dad. If Magnolia left…” I swallow thickly, working through how to phrase what I have to say. I’m almost certain she didn’t leave , at least not of her own volition. But if that’s what he needs to believe, I won’t argue. “If Magnolia left, it would be the best thing for Hunter if she never came back.”

With a startled choke, he clings to the edge of his executive desk with both hands and wordlessly drops down into his chair.

“Don’t look for her. Please. Don’t go after her. If she left, let her go. Don’t choose to chase her. Choose Hunter. Choose me .”

He hangs his head and shakes it back and forth, then lifts his palms to his eyes.

“Please, Dad. Please choose us.”

Eventually he straightens, and when he meets my gaze, I swear a flicker of confliction burns behind his irises. But then he blinks, and the hope is snuffed out once more.

“I have work to do,” he says calmly. Dismissively. “Please let me know if anything changes with your sis—with Hunter.”

I bite my tongue so hard my eyes water. With a single nod, I back out of the office.