Page 120 of Twisted Truths

He starts pacing, dragging a hand through his hair again. “I didn’t think it would blow up like this. It was supposed to be a way out of this pathetic town, a means to an end. At the end of the season, I would quit, and we’d start over somewhere with more opportunities for Sawyer. It was never supposed to go this far. She was never supposed to find out.”

My anger rushes to the surface, and I clench my jaw, using everything I have to contain it. I need to be patient.

“No one was supposed to find out,” he mutters, now talking to himself. “If Theo would have kept his nose clean, then no one would have been any wiser. I tried to get him off the hook for the fight, a fight that wouldn’t have happened in the first place if it weren’t for our damn sister.”

My eyes widen at this new piece of information.

“I don’t know why he couldn’t let it go.” Levi shakes his head. “It was only boys being boys.”

“What was only boys being boys?” I grit out, unable to keep quiet any longer.

“Locker room talk.” His eyes come up to meet mine, and a bitter smile plays on his lips. “You remember that, don’t you, Nash? The crude remarks players make about their teammate’s sisters… or mums.”

My stomach twists with deep shame at the memory of the sexual innuendos me, Tom, and Gav used to make about his mum to drive Levi away from the game. This was before I knew Katerina. Not that it excuses the behaviour. It was disgusting, and I’ve always regretted it.

“A few of the boys saw Zara with Tanner and made some remarks. Theo was trying to shut them up.”

My mind races as I try to keep up with what Levi’s saying.

Zara was the reason for Theo’s fight at school, and subsequently, the reason he was suspended for a game.The same game she and Tanner saw Levi getting jumped after. Is that his reason for murdering my entire family?

“She ruined everything,” he continues. “If he hadn’t been suspended, no one would have found out about the betting ring. I’m not losing my family because of it. They’re not sending me to jail over this.”

I swallow down my scoff. He won’t be going to jail over some illegal betting ring. He’ll be spending the rest of his life behind bars for murder.

“What was the plan?” I ask, my voice low as I take a slow and measured step towards him. “Shut her up so she would keep quiet? What about Paul? Were they simply loose ends you needed to tie up so you wouldn’t get caught?”

Panic flashes in his eyes, but I keep going.

“Is that what really drove her to the cult, Lev? Was she trying to hide from Tanner… Or you?”

I know Tanner assaulted my sister, or there would be no reason for her to keep her child hidden, but I’m not going to tell Levi that. As far as I’m concerned, Tanner and Levi are as bad as each other.

“Or were you in on it together?” I ask, realisation dawning on me. “Tanner wanted his cut, too, so you brought him in. Zara found out it wasn’t over after Paul paid your debt and threatened to expose the two of you. He beat her up and threatened to kill her. She was so desperate to hide from the two of you, she gave herself over to a cult instead.”

Levi’s brow narrows, and I realise I’ve hit the nail on the head.

“What did you do, Levi?”

He stares at me, his chest rising and falling in shallow bursts. For a second, I think he’s going to lie. I see it in his calculating eyes. But then he exhales, bitter and hollow.

“You really don’t get it, do you?”

I stay silent.

“You were always the favourite,” he sneers. “From the second your mum married Dalton, it was like I stopped existing. I was good at basketball, but you were better. Or at least, that’s what he told everyone. I was Dalton’s mistake. You were his legacy.”

He laughs, but it’s sharp and joyless.

“Then you showed up in Barrenridge, like the prodigal son returning home. You were so arrogant, acting like you owned the place.”

My throat tightens. Iwasan arsehole to him. But that doesn’t excuse what he did.

“So you killed my family because you werejealous?”

His lips twist up into a demented smile. “Who said I killed anyone?”

Clenching my jaw, I grit out. “I found Uncle Kaleb’s compass. It was under Zara’s bed, covered in blood. I bet when the police inspect it, they’ll find your fingerprints, won’t they, Levi? Because you murdered her over your silly little betting ring.”