It’s not happening. Not today, not ever. Especially not when it was all my fault he beat up Toby and got arrested.
By the time I storm through the station doors, I’m vibrating with emotion—fear, anger, adrenaline, and something deeper and sharper I don’t want to name yet.
Inside, the reception area smells like old coffee and dusty carpet. Toby and Calista are already here. Of course, they are. Calista’s makeup looks perfectly tragic—big doe eyes, quivering lip, a hand pressed dramatically to her cheek as if she were the one who got hit. Toby sits stiffly beside her, holding an ice pack to his jaw like he’s been shot, not punched once for running his mouth.
They spot me instantly. Calista smirks. “Oh, look. The reason he’s here. Miss Ella Morgan herself.”
I stop in front of them, my hands trembling from everything I’m trying to hold back. “Say my name one more time,” I warn her quietly. “See what happens.”
She blinks. Toby straightens, pulling her back.
Before they can run their mouths again, Tessa appears from the entrance like a very calm, very pretty storm cloud, laptop bag slung across her body, glasses pushed up her nose, already flipping open her tablet.
“Good, you’re here,” she smiles, ignoring the two demons entirely. “I found the footage.”
“What footage?” Calista snaps.
I’m curious too, as I have no idea what she’s talking about.
“The footage,” Tessa repeats, thumb flying across the screen before spinning it around to show them. “Security cameras from the barn, multiple angles, all with audio.”
Oh, that footage. Perfect!
She taps play, and Toby’s voice fills the tiny lobby immediately. “The system’s rigged, people. The princess screws the contractor, and suddenly, he gets the job? How convenient.”
Calista’s laugh echoes in the background. My stomach twists in disgust hearing it again.
Then Tessa switches files—she’s so efficient and precise, like she was built for moments exactly like this—and the next clip that plays is of Toby mocking Aria. Another shows him and Calista ripping into Cole’s finances, and the final one has Calista calling me “little Miss Morgan” in a tone that makes my blood boil.
Tessa pauses the screen and lifts her eyes slowly. “I have timestamps, angles, backup files, and if you try to deny anything, I will subpoena everyone who stood there and watched.”
Tessa, I could kiss you right now. Now I know why Jace is so obsessed with her. She’s amazing.
Calista’s mouth opens, closes, opens again. “What— you can’t just—“ she sputters.
“Actually, we can,” I counter. My voice is unsettlingly calm. “And we will. Because what you two did wasn’t just provocation. It was harassment and defamation. If the police want to call this an assault, fine—we’ll respond with a lawsuit so large you’ll be paying for my niece’s college fund.”
Calista stiffens, and Toby’s face drains of what little color he has left. I step closer, so close neither of them can pretend they’re unbothered.
“You’re going to drop the charges,” I smile sweetly. “Because if you don’t, we’ll press ours. And unlike you, I have an entire town worth of people who actually like me to back me up.”
Calista glances at Toby, who looks ready to run for the hills. He’d better, if he knows what’s good for him.
Tessa folds her arms. “Also, for what it’s worth, the chief of police just reviewed the footage. He’s walking in now.”
The door to the hallway swings open. The chief steps out, gives me a nod, then faces Calista and Toby with the kind of tired, unimpressed expression of a man who has dealt with their kind before.
“I’ve watched the footage,” he concurs. “If this goes to court, neither of you will come out looking good. If you want to withdraw the complaint, now is the time.”
Toby bristles. “He hit me—“
“After you insulted his daughter, his company, and Miss Morgan,” the chief cuts in. “Who is also one of the property owners where this took place, by the way.”
Tessa barely stops herself from smiling.
I take another step toward them, lowering my voice so only they hear. “And one more thing. My father doesn’t rig anything. Not for me, or for anyone. Cole won that bid because he’s good at what he does. And if you ever speak my name again in public…” I lean in closer, smile razor-sharp. “You’ll wish you never met me.”
Toby shifts his weight uncomfortably while Calista looks like someone slapped her. They exchange a look—silent, miserable, and defeated.
