My mother’s hardened gaze was all the confirmation I needed. I wondered how many times she’d dressed down my bestie when Asher and Iweren’t looking. Dylan should have said something, but I knew her well enough to understand why she hadn’t.
“You know what, Mother? Dylan has way more class than you could ever dream of. In fact, I feel like I’d be doing the “in” crowd of Portland a favor by marching up to that microphone over there and letting them know all about the real Victoria Allen.”
She gaped at me, her eyes wide.
“Don’t think I won’t do it. I’ll tell them all about what a pretentious, condescending, two-faced—”
“What do you want from us?” Father asked.
I was so relieved I almost cried. I took a deep breath, relaxed my shoulders, and turned to address him. “Daddy, my best friend is missing. You didn’t come through for her when she was in jail, and I’m still really upset about that. But trust me, if youdon’t throw every resource you have at finding her now, neither Ash nor I will ever forgive you.”
Mother stepped forward, “Addison, that is ridiculous. You can’t possibly think we can use our resources to help that—”
Father held up a hand, silencing her. We locked gazes. He must have seen how serious I was, because he nodded and pulled out his phone. “I understand, Princess. We’ll do everythingwe can to help your friend.”
