But at the same time—they removed me.
And Jethro had taken me in.
However, there was no denying that my soul was torn and bruised.
Jethro had given me everything beneath the grandstand that day, and by doing so, he robbed me of my hate and the power of injustice that kept me fighting every day.
It wasn’t fair.
It wasn’t right.
But there was no changing the will of a Weaver’s heart.
I was alone now. More so than when I’d first arrived.
I would never be welcomed back with my family, never be able to return home.
Jethro had successfully torn me from my past, stripped me of my mind, and abducted my heart.
I wasn’t okay with that.
I couldn’t be.
And that was why I had to do the same to him.
I stroked the diamonds around my neck. I’d come here believing I would never be strong enough to fight. But unbeknownst to Cut, he’d brought a disease into his home. Day-by-day, I undermined his foundations, stealing what was his from beneath him.
I had the tools to continue to wreak havoc...all but one, that is.
I needed one last thing to make my arsenal complete.
It was time to know where Jethro disappeared to.
It’s time to find out what exists behind the door on the second floor.
I looked at the clock above the fish tank in my room. Just past midnight.
I’d heard the men rumble off in a smog of motorcycle smoke an hour ago. If there were any night to investigate—tonight was it.
The corridors would be empty, and Daniel would be far away fromdelivering his threats of harm.
Resolution filled my veins. I sat up in bed and swung my legs over the side.
It took me two minutes to pull on a pair of yoga pants and slip into an old hoody before collecting my ruby-encrusted dirk and shoving it down my waistband.
With my heart thundering, I slipped out the door and padded down the corridor.
My ears strained for night prowlers. I tiptoed to every corner and dashed quickly past cameras blinking above the large tapestries.
Hawksridge Hall breathed deep and dreamless—vacant of its usual inhabitations, letting me slink beneath the moonlight undisturbed.
I found the spiral staircase where Jethro had dragged me up and scurried to the top as fast as I could. If I stood at the bottom and deliberated, my bravery might desert me.
My fingertip itched, almost as if it knew this was the floor where Jethro had etched his initials into my skin.
I peered above the paintings, locking onto the flashing red lights of yet more cameras. There seemed to be more on this level...protecting something. Protecting what?
I did my best to walk beneath them, to try to stay out of range, but I didn’t know the first thing about dodging a security feed.
