The phone slips from my nerveless hand. It’s done. Dex will be thorough. He’s going to clear Bianca.
He has to.
“Let’s get you fed.” Sebastian takes my chilled hand and rubs it.
I eat but immediately forget what I put in my mouth. I can’t follow anything, from him or the TV show he turns on. I’m trapped in my thoughts, the accusation against my best friend rolling around in my head.
Dex texts me at quarter till eleven with an attachment just as I’m about to climb into bed. I exhale shakily.
“It can wait until tomorrow,” Sebastian says, placing a hand on my shoulder.
“No, it can’t. I’m not going to be able to sleep otherwise.” I look at him with a smile. “Dex just said, ‘Here you go.’ If there was anything damning, he would’ve texted, ‘I’m sorry.’ Right? I mean, he knows Bianca and I are tight.”
Sebastian doesn’t smile back. “Maybe. But it’s not good to look at something that could upset you before going to bed.”
He doesn’t hope Bianca is innocent as much as I do. The realization shouldn’t shock me—she isn’t his friend—but it still stings. It feels like it’s just me and her, and I’ve gotta do what I can to protect her, just like she’s done for me all my life.
“But I’m not going tobeupset,” I say. “Not when this email is going to clear my bestie.”
I open the attachment. Read the emails Bianca’s been writing back and forth with the Hae Min Group.
Then I read them again.
My chin trembles. I clench my teeth. My heartbeat thunders in my head.Fool, fool, fool…
Yuna was right about Bianca’s interaction with the liaisons from Hae Min…
But there’s more…
Texts she had with That Stalker, telling him where to find me, the sort of headlines he should aim for…
Pictures from the party that she sent toThe Hollywood News…
Google Alerts for me and everyone associated with me…
Multiple anonymous user IDs for gossip sites so she could be the first to leave the nastiest comment or egg others on…
All the things a best friend would never do. But she did them. Using a phone my company paid for.
I don’t have the fortitude to go back further, but the interactions between her and That Stalker make it clear she’s been working with him for years.
Were we ever friends…?
My eyes burn as tears fall. I drop the phone and cover my face with my hands. I start to collapse, and Sebastian catches me. His palm is on the back of my head, his arm around my back.
He doesn’t try to comfort me with words. But then, there’s nothing that could soothe the pain blooming in my heart.
The truth will set you free.
That’s a lie.
The truth is jagged shards of glass you breathe in, shards that shred you until you think you’ll never recover.
Chapter 35
Lucienne
The next morning I get up early, run like always, then put on a red dress and my favorite diamonds. Sebastian watches, his concerned eyes following my every move.
