“You set it all up,” I hiss. “You told Anvil to hit on her.”
“I wanted him to seduce her so she’d leave you alone, but the fucking idiot couldn’t even manage to do that. Though he did come in useful later with the photos.” She laughs, and I see red.
I lunge for her, but Sydney holds me back this time. “She’s not worth it, J. She’s evil through and through, and she’s going to get what’s coming to her. You don’t need her blood on your hands.”
“My son won’t hurt me.” Her smug demeanor is sadly misplaced.
“No? What makes you so sure I won’t hurt you the way you hurt me?”
“I’ve never hurt you, Jared. I’ve protected you.”
She is legit insane, and I hope I inherited none of those genes. I already have a long mental list from today of all the ways she has hurt me. “You sent Vil to fuck Sydney and made him send me the evidence. It destroyed me.”
“Quit with the dramatics, Jared, and he didn’t fuck her. He was too loyal to cheat on me. He just made it appear that way.” She snarls at Sydney. “If she hadn’t been so high, she’d have known that.”
I don’t know if I believe her—Vil was definitely fucking Cay back then—but if it’s the truth, it won’t offer much comfort all these years later. We’ve already moved beyond that. I’m actually starting to feel sorry for my ex-friend. Thinking back on how he was, it seems clear Mum fucked his head up. She was raping him from the time he was thirteen. I feel ill thinking about it. Now her penchant for dating younger men after her divorce makes more sense. I never judged her for it, but maybe I should have. “Did you target any of my other friends?” I ask even though I’m not sure I want to know.
“I’m not a whore.” She has the nerve to look disgusted.
“She fucked at least one other friend of yours we’re aware of,” Xavier confirms.
“We spoke with Anvil,” Sawyer adds. “Your mother ruined his life. She messed with his head and then outed their relationship, so his father cut him off financially, and his family turned their back on him. All because Vil knocked a girl up at eighteen when he was heartbroken over your mother cutting her out of his life with no warning. You should talk to him. He feels bad for the part he played in splitting you and Sydney up, and he’s pleased you found one another again.”
“You’re a disgusting piece-of-shit rapist,” I tell her.
Her eyes narrow to slits as she glares at me. “You take that back! I’m your mother, Jared. I gave you life, and you will show me some respect!”
“You lost any respect the moment you raped his friend, broke us up, and tried to murder me,” Sydney says, her voice devoid of warmth and radiating with pure hatred.
“Tell them the rest,” Sawyer prompts.
“Why should I? He’s just going to tell you to kill me.”
“I won’t,” I say, and it’s not a lie. Death would be too easy. I want her to suffer. To feel what Sydney felt thanks to the things she set in motion. “I give you my word.”
That seems to be good enough for her. Maybe I’m her Achilles’ heel. The only person she’s gullible with. Or maybe she has some sliver of a conscience and she wants to get it off her chest.
“I organized Sydney’s abortion.” Her wicked smile confirms all of the above thoughts are completely wide of the mark. She just wants to dig the knife deeper.
“You did what?” Herman roars.
Sawyer gestures at one of the guards, and they quickly restrain the old man before he attacks her.
I watch the evil smile growing on her face with mounting horror.
It’s true.
Sheisa sociopath.
She’s getting off on this. She enjoys causing hurt and pain.
“Dr. Mulligan did my abortion, and I knew he was an evil man.”
“I guess evil recognizes evil,” Sydney snaps.
I pull her onto my lap because she’s trembling so badly. I’m in a kind of numbed-out state now. I think my brain is overloaded and it has shut down to cope.
“I called him and made him a proposal. He took one look at Sydney’s pretty innocent face, and he readily made a deal. He had a contact of a contact slip Herman his details, and he took care of the rest.”
