“No. I was too hurt and embarrassed. I blocked them and tried to forget they existed.”
“Jesus,” Leila breathes. “Okay, so here’s what I’m going to tell you. I want you to really hear this. Anastasia is a complete and total snake, and I’ve never trusted her. There was something off about her from the beginning. I couldn’t put my finger onit, but my gut said she couldn’t be trusted. When Knox, Jagger, and Riven needed an agent, I made damn sure they didn’t go anywhere near her, and thankfully they trusted me. Landon and Levi signed with her early on, and even though I tried to warn them, they didn’t listen, as they thought I was being paranoid. She had this way about her, manipulative and vindictive, and I could feel it in my bones that she was bad news. I could never prove it. I just knew.”
My stomach drops. “What? Why didn’t you ever tell me this?” I ask.
“Because I didn’t want you to feel paranoid about my brothers’ agent.”
I felt like an idiot, to be so suspicious of her. I even warned Landon and Levi, but they said it was nothing more than a professional relationship, that she was the best in the business. It was an honor to work with her, apparently.
“Do you think it’s possible Anastasia sent me that photo? And set up that phone call?”
“It sounds like that’s exactly the kind of thing she would do.”
“Oh my god.” I bring my free hand to my chest and fist my pajama top. “I’ve been so angry at them for five years, and they probably didn’t do anything wrong.”
“Honestly, I don’t believe they would have done it. They loved you,” Leila says.
I stand and pace my room, the phone pressed to my ear, my heart breaking all over again. “Leila, I don’t know what to say.”
“Say that you’re going to talk to them,” Leila says firmly. “That you’re going to give them a chance to explain.”
“I plan to. Tomorrow.”
“Okay, good. But don’t make it into some big production. Tell them what you saw and heard, then listen to what they have to say.”
I want to, I really want to do exactly what she’s telling me to do, but I’m terrified.
“What if I can’t?” I whisper.
“Abby,” Leila says, using her mom voice on me. “Do you know what I wish? I wish you had told me what happened five years ago. I wish you had trusted me enough then to let me help you. If you had, I would have fought for you and I would have fought for my brothers. Made sure you all knew the truth and fixed this mess instead of watching all three of you suffer, thinking the worst of each other.”
Her words hit me like a physical blow.
“My brothers would never have hurt you like that,” Leila continues, her voice breaking slightly. “They loved you.”
I can’t speak; I can only listen.
“You need to talk to them,” Leila says, “and you need to be honest about everything. They deserve that much.”
After we say goodbye and hang up, I lie back in bed and stare at the ceiling again. If I’m wrong about what happened, if Anastasia really manipulated me into believing something that wasn’t true, then I’ve wasted years hating two men who might not have deserved it.
Chapter Nine
Tate
I stare at my phone, reading through the messages with Maskedsnack for probably the hundredth time. She’s witty, smart, and in a few days I’m supposed to meet her in person and film content. The thought makes my stomach twist in a mix of excitement and terror.
I’ve been exploring my sexuality online for a while now, trying to figure out who I am outside of my job and my family’s expectations.
I message her back.
#Notaserialkiller
I’m nervous as fuck about meeting you.
Her response comes back almost immediately.
Maskedsnack
