His jaw clenches, and I don’t stick around to listen to what he has to say. I return to the kitchen, watching as the officers, SWAT team members, and the agent himself leave the house, closing the door shut behind them.
Aria’s shaking in anger, eyes wide. Blair’s the first one to start actually doing something, though. Both I and my sister are in a state of pure shock at what just happened, so Blair taking the initiative and taking charge is exactly what we need right now.
She’s gone for a few minutes and then returns from the basement with two different types of bug detectors. She starts skimming through every room in the manor, while Aria and I remain silent, and after what seems to be an eternity, Blair tosses thedevices aside.
“We’re fine.”
Aria sighs in relief. My hand reaches for the phone in my pocket while Blair closes all the blinds, all the curtains. The three of us sit around the table in the kitchen, waiting for Lucas to pick up the damn phone.
“What is it, Arlo?”
“SWAT just came to my fucking house. Dad’s been arrested.”
“What—”
“No time,” I interrupt. “Listen, gather as many of our men as possible and have them come to the manor using the underground route. Aria will wait for them in the basement entrance. By morning, this place needs to be wiped clean of every single DNA, anything that could even remotely incriminate us further.”
“Understood,” he sighs, and I can picture him rubbing his temples. “How the fuck did all of this happen?”
“I don’t know,” I groan. “Just have them here in an hour maximum. The house is big.”
The call ends shortly after, and I turn to my sister. She’s staring blankly at a random spot on the wall, unmoving. I snap my fingers in front of her, and she flinches a little before turning to look at me with a frown.
“Go and pack your essentials. You’ll be staying with Niko until all of this is resolved. Tell Rose not to come to the manor and not to talk to anyone.”
Aria nods. “What are you two going to do?”
“Right now, we’ll empty Mom and Dad’s offices,” I respond while opening a kitchen drawer and pulling out black trash bags. “Then, I’ll find us an apartment to stay in.”
“You could always use your own,” Aria points out.
“It’s in Dad’s name. They’ll search it, too, so it’s not safe.”
“What exactly are we looking for?” Blair asks, taking the trash bags out of my hands and walking toward the stairs. Aria and I follow right behind her, our footsteps rushed.
“Anything. Whatever you find inside the office, pack in the bags. From papers and documents to glasses and pencils. I’m not giving them anything to work with. Aria, once you’re packed, start with Mom’s office, while Blair and I cover Dad’s. He has a lot more of things inside.”
Aria nods wordlessly, then turns down the hall and enters her bedroom. Blair and I continue walking down the hallway. Blair stops me by grabbing the sleeve of my shirt, and I stop in my tracks, turning to face her.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m okay.”
She sighs, then softly kisses my cheek. “Liar.”
“I can’t let this get to me, not now. Because we need to make sure nothing’s left behind. We can talk about this later.”
Blair looks ready to protest but quickly shuts her mouth and nods. She walks around me, pushing the door open of Hudson’s office. And God, is it a mess. He hasn’t been inside since before we went to rescue Blair, and he left in a hurry.
Papers scattered all over the desk, his laptop opened, a glass with whiskey left on the side. Blair closes the curtains, just in case there are police officers somewhere near trying to peek inside, then starts with his bookshelves.
The cleanup crew will deal with fingerprints, but Blair goes book by book, opening and shaking them, in case there’s anything inside them. While she’s busy with at least a hundred historical, political, and even economic books, I start going through the file cabinet on the opposite wall.
I don’t even look at what’s inside them, just shoving all of them inside the trash bags. Before I can blink, one is entirely full. I close it up and put it next to the door, switching on the second one.It takes me about ten to fifteen minutes to fill up four of those, and I start cussing out Hudson internally.
Did he really need all of these papers, or did he just want to look like a proper businessman?
Aria comes through the door, leaving her duffle bag next to the ones I previously left there. She silently exits, then returns after a few minutes, carrying four big boxes stacked on top of each other.
