“He was a part of the same club as my husband, Simmons, and the other two morons. He had you out of wedlock, and that got him booted out. To try and get back in their good graces, he offered anything, even you.’’
“That makes no sense, because my mother and stepfather were receiving money for what those two were doing to me.”
“That was just hush money,’’ Zoe explains. “To keep it under wraps. To make sure they won’t snitch. But, the fact that they went with Simmons’ scheme just means they never gave a shit about you.’’
“I know that,” I scoff.
Despite keeping a calm demeanor, I still feel a twinge of pain. It hurts knowing that my mother was selling me off to be assaulted as a teenager for some money. It hurts that the woman who gave birth to me, who was supposed to protect, love, and care for me, did such terrible things. In my book, she’s just as bad as the men who raped me.
“You weren’t the only one.”
I freeze. “Excuse me?”
Zoe nods. “There were plenty of shitty people, just like your parents. I don’t know their names, or if they’re even alive. I just know for a fact there were more of them.”
“If you don’t know anything, why bother telling me at all?”
“Because,” she swallows. “They’ve found another one.”
“Who is it?”
“A girl who was put in a foster family that is related to Simmons. She’s young.”
“How young?”
“She’s three.”
A wave of nausea washes over me, my face paling. I’m silent for what seems to be an eternity before the shock morphs into pure, unfiltered rage. My hands fisted by my sides, my eyes widened.
“Three?! She’s a fucking baby!”
“I know!” Zoe yells back.
“Did they touch her?”
Zoe shakes her head. “No, not yet. They were going to take her, but that’s when my husband went missing, and your little boyfriend started setting New York on fire. She’s safe for now from their abuse. From beatings from her foster family, not so much.”
I grit my teeth. “Why the fuck are you telling me all of this if you’re going to kill me?”
Zoe pauses for a moment, an unknown emotion in her eye. She pauses for a moment, then leans in to whisper in my ear. “You’ll find everything I have on the little girl in my phone. Her name is Daisy.’’
“What—”
Zoe pulls back, then takes the safety off the gun. For the umpteenth time, I’m fucking confused. But then it all starts making sense when Zoe mouths the words I’m sorry, then closes her eyes, ready to pull the trigger.
But she doesn’t get the chance to. I glance behind her, spotting Arlo. He looks as angry as ever, his gun drawn, aimed at Zoe’s head.
“No, Arlo, don’t!”
I scream out, but it’s too late. Warm blood splashes all over my face, and I’m frozen in my spot. Zoe’s lifeless body slumps down to the floor with a loud thump, the gun falling a few feet away from her.
Arlo’s by my side in an instant, dropping his own weapon. He pulls me into a tight, terrifying hug, softly stroking my back.
“It’s okay. You’re okay.”
“Arlo,” I whisper, burying my face in his chest.
This entire thing has shaken me more than I want to admit. Because I now realize what she did. I don’t know how she found out where I was, but she came here to die. They probably told her to kill me off, and somewhere along the line, she figured out thatshe wanted to die.
