A wet, gagging cough spits out of him. Beside me, Kirill goes completely still.
“I already knew about the ledger, so we built the plan from there. But when that failed, she called me the day before the accident and said you were going somewhere.”
Oh my God, why was I that stupid?
“She told me if I followed you out of the house, I could grab the boys. That Kirill would pay for them, and then we could disappear.”
Everything spins, every muscle in my body strung tight while disgust lodges in my throat, unable to believe how deeply she truly hated me. Not only did she want to hurt me, but those sweet babies too? What kind of person does that?
My hands curl at my sides, nails biting into my palms, needing the pain. I can’t breathe. All I can see is her face, and I want to claw it open with my bare hands.
She’s no sister. She’s a monster. A bigger one than I thought.
“Why did Barrett always think I was the rat?” I ask the one thing I’ve never understood.
When Eli doesn’t answer, Kirill steps forward and slams the butt of his gun across his face hard enough that fresh blood bursts from his mouth.
“When my wife asks you a question, you answer it.”
Eli spits onto the floor, choking before he finally manages to speak. “Because I told him it was you.”
“You son of a bitch! I knew it.” My face fills with pure hatred.
“He liked you too much,” he whispers. “I thought he’d replace me with you as his second, and I couldn’t let that happen.”
The room spins again.
I thought my life was bad before, but now…I don’t even know what to think or feel.
My sister’s face flashes through my mind. The way she sounded scared, the way she claimed Eli hurt her for information.
It was all an act.
“If I find out you lied to me, I swear I will rip your eyes out,” I tell him.
“I-I’m not. Go ask her. Let her deny it. But deep down, you know…” He coughs up blood. “You know how much she hates you.”
Ignoring him, I angle toward to my husband. “Take me to see her. I need to look her in the eye when I speak to her.”
CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR
SLOANE
My hands won’t stop shaking.I sit beside Kirill and stare out the window, my mind running in circles around everything Eli said until it all starts to meld together.
Every memory I have of that night keeps flipping the closer we get to my sister’s house. Old pieces line up in ways they never have before, turning into something uglier every time I look at them.
Kirill doesn’t say much. He just drives, his hand covering mine on the center console, his thumb moving slowly over my knuckles like he knows I’m barely holding myself together. It helps, but not enough. Nothing is going to take this betrayal away.
When the car finally idles outside my sister’s house, I just sit there staring at the front door while my pulse pounds so hard it’s stuck in my throat.
“You don’t have to do this right now,” Kirill says. “Not if you’re not ready.”
I shake my head. “No. I do. This can’t wait.”
We stride up the path together, and Kirill knocks once before the door opens. My sister freezes the second she sees me standing there.
“Uh…hi.” Her eyes bounce between us. “Is Milo okay?”
