“You’re a stubborn, stupid old man, and you’re going to ruin everything. I can’t believe I didn’t say this sooner, but you’re a petty little tyrant and I’m not going to take it anymore.”
Dad’s face turns red with anger. I’ve never seen him so pissed before. I’m terrified, trembling, despite knowing for certain that I’m doing the right thing. Still, years of conditioning taught me to be very, very scared of my father when he’s in a bad mood.
“Get out of my house,” he says softly, voice quaking with barely restrained anger. “Turn and walk out of here right now, Regan, and don’t you dare come back. If I see you in here again, I swear on my life, I will teach you the lesson I should’ve taught you a long time ago.”
“You wouldn’t dare touch me. You know why? Because you sold me to the Whelans. You don’t own me anymore. You think Liam’s going to let you hurt his wife?”
“Fuck Liam. And fuck you too, you selfish little bitch. You’re not my daughter. You’re nothing to me now.”
“At least we can agree on that.”
I stride to the door. Tears stream down my face, but I’m not crying for this relationship I’m torching.
I’m crying for Luke, for how I set the wrong example for him all these years.
I wanted him to escape, but instead, I showed him an older sister who was too afraid to do anything but obey.
I failed him so miserably, it kills me.
Dad’s rage follows me into the hall. I can still hear him shouting as I get another Uber out front. The driver drops me off in front of Luke’s apartment building, but I already know what I’ll find when I use the spare key he gave me years back to let myself into his place.
It’s been ransacked.
The couch is torn to pieces. Dishes lay shattered on the ground. His bedroom is a total wreck, clothes strewn around. It looks like someone thoroughly flipped it already, and I can’t tell who.
There’s no blood. That’s good, at least.
But Luke’s not here. He’s gone, and I don’t know where he could have possibly vanished to. I feel empty, drained and wrung out like a dirty sponge. I collapse to my knees in my brother’s living room, not sure why he’d turn his back on our family like this,wondering what he was thinking when he decided to throw his life away, but desperate to find him. Maybe, somehow, I can still help him.
Or maybe we’re all beyond saving.
CHAPTER 26
LIAM
Ipark outside the Corrigan family house. I study the nice facade, the expensive stone and the dark black door. Regan grew up in this place, and I wonder what it was like. Terrible, if I had to guess. Not the best in the world. Though probably a hell of a lot nicer than the orphanages, foster homes, and juvenile detention centers that were the backgrounds of my youth.
I knock, expecting a housekeeper. I’m not sure what I’m going to say yet, but I have to come up with something. A few moments later, the door opens, and it’s Regan’s mother peering out at me with a curious smile.
That surprises me and throws me off balance.
“Ah, hello Liam, how are you? What can I help you with?”
“Mrs. Corrigan, hello. I was hoping I might talk with your husband. Is he around?”
She hesitates. Her smile slips as she looks over her shoulder. “He’s in his office, but—“ Her hands smooth at the wooden frame. “It’s maybe not the best time.”
“Did something happen?”
“No, no, nothing like that. Only a disagreement, that’s all.”
My heart rate ticks up. “Was Regan here?”
“She was.” Her eyebrows raise. “You know what that was about.”
“Unfortunately.”
“Come inside.” She ushers me through the entryway and into a side sitting room. Regan’s mother is a willowy woman, impossibly thin, and she fusses around like a squirrel rearranging her hoard of stashed nuts. I watch her twitchy motions with curiosity, and can almost see Regan in them, except my wife is much more deliberate and composed.
