Page 34 of My Girl to Use

She wasn’t leaving me. She was saying goodbye.

.

“She wouldn’t go after Zora,” I say, but it sounds weaker now.

Sienna lets out a sharp breath, already reaching for her phone. “Let’s find out.”

I don’t stop her. But some part of me is still hoping Mom has nothing to do with this. I don’t know what I’ll do if she does.

Sienna puts the call on speaker anyway, her expression hard and focused. The line rings, and our mother picks up.

“Sienna,” my mother’s voice comes through, smooth and calm as always. “To what do I owe this call?”

Every muscle in my back goes tight.

Sienna doesn’t waste time. “What did you do?”

A pause. “I’m not sure what you’re referring to.”

“Don’t do that,” Sienna snaps. “You found him, didn’t you? You went behind my back and found Jax.”

Another pause. Then she says, “I did what was necessary.”

My hands curl into fists at my sides.

“How?” Sienna demands.

Silence stretches just long enough to confirm everything. Then my mother exhales softly. “I had you followed.”

Sienna’s eyes flash. “You what?”

“I knew you were still in contact with him,” she continues calmly, like this is a perfectly reasonable thing to admit. “It was only a matter of time before you led me to him.”

The frustration and anger I’ve been holding on to snaps. I step closer to the phone, my voice cutting in before Sienna can respond. “You don’t get to act like that’s normal.”

There’s a sharp inhale on the other end. “Jaxon.”

“Don’t,” I say flatly. “You lost the right to use that tone a long time ago.”

Silence. Then her voice shifts, colder now. “I see you’re still being difficult.”

“And I see you’re still trying to control everything you can’t accept.”

Sienna glances at me briefly, then back at the phone. “What did you do to Zora?”

There’s a deliberate pause before she replies: “Nothing she didn’t already know.”

My stomach drops.

“Sienna,” she adds, her tone turning almost bored. “Your brother has been wasting his time with a woman who has nothing to offer him. I simply…explained her options.”

“You threatened her,” Sienna says, her voice low with anger.

“I presented her with reality. She leaves Jaxon, and I won’t call the authorities about a child she has no legal claim to.”

“You threatened to take her child?” Sienna says incredulously. I’m too livid to speak.

“That child is not legally hers.”