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“Fuck.” He glances over his shoulder again before dragging me into the conservatory and closing the door.

When he releases me, I lean back on the wall, thinking about when I gave Harper the tour. Much better days. As my dad paces in front of me, I glance at my phone and he notices it.

“Put it in the hallway,” he says with a nod toward the door.

I shake my head but do it. We know we’re being listened to or suspect it. It’s not surprising he knows about it. When I close the door, I cross my arms.

“Is this the part where you claim not to know what I’m talking about?” I lean back against the wall.

Dad runs his hand through his hair. “You’re with the Davidson girl, right? That’s why William is so fucking interested?”

“Do we get to ask questions now?” I straighten. “How about you tell me what happened to Sean Davidson that night in the quarry?”

My dad’s face goes pale, and he falls back like I decked him. “What do you know?”

“Enough.” I’m not about to give him any information without him telling me something new. I probably won’t even if he does fill in the blanks.

“Fuck,” he curses softly. He searches the floor like the answers will be there.

“No one found a body in thirteen years. Seems like a clean-up job.” I rub my jaw thoughtfully. “Like some accident happened and you guys made sure there was no evidence of a crime having taken place.”

Dad looks up at me. “Whatever you think you know, you need to stop.”

“Don’t you think Jennifer and Harper deserve to know what happened?” I step forward. “Don’t they deserve the truth?”

“There’s nothing to find.” Dad shakes his head, but he doesn’t meet my eyes.

“Because you took care of it,” I scoff.

He straightens and looks me dead in the eye. “Stop poking at this. Whatever you have, bury it. Nothing good could come of this.”

“There’s no statute of limitations on murder. You could testify⁠—”

He surges forward and grabs my shirt. “Leave it alone, Caden. If you want everyone you love to be safe, stop this now. Let it go, and I’ll make sure William is satisfied that you guys don’t know anything.”

I narrow my eyes at him. “So stay quiet, and we’ll be safe?”

He holds my gaze. “I couldn’t protect Sean, but I can protect you and Ava and your friends and Harper. There’s no evidence. Nothing that would confirm anything that happened that night. And you know that. William is pulling on a thread, but there’s nothing on the other end. He’s paranoid, and that’s going to make him sloppy, so just stop.”

“But—”

“Caden, if you can’t do it for your family, do it for Harper. If you keep poking him, he won’t come after you. He’ll take the thing you love most.”

My heart hasn’t stopped pounding since I left my house. The drive to Jack’s passes by as I consider every word my father said. By the time I park, there’s only one thing on my mind.

Harper.

When I enter through the kitchen, I’m actually surprised to not find Robert there. It’s for the best. I’m in a dark mood, and he would want to talk about it. The basement lights are off, so I head to Jack’s room.

I open the door, and Harper looks up from where she’s on her computer on the bed. Nico sits beside her, doing his exercises. Jack is at his desk. Eli walks out of the bathroom.

“Hey,” he says, but then he really looks at me. “What’s wrong?”

I blow out my breath. “Where’s Luke?”

“He’s behind you,” Luke says.

I move into the room, and we’re all in one place. Luke closes the door behind him. I take my phone out and hold out my hand for theirs.