Total pages in book: 111
Estimated words: 110273 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 551(@200wpm)___ 441(@250wpm)___ 368(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 110273 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 551(@200wpm)___ 441(@250wpm)___ 368(@300wpm)
“None. Not one.”
“And what was the reason you were given for providing those lies to the court today?”
“I wasn’t told the reason, just that that’s what I was supposed to say.” She flinched, her eyes so bleak for a moment, before she turned to her sister and said, “I can’t do it, Quinn. I can’t say it. I can’t incriminate Bailey or Chrissy because you and I both know that you did try to kidnap Bailey Hayes. Calhoun was upset with you, I get that, but he also doesn’t know the truth. You shouldn’t have lied to him, and you shouldn’t have underestimated a mother’s love for her son.”
“Shut up!” Quinn sprang up, starting to go over the table. “Shut up—”
All hell broke loose in the court.
Guards streamed in from every corner of the room. Four of them surged on Quinn, getting her under control.
“Miss Callas, can you please explain your last statement to the court?”
“Quinn was always supposed to seduce Peter Francis for Calhoun Bastian. But he didn’t trust her to keep her ‘charge’ in control until she had Cyclone, Curt Francis.” Both head lawyers were standing, but Payton took over. She dipped her head down so she could be heard better through the microphone. “Calhoun Bastian only sees males as important, but Quinn couldn’t get pregnant after Seraphina. She lied to Calhoun when she told him that Cyclone was hers. He wasn’t.”
A pause.
A surreal feel came over the room, as if everyone knew what she was about to say was going to change lives, and an awareness spread. Everyone quieted. Everyone waited.
I was starting to stand.
Payton’s eyes found me. “I’m not letting my sister anywhere near him because Cyclone is mine. He’s my son.”
The court was pandemonium after that.
Reporters were rushing from the room. I wasn’t sure, but I could swear we could still hear Quinn screaming. Fitz appeared at our side and cleared his throat. “You need to go.”
“Right.” Matt stood up. “It’s probably not safe, huh?” But as he said it, he was dazed.
I was dazed.
Chrissy—I didn’t know what she was, but she seemed in a daze, too. I slipped my hand in hers and squeezed once. “Did you know?”
“What?”
Those dazed eyes blinked, looked at me, and I had a feeling she wasn’t seeing me.
I nodded toward the stand, where Payton still was sitting, but the prosecution lawyers had surrounded her. “Cyclone. Her revelation. Did you know?”
“I—” Her mouth opened. Her lips did a goldfish impersonation, and she closed them. “I didn’t know. I had no idea. I—she was never going to turn on us. I could see it now. I’d been worried. I had…”
I frowned. What was my mom talking about?
“Mom?” I edged closer to her.
I cocked an eyebrow. She was saying that like it was a revelation to her.
“I thought…” She didn’t finish.
Fitz came up behind her, herding her forcibly, and me with them, to the side door and out. Some of the court guards had fallen in line to help, since we’d only been allowed a certain number of men in the court. We were led out, down a hallway, and we swept through a side exit. There was a handicap ramp, which we hurried down, and then we climbed into the waiting vehicles. Two SUVs today. Once inside, Fitz got into the front seat but turned around to us.
“I got the call moments ago.”
I nodded. “About Payton?”
He frowned. “From Kash.”
Matt jerked forward. “What?”
I was experiencing déjà vu from all the bombs being dropped, but my whole body grew warm. It was also riddled with tension because there were too many factors happening right now. I couldn’t keep up.
Chrissy, though, had jerked out of her glazed-over state. “Chase is with his brother?” she asked calmly.
Fitz paused, growing eerily still, as he took in my mom and what she had just said. His eyelids dipped low, matching his tone. “Yeah. They’re talking to the FBI.”
“Good.” Chrissy nodded, sitting back. She turned to the window, folded her arms over herself, and nodded again. “Good. It’s done then.” Her words were soft, as if something monumental had happened and we all escaped unscathed. A smattering of tears fell to her chest, but she didn’t wipe them away. She let them fall, and I was experiencing, yet again, one more weird, alternate-reality feeling.
It’s done? What was done?
“What are you talking about?” My voice broke. What was going on here?
“Kash brought his brother back to the FBI, where he’s agreed to actively cooperate and assist in their search for Calhoun now. In exchange, no charges will be brought against Kash, and your father has also been released from custody,” Fitz explained.
“I was supposed to turn on my child.”
I reeled. What?
Chrissy’s head was turned toward the window, and she sounded like she was speaking from far away. “They underestimated a mother’s love. Payton. Me.” She looked at me, her eyes flashing, and they were hard. She grasped my hand and squeezed. “You think I don’t remember what they did to me. I do. I did. I remembered every second of that hell, until Chase got to me.”