is trying to hurt you and your family by ensuring that information doesn’t see the light of day. If I didn’t think there was a strong case against him or the others, I wouldn’t have brought it up. But the chance of the case being reopened—”
I needed to get out of here. That was all I could think when I stood and moved so quickly that dizziness hit me. Stumbling, I caught myself on the chair before Theo was by my side, holding my arm to steady me.
But I didn’t want him to.
“Don’t,” I pleaded, moving away.
“Della, I know this is hard—”
The cold, confused laugh couldn’t be stopped. “Hard? You think hearing that my father was murdered because he was trying to get out of prison to be with me was hard? That word doesn’t come close to what this situation is. It’s fucked up, Theo. And what’s worse is you thinking I needed to hear it over goddamn pancakes like it should make it all better!”
I was on a roll and couldn’t be stopped. Turning to him, I tightened my hands into fists and glared past the tears that welled in my eyes. It made it difficult to see but didn’t stop me from making sure he knew how I felt. “Whoever this guy is, or these people, they can’t possibly taint my family any more than what’s already been done. If they want to ruin me, destroy me, they can save their energy. Because this—you—did it for them.”
The pain that sliced open his features should have made me feel guilty, but the rage, the sadness, the mixture of every feeling I never wanted to feel again was consuming me as each second passed until I was shaking. Shaking and clawing my way out of my own skin because I didn’t want to be stuck in it right now. Not ever.
As I turned to the door, I grabbed ahold of the handle only for a hand to come down on the wood to prevent me from exiting. “Della, please sit down. You’re not in the mindset to go anywhere right now. You look sick.”
I did what I’d never done before. I shoved him. I put all my strength into the push and sent him stumbling backward because he was unprepared for it, leaving me able to throw the door open and storm out into the rain. Fitting. Clouds grayed the sky, thunder rumbled in the distance, and I thought about all those stories my mother used to tell me about Greek Gods.
“Do you really think they exist?” I’d asked her after she’d told me the story about Zeus. He’d sounded so powerful, so fearful, that I wouldn’t ever want to be on his bad side. But my mother had told me every story had some lies mixed in with the truth. That maybe Zeus wasn’t so bad, just misunderstood because people with power usually were masked by it.
It made me think of my father and his friends, the men who seemed so sure of themselves out in public. When my father was indoors, he was a different man. Kind, gentle, and loving. Nowhere near the person people seemed to look up to and be intimidated by all at the same time. I’d kept hold of that when things got bad because I needed reassurance that he wasn’t a bad man, just masked by his bad decisions.
“Adele!” Theo yelled after me. The rain was coming down harder, faster, but I didn’t care. I let it soak me, prayed it would wash away everything I felt since the shower hadn’t done it. I didn’t want emotions weighing me down anymore.
I needed out.
I needed air.
A black car came into view and Dallas got out with a concerned look on his face. Why he hadn’t left when he was told was beyond me. He’d always known when I needed him. It took him mere seconds before he was ushering me in the back and closing the door, gesturing toward Theo, and saying who knew what. I didn’t care.
I should have but I didn’t.
Because all I cared about was how I felt the loss of my father for a second time. Except, now it felt ten times worse. Before, I’d stared. I was shocked. Silent. Sophie yelled. Lydia cried. But me? I couldn’t. I couldn’t do any of that because I didn’t know how to accept what we were being told. I’d chosen to believe it was all a sadistic prank, like he’d pop