and the love of my life’s face, but the headline makes my entire body cold as I read it over and over again.
Star football player and Division 1 bound Stanford pick, Julian Fitzgerald—son of Julian Fitzgerald of the Fitzgerald House—has been named the main suspect in the disappearance of the still missing young girl, Mia Montague, the daughter of the late Nancy Montague, who went missing a little over a month ago.
Evidence has turned up that suggests that Julian Fitzgerald is guilty of kidnapping, assaulting and raping the young girl.
It is also said that Mia Montague herself is the one who managed to make contact with her father, who then told him who took her.
A hunt is currently underway for this spoiled, privileged, wealthy criminal who should be brought to justice. The Fitzgerald House is also suspected of participating in shady business dealings, is human trafficking part of it as well?
Well, we’ll soon find out.
If anyone has any information, please contact your next police station. The rich cannot get away with this.
27
When everything comes crashing down, it happens so fast, you would have never seen it coming. That’s a lie, I saw it coming. I did.
Julian woke me by banging drawers in the room and when I asked him what was going on, a strange French man who looked more like he was ex-military, stood in the room, and told me to get up calmly and get dressed.
Julian couldn’t even look at me as he packed his shit, then he packed my stuff, shoving them into the bag. When he demanded that Max get out, he tossed a phone on the bed where I saw the headlines and my heart sank as my father’s words rang clear in my head.
Oh God.
Now, we’re back in Palos Verdes and Julian is so mad at me, his face is clouded with anger. It’s like he can barely breathe. I know because I can’t even breathe myself.
“I was a fool for ever falling for you,” he whispers. “For think that you were different. That you were for me, when. you so clearly can’t see the truth, blinded by shit that doesn’t matter.”
“But I do see the truth!” I rush to explain, useless tears running down my face as I stare at him, begging him to listen, begging him for much more than I knew deep down he was incapable of—trusting someone else. “You have to understand, I didn’t do this!”
“Sure, and what am I supposed to do with your devious word, Mia?” he demands, the green that I fell in love with no longer present in his darkened eyes. “What am I supposed to do now.”
“Trust me!” I cry. “You’re supposed to trust that…”
“That what?” he says, cutting me off. “I should trust that you’d never hurt me? That you’d never savagely destroy my life like this?”
He takes a step away from me as hard sobs start slamming into my body, but that doesn’t matter. What matters is the disgusted look he’s giving me, mixed with this indescribable feeling of the end.
“Look at this, we’re circling the same dance over and over again,” he shakes his head, taking another step back. “We were never any good for each other.”
“I know what it looks like, I know you’re hurt, but I…”
“Hurt?” he scoffs, his eyes so cold and dead, my heart shrivels In my chest. How can these be the same eyes that looked at me with so much desire just a few hours ago. “Mia, I’m way past hurt at this point, I’m angry. I feel so damn angry I don’t know what I might do.”
God, what do I say? How do I fix this? How do I tell him that my father wanted to flush me out and to do so, he used him?
“Julian, listen to me…”
“Did you want to bring me down to my knees, begging for fucking mercy, Mia?” he shouts, the emotion in his voice shattering my already torn apart heart.
“No…” I croak, reaching up to touch him but he jerks away like I just scorched him.
“Because I’m not going to fucking beg!” he growls. “I’m not going to beg you to be a fucking decent human being. I’m not going to get down on my fucking knees and say a fucking prayer that you quit destroying me like this?”
God, I’ve never seen him this angry before, but then again, this has never happened before. His name, his reputation, his future being dragged so publicly like this.
“No, Julian, I didn’t—”