“So?” Hayle said petulantly. “That doesn’t mean anything. Why would she even go after Bodie?”
“Why would she go after Thea with a knife?” Tristin shot back.
I felt Leo stiffen next to me. “What?”
“Thea.” Vincent said my name like a command, and I instinctively obeyed, probably because I didn’t want to face Leo’s wrath right then. “Are you absolutely certain that the hoodie in question is yours?”
“Yes. There’s a small tear on the cuff that was already there when I bought it at the thrift store.”
“When did you discover it was missing?”
I glanced up at Leo. “That day we went to Friday Harbor. I thought it was strange that I couldn’t find it, but I figured I’d probably left it somewhere.”
“Okay,” Vincent replied. “Please continue with your story.”
Returning my gaze to the bee, I described what happened when Lily caught me in the greenhouse. I attempted to fill in every detail, from Lily’s claims that I was trying to steal Hayle away from her—like my mother had—to her attempts to take me down with the massive kitchen knife. Leo muttered curses under his breath, Tristin slipped his hand gently into mine, and Hayle scoffed in disbelief at least once. But I didn’t look at any of them. I was going to get this out, no matter what anyone thought about what I was saying.
Lastly, I told them, word-for-word, what she’d said about poisoning my mother.
And, then, I waited.
“Here’s what’s going to happen,” Vincent said almost immediately. “I’m going to get Lily into the best mental health facility I can find, so she can get the help she so obviously needs.” He stood. “Hayle, you stay here and keep an eye on her. Make sure she doesn’t go anywhere. Tristin and Leo, help Thea back to the house. And none of you will breathe a word of this to anyone. This is a private, family matter, and we need to keep it that way.”
A sudden coldness struck my chest and slithered outward, moving through veins and bones and skin. That was it? He was going to have Lily committed and then wash his hands of the whole thing?
I shouldn’t have been surprised. This was Vincent Sharpe we were talking about, after all. But I still couldn’t wrap my mind around it. He hadn’t even reacted to the news that his ex-wife had poisoned his fiancée.
What kind of person could remain apathetic in the face of that kind of revelation? Tristin had never been the heartless one. It had always been his father.
Leo shot to his feet. “What the fuck, Dad? You can’t sweep this under the rug. Lily murdered Amber, for god’s sake. And it sure looks like she went after Bodie. Not to mention that she tried to kill Thea with a fucking knife. This is not okay.”
“Stop it,” Hayle snapped. “She’s not a murderer. She’s just…not.”
“I agree.” Vincent gave his son the closest thing I’d ever seen to an encouraging smile from him. “At the most, Lily is delusional. Which is exactly why we need to get her help.”
“So, you think Thea is lying?” Leo accused.
“No. I think that what sounded to Thea like a confession was the rambling of a confused, disturbed woman. I’ve suspected that Lily has had deeper psychological problems for a while now, and this incident confirms those suspicions.”
I wanted to laugh. I wanted to cry. I wanted to rail at the entire fucking world.
No matter what Vincent said, I knew what I’d heard. I’d seen the look in Lily’s eyes. I’d felt her intent to kill me.
Whatever psychological problems might have caused that intent, they didn’t lessen the fact that she’d wanted to kill me. That she’d killed my mom.
“What if I call the police?” The words were out before I could stop them. Yet, I couldn’t bring myself to regret them. I needed to know.
Vincent’s stern expression didn’t change, but I could feel a shift in the air around me. It was as if he was sucking it all in, readying to explode.
Of course, he didn’t do that, though. He was too controlled for an outburst.
“I can’t stop you, if that’s what you choose to do. But I want you to think long and hard before doing so. Think about how that choice will affect Hayle. Think about how much it will hurt him to see his mother carted away in handcuffs. Think about how you could ruin Lily’s life based on a single, unfortunate scene that turned out okay in the end.” His