Christy’s POV
Kendrick offered to go with but I refused as I wanted to talk to Mason privately.
He ca to the apartnt to pick up and he drove quietly. The city lights blurred against the car window as I watched them pass by, one after another, like fleeting mories.
Mason was focused on driving, his expression was stern and he was giving off an extrely cold vibe.
I haven’t spoken since we left the house as my thoughts were tangled and my heartbeat was too loud.
Mason glanced at from the driver’s seat. His jaw was tight and his hands steady on the wheel. He looked extrely stressed as there was a deep frown on his forehead.
"Sorry, I couldn’t wait till tomorrow because I will be traveling out of the country very early tomorrow morning," he said finally, his voice was calm but strained.
"No... I needed to know."I said and wallowed hard
He nodded, eyes flicking toward briefly before returning to the road. "I figured you would say that."
Then we fell into a not so relaxing silence. I shifted slightly in the seat, resting a hand over my belly to feel the baby bump, it was a reminder that I wasn’t alone. I felt strengthened and smiled.
We drove until the streets grew quieter and the noise of the city faded into the distance. Mason finally pulled over beside an old park, it was filled with rusting swings and empty benches.
He turned off the engine but didn’t move. For a long mont, he just stared at the steering wheel, as if the words he was about to say were stuck sowhere deep inside him.
"Mason," I whispered, my voice small but steady. "Please talk to ."
He exhaled slowly and finally looked at . His eyes were soft, but I could see the storm beneath them. "Christy... I need you to brace yourself for what I’m about to say."
My heart thudded painfully and I took a deep breath to calm down. "Just tell ."
"The day you went missing, we couldn’t find any traces of you in the water, so we all assud you had drowned after several searches. No one knows how you fell into the water and all the security caras were destroyed by unknown people.
We all gave up but after I found you, I knew that there was more to that incident. So I started a thorough investigation. I got a foreign tech expert to fix and retrieve the videos of that day." he said after a slight hesitation.
I nodded stiffly. The mory was faint, almost dreamlike. "I rember water...cold....Then... nothing."
Mason’s throat moved as he swallowed and his expression also darkened. "The video showed that it was wasn’t an accident, Christy. You didn’t fall into the river by mistake, soone pushed you."
My breath caught in my throat. "What?"
He looked straight into my eyes. "You were pushed into that river, they wanted the world to think you were dead."
The words sank slowly, like stones sinking into deep water. I blinked, trying to process what he said, but they made no sense. "Who? Who would do that?"
"That’s the part that took the longest to find out," he said quietly. "After you disappeared, the police closed the case too quickly. But I couldn’t let it go,I had to know why my little sister was never found."
My hands were trembling now. "And?"
"I went back to the town you grew up in," Mason said. "The one Benjamin took you to."
Just hearing that na made my stomach twist. Benjamin. My so called foster father. The man who had raised and used my as a cash cow by forcing to dance as a stripper. I still rembered his voice that was always filled with hatred towards .
My fingers clenched. "What about him?"
Mason leaned back slightly, his voice lowered. "I found out he is in prison and I went to see him."
I blinked, staring at him in disbelief. "You went to see Benjamin?"
He nodded. "He didn’t recognize at first but once I told him who I was, he started laughing like it was so big joke that finally caught up to him."
My heartbeat quickened. "Mason, what did he say?"
"He told everything," Mason said. "Or at least... enough to piece the truth together."
He paused for a mont before continuing. "After you were pushed into the river, Benjamin was waiting nearby with two n. He was supposed to... take care of you, as in kill you. But he didn’t, he pulled you out before you drowned."
I froze completely.
"He.. he saved ?" My voice cracked as what I just heard was unbelievable. "Why would he do that?"
"Not out of kindness," Mason said bitterly. "He saw an opportunity. Apparently, soone paid him to make you disappear, but he decided to keep you alive. He knew he could get more money if he held on to you."
I stared at him, and I could feel my throat burning. "He kept alive... to use ?"
Mason nodded grimly. "Yes, he raised you like his own until the ti ca when he could use you for leverage. He knew exactly who you were, Christy, the precious daughter of the Lancasters. He knew what you ant to our family... and what you were worth."
I covered my mouth with my hand, as mories of what I suffered resurfaced. All those years I thought I was unwanted, all the beating, scolding and emotional torture. All those nights I cried, his hatred towards and how I was forced to do things against my will?
I wasn’t unwanted but was being kept to be used for more money, like I was a transaction.
My voice was shaking with anger and hatred. "He is such a monster.. " I broke off, my eyes filling with tears. "He maltreated and made my life a living hell."
Mason’s jaw clenched. "I know, I wanted to kill him when I found out."
I pressed a hand to my chest, trying to breathe through the ache. "So he knew I was a Lancaster... all along?"
"Yes," Mason said softly. "He said he was told everything, who your parents were, what your na was.He knew exactly who you were."
I felt sothing inside crumble. "All those years... ."
Mason reached over, placing a hand on mine. "I’m sorry you had to find out like this."
I shook my head. "No, I needed to know. I needed to understand why everything felt wrong growing up."
He nodded silently, then added, "But there’s more."
I looked up sharply. "More?"
He hesitated again, then exhaled sharply. "I asked him what he needed to tell all these."
My chest tightened. "What did you give him?"
"I negotiated with the authorities," Mason admitted. "His sentence was reduced by five years."
I stared at him, disbelief flooding through . "You what?"
"Christy, I had to," Mason said firmly. "He wouldn’t talk otherwise. He said he wouldn’t reveal a damn thing unless I helped him get sothing in return."
I shook my head in frustration. "Mason, he’s a manipulative criminal! You shouldn’t have bargained with him!"
He looked away briefly. "I know, but I needed the truth and now we have it."
I leaned back against the seat, trying to calm my breathing. It felt like my entire past was unraveling before my eyes, every mory was redefined by this revelation.
Then sothing clicked in my mind. "Wait," I said slowly. "You said he wanted sothing, was it just his sentence reduced? That’s it?"
Mason didn’t answer imdiately.
I turned to him sharply. "Mason."
He sighed, rubbing his forehead. "There’s... one more thing."
My heart sank imdiately. "What did you do?"
He hesitated for a long mont before saying, "He asked to free his daughter."
I froze and my breath hitched. "Piper?"
Mason nodded reluctantly. " yes, Piper or Emily, anyone you call her."
For a mont, I couldn’t even speak.The girl who made my life a nightmare. The one who deceived, hurt and sabotaged in ways no one ever found out. I rembered her laugh, cold and cruel, the way she looked at like I was nothing but dirt.
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. "You let Piper go?"
Mason looked pained. "I didn’t just let her go, I made her sign an agreent. She promised she wouldn’t co near you. She wouldn’t contact you, she is legally bound to stay away."
I let out a bitter laugh, shaking my head. "You think that will stop her?"
"She signed it," Mason insisted. "If she violates it, she’ll go straight to prison."
I turned to him angrily. "You don’t know her, Mason. Piper doesn’t care about rules., she will find a way."
He was quiet for a mont. "Then we will deal with it if she does."
I looked out the window again, my reflection pale against the dark glass. My heart was pounding, but not just from fear but anger. From the feeling of years stolen and rewritten.
"Do you know what she did to ?" I whispered.
Mason looked at , confused. "What do you an?"
I t his gaze, my voice trembling. "Piper was too good at pretending, I took her as a sister but she only saw as a tool. She is just as heartless and cruel as her parents. She set up, trapped and made feel worthless. If Kendrick hadn’t co when he did... I don’t even know if I would be alive."
His expression hardened. "She what?"
I nodded. "She’s dangerous, Mason, and now that she’s free, she’ll co for . I can feel it."
He leaned closer, his voice low. "Then she will have to go through first."
I smiled faintly through the ache. "That’s what scares ."
He frowned. "Why?"
"Because she won’t co for you," I whispered. "She will co to destroy everything I have now, my peace, my family and my baby."
The air in the car went still. Even Mason didn’t know what to say after that.
He finally reached for my hand again. "Christy... no matter what happens, you are not alone this ti."
I nodded slowly, but deep down, I wasn’t sure if I believed it but the unease in my chest wouldn’t fade.
After a while, Mason started the car again and began driving ho. The silence between us was heavy and filled with everything we couldn’t say out loud.
When we reached Kendrick’s apartnt, Mason parked out front. He turned to before I opened the door. "Are you going to tell Kendrick?"
I didn’t hesitate before saying "Definitely"
He nodded. "Alright..just be careful, Christy."
I gave a small, tired smile. "Always am."
As I stepped out of the car, the cool night air hit my face. The house lood ahead, warm light spilling from the windows. It looked peaceful and safe but inside , sothing dark and restless had awoken again.
I turned slightly to look back at Mason. He gave one last reassuring nod before driving off.
I walked slowly toward the door, my hand instinctively on my stomach. "Don’t worry, baby," I whispered softly. "I won’t let anyone hurt us again."
But even as I said the words, a chill ran through , because sowhere deep down, I could already feel it.
Piper will definitely co for and the past... never really stayed buried.
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