The silence in the room was unbearable. Heavy, suffocating, like every second that passed was squeezing the air out of my lungs. I could feel both of them watching , waiting, but my chest tightened until I thought it might crack.
I forced the words out.
"According to my research... soone actually found her that night. She didn’t die there. She made it to the hospital."
Dominic’s head snapped toward . Ian froze.
My throat burned, but I kept going. "The report says she was... sexually assaulted. Brutally. And not by one guy. It was a group."
Ian’s face drained in an instant. He staggered back against the counter.
Dominic’s eyes widened, his breath faltered.
"What are you saying?" Ian whispered.
Dominic shook his head violently. "No. Ash, no. We didn’t...God, we didn’t." His voice broke.
"I know." I cut in quickly. My eyes locked with his. "I trust you. Both of you. You don’t have to convince ."
The relief in their faces was fleeting.
"The problem is," I said quietly, "The Coil doesn’t believe that. They think it was you. That you were the ones who hit her, assaulted her... killed her."
"You’re telling they’ve been coming after us all this ti because they think we...." Ian’s voice cracked, and he couldn’t even finish.
"We prove it wasn’t you," I pressed, leaning forward slightly, "and everything changes. Their reason for targeting you disappears. But that ans we need the truth. The real guys. The ones who actually did it."
For a mont, no one moved.
Then Ian shook his head violently. "No. I can’t. I can’t dig deeper into this. This is already....It’s already killing ."
Dominic caught his arm before he could step away. His voice was low. "Ian. Listen to Ash on this. It’s important than you think."
"If we don’t," Dominic said, "then Liam died for nothing. And guess who’s next? Us. You hear ? Next. Do you want that? You want them coming after your sisters?"
Ian froze. His jaw locked, his breath hitched until it broke into shudders.
Finally, his shoulders dropped. "Fine. But if we do this... we tell the others. Today."
Dominic exhaled. "Yeah. Today."
Ian turned toward then. "Thank you, Ash. For... for your help on this case."
I gave a small nod, though my stomach twisted hard. Because I knew this was just the beginning.
"I know soone who might help us," I said carefully.
Both of them turned at once, snapping their eyes towards .
"Who?" Dominic asked, bracing himself for the news.
I forced a faint smile. "Don’t worry about it. I’ll handle it."
But in my head, the pieces were already moving.
Convincing Mr. Blake to work with us was going to be another battle.
That’s the thing about secrets....they never stay hidden forever. No matter how deep you bury them, lock them away, swear you’ll carry them to your grave... but graves don’t hold secrets.
They rot, and sooner or later, the stench drags everything into the open.
And today proves it.
I couldn’t stop thinking about Dominic earlier... how rage consud him when he saw the killer. The way his fists flew, the way his eyes went dark, like the boy I knew was gone and all that was left was fire.
That’s what scares most about Dominic, rage runs him. And rage leaves nothing but ruins behind.
I knew there was a reason the killer ca by.
A killer can’t just show up to his victim’s funeral, unless....
"You should get that wrapped up."
Ian’s voice snapped back, pointing at my head.
I raised a hand, touched the side where blood had dried into my hair. It stung. I tried to brush it off. "I’m fine."
"No, you’re not," Dominic cut in. His voice was quiet. His eyes fixed on the wound like it. "That’s on ."
I blinked at him. "Dom.. It’s fine for real. I’m fine."
"I should’ve protected you," he whispered. It was obvious he felt guilty. "If I’d kept it together, you wouldn’t be hurt."
Ian cleared his throat, breaking the weight between us. "So we’re going to tell them, right?"
Dominic turned to Ian. "Yeah. We tell them."
"You an you’re going to tell them," Ian corrected flatly.
I stayed quiet, because Ian was right. Dominic had to own this.
That’s how it all went down.
After Liam’s burial. After his body sank six feet under.
The house was crowded, buzzing with low voices and muffled sobs. Friends, neighbors, distant relatives....everyone whispering condolences, hugging Liam’s parents, like it would dull the grief.
The air reeked of grief.
I tried to breathe. I tried to blend in.
"Your dress is really beautiful," I said to June, needing sothing normal to say.
She lit up instantly, twirling a little. "Ikr? Ian got it for last night. Makes look hot, right? Brings out my curves."
I shook my head, smiling at her. "It’s a funeral, Juney."
She rolled her eyes. "And? A girl’s gotta look good anywhere. If it was *my* funeral, I’d wear—"
"June." I cut her off, quickly, sharper than I ant to.
Her lips pressed into a pout.
I crossed my arms, looking away. My voice dropped. "No more funerals. I can’t... I can’t bear losing another person I love."
The words hung heavy in my throat.
And then...a hand landed on my shoulder.
I turned. Dominic stood there, with those sad eyes.
"It’s ti," he whispered.
I nodded. Turned to June. "I’ll be back, Juney. Just... have to take care of sothing real quick."
"Ugh. Fine. You’re leaving too?" She huffed, flipping her hair. "Whatever. I’ll be in the snack corner. They have croissants." She smiled faintly, already distracted, and drifted off.
I exhaled, forcing my feet to follow Dominic. Because I knew the mont we spoke the truth out loud, there’d be no going back.
And that’s the thing about secrets.
Once exposed, they don’t just change the story.
They rewrite it.
Reviews
All reviews (0)