Chapter 4

Vera gave me one long look, then grabbed Sebastian and pulled him away.

I didn't want to think about any of it, so after washing up I went straight to bed.

Just as I was drifting off, Mom's call jolted me awake.

"Pack a bag, Grayson. Your dad and I are coming to see you tomorrow.

"Mr. and Mrs. Barrymore refuse to believe their daughter would do something so reckless, so they'll be there too.

"We'll get everything out in the open between both families then.

"We also got to the bottom of the security footage. The person who went into Sebastian's room that night was his ex-girlfriend. He was wide awake when he let her in. So where's the drugging supposed to have come from? Where's the missing kidney?"

My hands trembled a little, not from fear, but from the sheer thrill of finally knowing the truth.

I hung up after talking things through with Mom.

After tomorrow, this would all finally be over.

That night I slept better than I had since coming back to this life.

But before I'd even woken up the next day, chaos erupted in the living room.

I bolted upright, sighed, and got up to get some water.

What I found when I opened the door stopped me cold.

Sebastian and his friends were decorating the living room.

Someone had spray-painted "HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO SEBASTIAN, THE HANDSOMEST GUY ALIVE" across the pristine white wall.

Someone else was standing in their shoes on my mother's Italian leather sofa, taking selfies.

And someone had cut up the hand-embroidered curtains to use as decorations.

My heart was pounding just watching it, but since I'd be leaving soon anyway, I couldn't be bothered to deal with them.

Then, the next second, one of the guys threw open a cabinet and pulled out a vase.

It was an antique my mother had picked up at an auction abroad, her favorite piece, one she'd given to me only because I'd insisted so hard.

A rush of heat shot straight to my head, and I lunged forward and snatched it out of his hands.

The guy froze on the spot. His name was Todd Watson, Sebastian's closest friend.

He'd grown up just as poor, coming from the same small town to find work in the city.

Seeing that I didn't even acknowledge him, too busy checking the vase over, his face went red like he'd been personally insulted.

"You're that shameless bastard who won't leave?" he sneered.

I stopped checking the vase, looked him up and down once, and set the piece back in the cabinet.

Todd's temper flared instantly. "So you're the one who's been bullying Sebastian? Is this even your house? Get out already, you shameless bastard."

Sebastian sauntered over, wearing a magnanimous smile, like he owned the place.

"Grayson, it's my birthday today. It's not really appropriate for you to be here. You should go. Vera's out buying my present, and she's not going to want to see you when she gets back either. Why make things difficult for everyone?"

I ignored him and just said flatly, "Don't touch any of the porcelain in that cabinet."

Even the cheapest piece ran into six figures, though the price wasn't really the point.

My mother treasured them like they were her own children. If even one got so much as scratched, she wouldn't let it go.

Sebastian smiled, and the smile was dripping with contempt.

"This is the Barrymores' house. The Barrymores' property. What business is it of yours? You're just some kept man. You've got no business sticking your nose in."

The second he said it, Todd straightened up next to him.

Like he owned half the mansion himself, still holding a grudge from a second ago, he turned and pulled the very vase I'd just put away back out of the cabinet.

My whole body tensed, and the words shot out of me. "Put that down, now!"

Todd and Sebastian exchanged a look and grinned, pleased with themselves.

"Sure, I'll put it down," Todd drawled. "Get on your knees first."

I didn't waste any words. I walked straight at him.

Todd laughed and tossed the vase to Sebastian, who wasn't far off, right as I closed in.

Sebastian threw it to someone else, and the two of them kept playing keep-away with it, delighted by how they were toying with me.

The tosses got faster and higher, until finally Sebastian missed the catch, and the vase shattered into pieces on the floor.