Semua Bab Love's Redemption: Bab 501 - Bab 510

I glanced down, noticing his soaked shoes. "Then how'd Hayden pull it off?""No clue. And nobody else seems to know, either." Jace tilted his umbrella up a bit, meeting my eyes."So, you thought I'd know? That you could get answers from me?"Jace held steady under my sharp stare. "I know you don't."He held my gaze for a beat before looking away. "He's deliberately keeping it under wraps. But I did hear something.""What?""Word is that the boss at Quartz Cue got... well, 'dealt with.' Not sure if it's true." He sounded hesitant, but I got what he was hinting at."You think Hayden was involved?"Jace was quiet for a second. "Maybe. But Quartz Cue is huge in Houston. Their boss isn't the kind of guy you just... handle."The way he said it, I could tell he'd tried to meet this Quartz Cue boss himself—and failed."I don't know how Hayden helped Steve. And he never gave me a chance to ask."Just then, a gust of wind sent a raindrop splashing against my cheek, cold and sharp. It

"You can't change the past; just hold onto the people you've got now."I knew what he was getting at, and it hit a nerve. If this report on my parents' accident pointed to someone still around... he was basically telling me not to let it mess things up with the people who'd actually been good to me."Yeah, I get it," I nodded. "I've thought about it a lot, especially over the past few months."It wasn't just talk. I'd spent so much time with that contract I found in my dad's notebook, going over every theory, every suspicion, struggling to make sense of it. And somehow, I'd finally started to accept some of it."Looks like making you wait wasn't for nothing," Cedric said, like he'd been expecting this. Now I understood why he'd been so cryptic, dropping hints but never giving me the full story.He reached into his pocket, pulling out an envelope, but he didn't hand it over just yet. "You know Hayden Hart, right?"My heart skipped. Hayden and I had dug into his dad's death too, se

"I'll make it up to you for what my father did."The words felt like a dull knife twisting in my chest. I looked straight at him. "Hayden, are you really just accepting this?"Haven't you been digging into this the whole time?"Is this all you found—that your father tampered with the brakes and caused my parents' deaths?"We'd suspected it might be true, but he'd promised me answers, promised me closure.And now, instead of giving me that, he was just... accepting this inconclusive report. Even the police couldn't say it for sure.Was this some kind of brush-off? Or did he just want me to hate him, to resent him because of his dad?He didn't look at me, didn't say a word.The bitterness tightened in my chest as I thought about how easily he'd pushed me away. "Hayden... did you already know about this? Is that why you broke up with me over what happened in Houston? Was it just an excuse?""No," he said firmly.My eyes wavered.He looked down, watching the raindrops splatter o

Milly sure knew how to work her charm. I scooped her up and carried her over to the car Sasha had called.On the way, I used my phone to order her a little birthday gift. Even if Milly insisted she didn't need anything, I still wanted to do something special for her.Sasha and Milly lived in Seavora's most exclusive neighborhood, and when we walked inside, the place was decked out with balloons, toys, and garlands everywhere."Thorsten set all this up," Sasha said.Looking around at all the decorations, I couldn't help but say, "He really does care about her.""Of course," she replied. "But a child doesn't need all this. And..." She glanced over at Milly, then leaned closer. "Milly's getting older, and people always assume Thorsten's her grandfather. She's started resenting him for it."Considering his age, it wasn't surprising people made that mistake. But honestly, who could blame Milly for feeling awkward?Milly tugged me to her playroom, begging me to play with her, and with

I barely managed to get out before Sasha raised her hand, cutting me off and gesturing toward Milly. "She's just... lucky."I blinked, lost. Sasha raised an eyebrow. "You're totally confused, aren't you?""It's... kind of a lot," I admitted.Sasha let out a dry laugh. "Thorsten and his wife had this terrible car accident once. He almost didn't make it, and she was in a coma for, like, ten days—maybe two weeks. We all thought she was done for. But then she woke up."Sasha shook her head like she couldn't even believe the story herself. "And when she woke up, she told everyone she'd dreamed about a little girl—a young girl standing in front of some kind of saint or angel. This girl offered her a 'magic pill' that would save her life."I raised an eyebrow. "And... then what?""Right after she woke up, I found out I was pregnant. She made Thorsten take me to get my blood tested immediately. She said if it was a girl, I could keep it. If it was a boy... well, I'd have to end the pregn