Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 96065 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 480(@200wpm)___ 384(@250wpm)___ 320(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96065 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 480(@200wpm)___ 384(@250wpm)___ 320(@300wpm)
Caius
As entertaining as this awkward dinner is, I’m eager for the break when my phone buzzes in my pocket. I catch Romy eyeing me with barely concealed curiosity from across the table.
Unknown Number: You’re not as tough and uncaring as you lead everyone to believe. I know the real you.
My gut tightens.
Me: S?
Unknown Number: I’m flattered you remember.
I don’t bother adding S to my contacts because this person will just disconnect the number like last time. They don’t want to be found. That much is apparent.
Me: What do you want?
Unknown Number: For you to admit there’s a heart inside that cavernous, frigid chest of yours.
Me: Again with the games.
Unknown Number: I don’t play games. That’s simply for entertainment. I do work. Real work. What you see is what you get with me.
Me: As you hide behind this S persona…
Unknown Number: You’re so testy in text. It’s a delicious glimpse into the real you that you hide from everyone.
Me: If you know where she is, why not tell me? What’s the point of this?
As I wait for S to respond, I glance up again to see Romy helping Kaitlyn cut up her meat. Anger burns inside me like a growing inferno. Not at Romy. At my father. I’m still unable to wrap my head around how he chose Vivienne to be Kaitlyn’s nanny. Did he know her past and that she previously worked for the Langstons?
Of course he did.
Dad misses nothing. He never has. It’s why I have kept my desire to find Calista under wraps. He knows I want to find my sister, but in my gut, I know his help will come with strings. Dad kept his promise to teach me everything he knows, but it hasn’t helped me find her yet. Now that I’m deeply entrenched in this dark world he adopted me into, I certainly don’t want his help. Who the hell knows what kind of mind-fuckery he’d use once she was back in my life.
We’d have to run away, change our names, and hide for the rest of our lives.
It’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make once I find her.
Until that day, I’ll continue to do everything I can on my own so that when I do get ahold of her and leave, Dad will be blindsided. We can disappear safely.
Unknown Number: Are you sure you want those answers?
Me: Lose my number. You’re useless.
Unknown Number: We’re just getting started, Caius. You’ll see.
Just like last time when S texted me, Theo and Dad are in the same room as me. This time, so is Romy. Whoever is doing this isn’t someone in my immediate circle. That means it’s a stranger to me, or at the very least, an acquaintance. But how does an acquaintance know my darkest secret?
I go to respond and the number is no longer in service. This shit is annoying. I’m used to being the one in control and steps ahead of everyone. Right now, I feel like that lost fifteen-year-old boy a dozen years ago.
To keep my mind from unraveling trying to figure this all out, I message the concierge at the hotel to make some changes. With what happened with Vivienne, I’d feel better if I was in the same hotel suite as Kaitlyn. Her current situation means I’d have to sleep on the couch with Romy. Not happening. It takes a little bribing, but the concierge is able to accommodate my requests. An extra few hundred dollars for a tip ensures my requests will be completed by the time we get back.
I busy myself with my phone, searching for clues about S, to no avail. As soon as the cake has been eaten, Romy gives me a pleading look with her eyes. Can we get the hell out of here?
She doesn’t have to ask me twice.
“This isn’t our room,” Romy says, side-eyeing me.
“It is now.” I ignore her irritation as I open the door with the keycard. “You’re with me, love.”
She shoots me a sour look as she walks into the suite. As promised by the concierge, we’ve been upgraded to a spacious two-room suite with a kitchenette and living room area.
“Kaitlyn’s in there,” I tell her, pointing to the smaller of the two rooms. “Get her ready for bed. Her stuff should be inside.”
While they disappear into the bedroom, I stride into the master. There’s a desk in the room. Beside it is my laptop bag. After pulling off my coat and shoes, I sit at the desk and continue my research. At least an hour passes before Romy finally joins me. She ignores me as she digs through her bag for something to sleep in. I get lost in my work once more. When she emerges from the bathroom, her blond hair is pulled into a messy bun and she wears one of her worn T-shirts and sleep shorts.