Chapter 48

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Lily's green eyes flashed dangerously as she strutted over to "welcome" us to her house. I felt Zac reach for my hand. He pulled me closer to him as his fingers closed around mine. The muscles in his arm stiffened instinctively, as though gearing up for a fight. I squeezed his hand to reassure him, to reassure myself, that everything was going to be okay. Hopefully.

I cringed as Lily's sweet Southern drawl floated towards us like saccharine-dipped poison. "So happy y'all could join us tonight."

I nodded and smiled politely. "Happy to be here."

"To be honest, Cate, I've been doing some serious soul searching these past few weeks. I think I'm ready to let bygones be bygones, at least, for tonight. It's a charity event, after all. What do you say? Truce?"

"Fine by me," I replied smoothly. "Keep your claws to yourself, and I see no need to make things uncomfortable between us."

Lily nodded graciously. "Why, that was exactly what I hoped you'd say! We're gathered here today for a noble cause. The focus should be on raising as much money as possible for the Fellowship. Not to mention, addiction awareness and prevention is such a near and dear matter to my heart. Even more so for you, Cate, I'd imagine, especially considering how your own mother, well, I don't want to dredge up past traumas, but, you know—"

"Oh, she knows," Zac intervened with a dark look on his face. "Everyone knows. I dunno what the hell you're trying to get at, Lily, but it's pissing me off."

I didn't like where this conversation was headed, either, but I didn't want to antagonize Lily until I had a better idea of what she was planning to do. Needless to say, the bitch definitely had an ace up her sleeve. Briefly, I wondered if it had something to do with Mamma. The mere thought of it made me sick to my stomach.

Lily tittered delicately. "Oh, don't be such a stick in the mud, Zachary! I was only trying to extend my condolences to Cate. You don't have to get so defensive about every little thing."

"Well, your condolences have been received, Lily," I muttered with an arched eyebrow. "I hope that's all you'll be offering me tonight."

"Oh, sweetie," she cooed. "What kind of hostess would I be if I didn't go all out for my VIP guests? Trust me, I've got something special lined up for you this evening. I do hope you'll stick around to enjoy your surprise."

My eyes narrowed. I had no interest in sticking around at all. I needed to get Zac in and out of Mr. Sinclair's study as quickly as possible and then get the fuck out of Lily's house.

I tossed Lily a cutting look. "Lovely. Can't wait to see what you have in store for me. Now, if you'll excuse us, I think we're gonna go check out the spread. I'm starving!"

I led Zac away from Lily before she could stall us. Once we were a good distance away, I whispered to him, "You got the flash drives?"

He slid a hand into the right pocket on his black tuxedo trousers to double check. "Yeah, I got them."

"Go now, baby, so we can get outta here."

Zac nodded. "I'll try to be quick."

"Keep your phone on you. I'll text you a warning if I see anyone go towards the study."

"Text me as well if Lily does anything stupid. Promise me."

"Of course, baby."

He snorted in disapproval. "I mean it, Cate! Don't be a hero."

"Mm-hmm," I mumbled vaguely with a twinge of guilt.

I knew Zac meant well, but I had no intention of disturbing him while he was hacking into a highly secure computer system. He already had enough to worry about, and I was fairly confident that I could handle whatever missiles Lily would try to launch at me.

Zac gave me a lingering look of skepticism. I pressed a swift kiss to his lips and nudged him on his way. "Now... go!"

"One more for luck," he insisted grumpily.

I smiled and readily complied with a much deeper kiss. When we finally pulled away from each other, Zac winked at me before he turned to go. With a racing pulse, I watched my boyfriend slip down the hallway that led to Mr. Sinclair's study.

Then, I grabbed a drink from the refreshment table and slowly made my way across the ballroom. I positioned myself at an angle where I could see anyone who might wander in Zac's direction. Earlier this week, Zac and I had reviewed the layout of Lily's house from what he could remember in the times she invited him over during their brief courtship. The guest bathrooms were located a ways off from the study, so there wasn't any reason for someone to walk in on Zac unless they were up to something suspicious as well.

Minutes ticked by. I made small talk with a few of my friends and classmates. At exactly 7:30 pm, Bea wandered to the center of the ballroom with a cordless mic in hand. My half-sister was looking divine in a pale pink satin Brandon Maxwell scoop neck ball gown.

She smiled brightly at the crowd. "Good evening. My name is Bethany Hayes, as I'm sure many of you know, and, as the President of the Christian Fellowship at Ashton Wellesley, I'd like to thank each and every one of you for coming out tonight to support this event. Our mission this year is to fundraise for drug and alcohol addiction awareness, prevention, and rehabilitation. Your proceeds will be donated to charities and non-profit organizations across the state of Massachusetts that specialize in raising public awareness, educating at-risk youth about the dangers of drugs and alcohol, and providing rehabilitation services for those who need it most. The Fellowship has prepared a short video that features a few of these organizations and the amazing work they have achieved in our communities. Please... enjoy!"

The lights around the ballroom grew dim. A massive projector screen descended down the wall furthest to my right. The video began to play. I wasn't really paying any attention to the images flashing across the screen. I kept my eyes glued on the hallway, ever mindful of Zac's compromising situation. It wasn't until I heard a collective gasp from the audience that I glanced up.

A cloying operatic version of Ave Maria started to play in the background. The image of a voluptuous, dark-haired woman appeared before us on the screen. She looked eerily familiar. The woman was lying face down on the carpet of what appeared to be an upscale hotel room. A pool of dried vomit was puddled beside her gaping mouth. Blood pounded in my ears. The disturbing picture faded away. It was quickly replaced by a series of gut-wrenching photographs, all of them featuring the same female corpse. Stiff, glassy-eyed. She wore a grotesque expression of horror on her once beautiful face.

The room began to spin. My thoughts became a jumbled mess. This was a motherfucking crime scene. I had never seen these photos before, and I never wanted to see them again. They should have been sealed by the court.

What the hell were they doing in Bea's video?

Just when I thought my chest was going to implode from pain, the following words slid across the frame in a beautifully scripted cursive font—

In loving memory of Ariana Donati, who was taken from us far too soon from drug and alcohol overdose.


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