Once my dad left the townhouse, Zac and I shut off our phones right away. I was super paranoid that my dad, as an honest-to-goodness FBI agent, might use GPS to track our asses back to the townhouse once he discovered that I wasn't at school.

Then, hand in hand, Zac and I entered the study with tentative steps.

The room looked nothing like my dad's study back at home. The decor was decidedly much more feminine, clearly designed to suit Madeline's tastes and preferences. At first glance, there was nothing strange or noticeably out of place about the room. It possessed all the necessities one might expect to find in a trendy home office. Bookshelves. Desk. Chair. Lamps. Succulents. Computer. Keyboard. Everything was cozy and elegant with plenty of modern farmhouse charm.

My eyes, however, couldn't help honing in on a large black metal filing cabinet by the corner. Earlier, I remembered hearing my dad opening and closing a number of drawers from this very room. His movements had been loud, relentless, and purposeful. It sounded as though he could've been rummaging through this little black beauty right in front of us.

I was dying to know—why had my dad stopped by the townhouse in the first place?

Was it to check on something, take something with him, or drop something off?

There was only fucking one way to find out.

"Let's start with the filing cabinet," I murmured to Zac. "I think the drawers might be locked. Help me find the key."

Zac walked over and gave every drawer on the cabinet a hard tug. None of them budged an inch. "Fuck. You're right."

We got to work and began scavenging the entire room like coked-up addicts looking for their next hit. Yet, Zac and I couldn't seem to locate a key anywhere. My dad must've taken it with him. Right as I was about to give up, Zac picked up a paperclip from a small tray on Madeline's desk.

My mouth formed an awestruck O once I realized what he was about to do. "You know how to pick locks?"

He shrugged and nodded. "Tariq taught me how to do it not long after we became friends."

Within minutes, Zac managed to pop open every single one of the filing cabinet drawers. I immediately started rifling through everything inside while my man booted up the computer to do what he did best.

As I made my way through the top two drawers, I grew more and more disheartened. Time was of the essence, and we had yet to uncover anything of value that could be used against my dad. The contents inside the cabinet were filled with mostly pointless shit like receipts from Madeline's shopping sprees on Newbury Street and invoices from repairs and renovations that had been done on the townhouse.

It wasn't until I got to the bottom drawer that I noticed a sleek silver lockbox, about the size of my palm, tucked discreetly underneath the hanging rows of file folders. I snatched it up real quick. The small metal container came with a digital lock, complete with a ten-digit keypad, and weighed much heavier than I ever anticipated. It felt like I was holding a bowling ball in my hands. Zac definitely wouldn't be able to use a paperclip to break into this one.

"Hey, baby?" I muttered. "I think I might've found something."

Zac's fingers froze over the keyboard as he glanced away from the computer screen to look my way. "What you got there, babygirl?"

"I don't know," I admitted, "but shit with this much security is probably hiding something important inside."

"I agree."

"There's some sort of keypad on it, though. I'm not sure how we could crack open this damn thing without the code."

"Let me take a look at it."

I handed the lockbox over to Zac. He studied it for a few seconds. "You know, I might be able to program a script to help us reset the passcode on this sucker. There's a port over here that can be used to override the system. I'll need to buy some special equipment and cables, though. It'll take a few days, but it's not impossible."

A smile snuck its way onto my face.

Damn, I loved that my man was such a fucking genius

. If we weren't dealing with such an epic train wreck at the moment, even with the soreness between my legs, I would've readily jumped his bones again right then and there.

"Let me take this home with me. I'll get to work on it tonight. Along with our plans for Lily."

My forehead crinkled slightly.

Our plans for Lily?

Then, my eyes widened.

Oh, shit!

In the heat of the moment, I'd completely forgotten about Lily. There was no question about it. The urge to exact my revenge on her sorry ass paled significantly in comparison to my all-encompassing need to ensure that Zac and I would be able to stay together, that our future as a couple would remain intact and untouchable by assholes like my dad. I wondered if that redheaded she-devil was even worth the trouble at this point with everything else that was piled on top of our overcrowded plate.

In a low voice, he questioned, "You still wanna get back at her, right?"

Before I could formulate a proper response, Mamma's words blazed across my mind. The very ones that I'd shared with Zac on the night Lily reached inside my psyche to crush my soul.

The one you nurture will always win.

My stomach flip-flopped with indecision. I felt as though the devil and angel inside me were at war with one another. Their wrenching struggle left me with the same ugly emotion I experienced after my strained conversation with Bea. Her poignant observations about my character suddenly surfaced as well.

You've always been aggressive to a fault, but, whenever push came to shove, you still followed your own code of honor.

My sister's words unnerved me in more ways than one. A thin line now separated me from people like Lily.

If I dared to cross it, could I somehow crawl my way back to the light after Lily received her due?

Or would I be stuck in purgatory forever?

Gloomily, I reflected on whether or not Lily ever experienced a moment like the one I was wrestling with now.

My frantic mind ricocheted back to Bea. I thought of how hard my sister tried to dissuade me from going after Lily. Of how, despite her reservations, she stuck her neck out for me to turn in that $90,000 FTF. I tried to find my resolve. Surely, it was too late to turn back. Surely, we needed to see this plan through.

I answered Zac with some trepidation, "I don't know anymore. I think so? Lily deserves to be punished, right?"

He eyed me cautiously. "We don't have to go through with it, you know, if you changed your mind."

Had I changed my mind?

There was, indeed, a dark, petty part of me that didn't want to let go of my grudge. Not yet. Maybe not ever. One truth remained unchanged. I hated that she-devil's guts with a burning vengeance.

With a troubled sigh, I mumbled, "Let's figure this shit out with my dad first. We can get to Lily's crap later. It'll take some time for all the donations to transfer to the Fellowship's account, anyway. Bea probably has a grace period of a day or two before Ms. Wilkes comes after her about the missing $1,000."

Zac nodded in understanding. "Sounds good."

The sun was beginning to set. The school day was definitely over. Zac and I left the townhouse with the mysterious lockbox in tow. He dropped me off back on campus so I could collect my car. Zac hadn't wanted to let me face my dad alone and insisted on coming with me, but I assured him that the sperm donor would be on a flight to DC by now. I'd be safe for a few more days.

With much reluctance, we said our goodbyes, kissed lingeringly, and Zac went back to his place to start working on cracking the lockbox.

My drive home was a pensive and brooding one. As I walked through my front door, I finally turned my phone back on. My eyes were glued on the screen.

Shit.

Sixteen missed calls and messages popped up on my screen.

"Welcome home, Cate."

I stopped dead in my tracks and looked up. In our foyer, my dad was waiting for me with a murderous expression on his face. I gulped in distress.

Looked like the fuckernever boarded that flight to DC, after all.