Chapter 145
KESTER
I didn’t waste a single second. The moment Jorja spun on her heel, I was right behind her.
She was fuming, and that said a lot.
Jorja valued image above breath itself. Her obsession with appearances had governed every move she’d ever made. She hated anything that would ruin her image or that of her family.
So, if she looked like she wanted to throw someone through a window, I knew the situation was beautiful.
No wonder Kasmine was really scared about our secret. With a mother like this? Shame was a goddamn religion. “Good morning, Alpha,” The five men greeted in unison.
I peeped outside and caught sight of two matte–black vans and a Hilux parked on the driveway.
A few more men flanked the vehicles, securing the perimeter. And, of course, a curious audience who wouldn’t miss the spectacle for anything in the world had begun to form.
The icing on the cake? The news reporters were here to cover the spectacle. I’m certain her mate, Alpha Wes, would have a wonderful time watching his beloved mate and accomplice being escorted to the rehab center in grand style.
Oh, the triumph!
a
“Good day, gentlemen,” I replied after accessing them, “Lance?” I turned to the leader of the group, one of my loyal acquaintances. The kind of man who did things by the book but knew when to let me rewrite the book entirely.
He inclined his head slightly, just enough to acknowledge what others wouldn’t see–the understanding between
I didn’t need to ask why they were here.
Karina’s world was about to implode, and I was the one holding the detonator.
“Where is Karina?” I turned and asked my father, who looked like half his empire was about to crumble.
Aha. I recognize that look. He had it on some eleven years ago when men in these same uniforms stormed into our home like a damn hurricane and dragged me out in front of everyone.
The only difference? Mine was a little vague and less damming. Simple sin of not being able to fully control my
emotions.
But hers? Hers was rot.
A drug addict who couldn’t even maintain her vices quietly parading her disgrace like a badge and dragging our family name through the dirt.
“She’ll be with us soon,” my father said, but before the words settled in, Karina strolled into the room casually, as if she had just woken up from a nap she didn’t deserve.
“What’s going on?” She asked randomly. Her voice was light, almost stupidly innocent.
The kind of tone you’d use when asking why the milk’s out of date, not why five men with stern faces and government clearance were standing in your family’s living room.
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Chapter 145
Perfect.
“These men are here for you, Karina. Maybe you should tell us why they are here,” Jorja spat, barely containing her disgust.
She blinked once. Twice. Her lashes fluttered like her brain was buffering the moment.
“What’s going on?” Karina asked again, this time with a nervous laugh tacked to the end as she turned her attention to the men.
Lance st
stepped forward, reached into his coat pocket, and pulled out a worn leather badge holder, flipping, it open. “Karina,” he said, “By official authorization, we’re here to carry out a mandatory substance abuse test–on account of multiple reports and substantial evidence of narcotic use. We’re going to need your cooperation.”
Dead silence.
Karina’s lips curled into a scoff.
A scoff.
The fucking audacity.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” she said, arms folding across her chest like she was some pissed–off teenager being grounded for texting past bedtime. “Is this a joke?”
Lance didn’t answer. Instead, he pulled out a slim black tablet and tapped the screen a few times. Then he turned it around, holding it up for everyone to see.
Boom!
There it was.
Photo One.
Karina. On a grimy club bathroom floor. Half–naked, Passed out. Her dress hiked up to her waist, thighs smeared with god–knows–what. Her purse spilled open beside her, and right there in the mess–crystal clear–was a small plastic baggie of white powder.
Jorja gasped like she’d been punched in the chest.
I saw
my father clench his jaw so tight his molars might’ve cracked.
But Karina?
She stared like her brain refused to register that the girl on the floor was her.
Photo Two.
A blurry, front–camera selfie. Her eyes were wide, pupils blown. A smudge of lipstick running down her chin. She looked manic and high.
She looked like a stranger.
She elearly didn’t remember taking it. Of course, she didn’t take it.
Then came the video,
“Get the fuck away from me! I said leave me alone!”
Her own voice echoed from the video. It was loud and slurred as she swung at the air like she was boxing a ghost.
Chapter 145
She was sweating, shaking, and completely alone.
“That’s not me,” she whispered in a small voice small. “I don’t… I don’t remember any of this.”
But Lance wasn’t done just yet.
He tapped one more time and pulled up the texts.
“D, please. Just a little to get me through the night. I’m losing it.”
“I swear I’ll pay you next week. You have my word.”
“I’m scared. I can’t feel my legs. Are you sure it’s the same stuff?”
The contact name: D.
No last name. Just a letter.
1 looked at her. And for the first time in years, Karina looked small.
Not weak. No. She looked really small.
Like a balloon someone had let the air out of.
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+25 BONUS
Chapter 14
