Free Web NovelChapter 16: Chapter 16
Riley’s POV
I stand there frozen, staring at her, and my mind refuses to catch up with what my eyes are seeing. Daphne. The same Daphne. Not someone who looks like her, not someone with a similar face, but her. Exactly her.
The woman I spent my entire life erasing from my memory, the name I never said out loud, the past I locked away so tightly that even thinking about it makes my chest hurt.
How is she here?
How is she standing in front of me like this place belongs to her?
My body reacts before my brain does. I turn sharply, ready to leave, ready to get out of this house, out of this place, out of whatever trap I have walked into, but I don’t even make it two steps before someone grabs my arm. The sudden pull throws me off balance, and I stumble forward, hitting my head against a solid chest.
I suck in a breath and look up.
It’s Caden.
Up close, he is even more striking than he was from across the room, and for a brief, stupid second, my brain completely shuts down. He is tall, broad, calm in a way that feels dangerous, and his eyes are fixed on me with a mixture of confusion and concern.
"What are you doing?" he asks.
I don’t even realize how long I’ve been staring until the silence stretches and his brows pull together slightly. Embarrassment crashes over me all at once. I pull myself away from him immediately, stepping back like I’ve been burned.
"I was leaving," I say quickly, my voice sharper than I intend.
I don’t wait for a response. I turn straight to Summer, and the words come out before I can soften them.
"Hey," I say, pointing at her, "next time, don’t trick people. Do you hear me?"
Her reaction is instant. The confident, playful look on her face disappears, replaced by something small and clearly hurt. Her shoulders drop, her mouth trembles just slightly, and she looks down at the floor like I’ve scolded her for something she didn’t understand was wrong.
Something uncomfortable twists in my chest, something unexpected but I push it aside because this is not the time to feel guilty.
Before I can say anything else, a familiar voice cuts through the room.
"Well, Riley," she says smoothly, "long time no see."
My spine stiffens. Slowly, very slowly, I turn back around.
Daphne is standing there with a calm smile on her face, arms loosely crossed, eyes fixed on me like she’s been waiting for this moment. She looks confident, completely at ease, and it makes my stomach churn.
I take a deep breath before answering her. "I guess long time no see," I say. "That should be a good thing Daphne."
Her smile only grows wider. "Still got sharp talks. Some things never change, do they?."
I don’t reply. I refuse to give her anything else. Instead, I turn my attention to the three men standing nearby. They’re watching me closely now, their expressions unreadable, like they’re trying to figure me out.
"I don’t care what relationship you all have with her," I say, my voice steady even though my heart is pounding, "but if the contract we signed is going to involve her in any way, I’d rather terminate it immediately."
The room goes quiet.
Gunnar lifts his brow slowly, studying me, and then speaks in a calm, almost casual tone.
"That’s our sister."
The words hit me so hard I feel dizzy.
"Sister?" I gasp. "What?" freewebnoveℓ.com
"Our sister," he repeats without hesitation.
My chest tightens, panic flooding my system. "No. That’s not possible. That doesn’t make any sense."
Daphne does not have any siblings..
I shake my head, backing away. "No. This isn’t happening. This can’t be happening."
I don’t wait for anyone to stop me. I turn and run.
I burst out of the house, my hands shaking as I dig my keys out of my bag. I get into my car, slam the door shut, and start the engine so fast I nearly stall it. Gravel sprays as I pull away, my heart racing, my thoughts spiraling.
What did I just walk into?
How did I end up here with her, with them, with a past I buried for a reason? Was my past trying to resurrect or what? What kind of useless karma is this?
I drive fast, too fast, barely aware of the road in front of me. My chest feels tight, my breathing shallow, my hands clenched so hard around the steering wheel they ache.
But just then, I see a car behind me following quickly.
"What the hell?" I mutter, glancing at the rearview mirror.
Before I can react, the car slams into mine from behind. The impact jolts me forward violently. I scream and hit the brakes out of pure fear and the car jerks to a stop, my eyes squeezing shut as my heart slams against my ribs.
For a moment, everything is silent.
Then my door is pulled open.
I look up and my entire body tense.
It’s Daphne.
She slides into the passenger seat like this is her car, closing the door behind her and buckling herself in calmly.
"Hello, little star," she says lightly. "I figured we needed some privacy."
"Get out of my car right now," I say, my voice shaking despite my effort to sound firm.
She smirks and leans closer. "That’s not happening honey"
She moves closer to my ear and lowers her voice. "I’m back, Riley. And part of the reason is because of you."
My stomach drops. "What do you even want from me?"
She leans back, studying my face. "What do I want from you? Good question." she said, smiling dangerously "I want a lot, a lot that I can’t begin to mention, so you can stop pretending I don’t exist anymore because I’m back to crescent hollow to finish off where we started and that begins now"
