Dark Favors

by Sophie Stern

  Only, I knew that wasn’t true. This was the school my mom had chosen for me, really, and I would do anything to finish my degree. I needed to make her proud. It didn’t matter that she wasn’t around to see it, and it didn’t matter that I was being hurt. In the end, the only thing that really mattered was keeping my promise to my mom.

  Locke was...

  Well, he needed to be an afterthought.

  “What are you going to do with it?” Fawn asked, nodding toward the flash drive. After I’d left the post office and got all of my screaming out, I’d realized that leaving it in the pencil holder was a stupid decision. I’d walked back inside, grabbed it, and come straight home. I hadn’t told Locke. Let him look for it. Let him waste his time. I didn’t care.

  I couldn’t let myself care because the truth was, I cared far too much about him. He was no good for me. Fawn had been right all along. He was the type of guy who took what he wanted, and apparently, what he wanted was...

  Well, everything.

  “I don’t know,” I told her. “I could go to the news, but I doubt anyone would care.” There had to be a way to share what had happened to my mother, to Rebecca, but I didn’t know what that way was.

  “You mean nobody would risk their careers over the story,” Fawn pointed out. “It’s definitely a story people would care about.”

  “Yeah,” I said. “That’s exactly what I mean.”

  The truth was nasty and dirty, and the reality was that Josiah might be a dick, but he had power. He had weight, and I didn’t want to ask someone to risk everything just to expose the fact that he was a garbage human being. Whoever ran the story, if anyone ever did, would probably be discredited, shunned, and possibly even attacked. They might have to risk their lives to share it because Josiah was the kind of person who wanted to destroy anyone and everyone in his way.

  “Well,” Fawn said. “You don’t have to decide anything now. Besides, you should probably focus on your finals.” She was right. I had a lot of papers coming up, and some exams, and my homework had piled up.

  “Yeah,” I agreed. “Probably.”

  “If you need anything...” Fawn’s voice trailed off, and she looked at me sadly. She pitied me, I realized, and that was kind of a horrible feeling, but I knew that I deserved that, too. I had gotten myself into a mess, and to be fair, she’d warned me many times about Locke. She had never viewed him as anything but a landlord, and that’s where Fawn was better than me. She hadn’t let herself get sucked into his games the way that I had.

  “Thanks,” I said, managing a curt nod. I didn’t really have anything else to say to her, and it was obvious that Fawn had done more than a roommate’s fair share of helping. She didn’t need to help me anymore. Anything that came next... Well, I’d just have to figure it out, wouldn’t I?

  She left the room, and I threw myself back on the bed. I didn’t cry anymore. I’d wasted enough tears crying over Nathan Locke. It was time for me to do something else, anything else and so I started formulating a plan. That was what I needed. I needed to decide exactly how I’d move forward after this, and then I needed to do it. No matter how scary or wild or crazy my plan was, I had to come up with something. There had to be a way to move forward after all of this. There just had to be. I couldn’t let this be the end.

  What would my mom have done? That was what I really wondered. What would she have wanted out of this situation? And how would she have figured out a way to get what she wanted?

  No matter what, I was going to have to confront Josiah Reagan at some point. That much was for sure. His daughter was going to find out that I was her sister. There was going to be hell to pay. There was going to be pain and anger and frustration, and people would be talking about it for a very long time.

  The only thing I knew for certain was that Nathan Locke had broken my heart, and I didn’t know if I was ever going to get over it.

  Chapter 20

  Locke

  The night of the gala arrived, and everything was perfect except for one thing: Paige wasn’t there. I keep looking, waiting for her. I don’t know why I imagined that she would show up. It wasn’t a movie, after all, and I was no prince.

  “You need to relax,” Amber told me. “You need to stop looking for her.” Amber was wearing a floor-length light blue ball gown that accentuated her curves and showed off her soft features. She looked lovely, and if my sister had been around, I knew that she would have chosen a dress identical to Amber’s. The two of them loved dressing alike and putting on a good show.

  “He sent her a dress, you know,” Caleb pointed out. My secretary slash assistant was dressed to kill. His date had wandered off to get a drink, so he was standing with Amber and me, keeping us company, and perhaps trying to make sure that I didn’t do anything too silly, crazy, or horrible.

  “A little pathetic,” Amber said. She looked at me, not-so-silently judging me. “You need to stop worrying about her.”

  “He did break her heart,” Caleb said. “He deserves to suffer a little bit.”

  “Suffering isn’t good for anyone, no matter how much of an asshole they are,” Amber said.

  “All right, all right,” I said, shaking my head. I took a step back, looking at my two assistants. “I know,” I said. “I fucked up.”

  “That’s putting it lightly,” Amber rolled her eyes, and I closed mine. I had to keep telling myself that I could do this. Tonight was for my sister. It wasn’t for anyone else. It was a gala designed to show off art by local artists, and to sell paintings to raise money for local charities. Rebecca had loved helping people, and I wanted to do the same thing today.

  “Maybe she’ll come,” Caleb said. “You never know.”

  I appreciated that he was taking pity on me, but I knew they were both right. There was no point in me even hoping she’d make an appearance because honestly, I didn’t deserve that much. I’d taken everything from Paige. I’d destroyed her. Seeing Fawn was evidence of that. She’d made it clear that I had hurt Paige more deeply than I could possibly imagine, and I hated myself for that.

  “Lovely evening,” Annabelle Reagan walked by. She raised a champagne glass and smiled at me. She didn’t stop, though. She just kept moving, undoubtedly working the room for real estate leads. That was what Annabelle did. She was a shark in every way: very different from her little sister.

  I looked around at all of the people admiring the art displayed at the show. I appreciated that so many local business people had come out to take part and to enjoy the night. People were mingling, talking, drinking, and buying, and that was what was important.

  Suddenly, Caleb let out a long, low breath.

  “Well, fuck me silly,” he muttered.

  I turned to see what he was looking at, and I was shocked to see that it was her.

  It was Paige.

  She had come.

  And she’d worn the dress.

  She looked like a goddess in the burgundy material. Her dark hair was piled on top of her head and a few strands hung loose in little curls. Her makeup was perfect, and she was wearing a pair of shoes I’d carefully selected to compliment the dress.

  It was beautiful in every way.

  She was beautiful in every way.

  She didn’t look in my direction, though. She didn’t even make eye contact, as much as I silently begged her to. Instead, she headed for the front of the room, past the band, and past the auctioneer, and she walked straight up onto the stage and took the microphone out of its stand.

  “Excuse me,” she said.

  Instantly, the band stopped. This wasn’t part of the script. Everyone knew this wasn’t part of the show, so what was happening? The auction was scheduled to start in ten minutes, but right now, people were buying other pieces that weren’t up for auction. They were talking with one another. A few people had been dancing.

  All of that came to a grinding halt.

  Now all eyes were on her.

  “My name is Paige Key,” she said. “And I�
��d like to thank Mr. Nathan Locke for putting on such a wonderful show tonight. Can we hear a round of applause for Mr. Locke?”

  She started clapping, and although nobody else seemed to know who she was, she managed to get everyone excited, and they started clapping, too. Even Caleb and Amber clapped along. Caleb looked at me, raising one eyebrow, as if to say, “Who knew?”

  I certainly didn’t. Paige was brave. I’d give her that much. Most people didn’t have the guts to get up and speak in front of a huge group of people, especially a group of strangers.

  “Mr. Locke organized tonight in memory of his sister, Rebecca. Now, I never had the chance to meet Miss Locke, but if she was anything like her brother, than I think it’s safe to say she was probably a really incredible person.”

  Another round of applause. I felt myself tearing up a little bit at the thought of Rebecca. It really was a pity she’d never gotten the chance to meet Paige. She would have loved her. My sadness was mixed with total confusion, though.

  What was she doing?

  “Now, some of you might wonder why I’m here tonight. You might be wondering why a 27-year-old college student is here to give a speech, and the reason may actually surprise you.”

  Everyone was listening.

  She had the attention of every single person in the room, including me.

  Including Annabelle.

  Including Josiah.

  “At the time of her death, Rebecca Locke was conducting research. She realized that almost 30 years ago – 28, to be exact – a young woman went missing from the Weston Estate here in Ruby City. That woman, who had previously worked for Mr. Josiah Reagan, was never seen again.”

  A murmur spread through the crowd. A couple of people looked in Reagan’s direction, obviously wondering what the punch line was.

  What was she doing?

  I paled as I realized what she was doing. She was giving my speech. The one from the flash drive. She’d kept it. That was why I hadn’t been able to find the flash drive at the post office when I’d looked. She’d never left it there to begin with. I risked a glance at Josiah, who was standing by Annabelle. He looked pissed and ready to bolt. I wasn’t sure which he was going to do.

  The event was being broadcast online, though, so there was nowhere for him to go. Anything that Paige said, everyone in Ruby City would hear. There was no delay. There was no way to stop this. Anything she said, everyone was going to hear. People were going to listen. She’d chosen a good time to speak up.

  “Nobody knew what happened to her, but Rebecca figured it out. She paid for her knowledge with her life. Now, I might not be able to prove who killed her, and I might not be able to point fingers at who did it, but the only person who really had anything to lose by Rebecca discovering the truth about that young woman’s disappearance is Josiah Reagan.”

  Another murmur.

  “Get her off the stage!” Someone called out.

  “You’re right,” Paige said. “I probably should be nicer when talking about my dad.”

  Silence.

  The entire room went silence.

  Someone dropped a glass, shattering it, but nobody looked away from Paige. She was much too confident, much too sure of herself. Annabelle Reagan looked at her father, but his eyes were locked on Paige. He was clenching his fists, unable to do anything to stop the train wreck unfolding before his eyes.

  “You see, I never knew my dad, but Josiah Reagan knew all about me. He sent my mother a check every month because of it, actually. Don’t get too excited, though. These weren’t child support payments to help me have a good childhood. This was hush money. He paid her to stay silent and not to tell the world that he had a kid he didn’t want.”

  “This is preposterous!” Josiah called out, suddenly. Then all eyes were on him. “I don’t know who you are or what you’re talking about!”

  “My mother’s birth name was Theresa Smith,” Paige said.

  Josiah went completely pale.

  “And I’m sorry to say that she died six months ago, so you can stop sending those checks now, Mr. Reagan. Or, should I call you Dad? Whichever you prefer,” Paige said. “I’ve spoken with a reporter who will be publishing an article tomorrow morning that details Rebecca Locke’s search for justice for my mother, and that includes all of the juicy details about how Mr. Reagan threatened my mom’s life simply for choosing to have me. You can read all about it in Ruby City Today.”

  Then she dropped the microphone, and she walked off stage. Instantly, the reporters who had attended the event simultaneously surrounded both Paige and Josiah. Security stepped I, trying to hold the reporters back from their chaotic questions. Annabelle fought her way through the crowd and came over to me, looking breathless.

  Looking shocked.

  “Did you know about this?” She asked. She wasn’t angry, though. She looked sad. Devastated.

  “It’s true,” I told her. My stomach churned as I realized that even though Annabelle and I had basically been enemies, nobody deserved to find out about their father like this. Nobody deserved to find out they had a little sister like this.

  “All of this time?”

  “You have a sister,” I confirmed.

  Paige managed to escape the reporters and come to me, and she stood there in front of me. Annabelle, Caleb, and Amber all looked at her, and I did, too. She’d never been more beautiful. She’d never been lovelier. She was pale, and she looked tired, but she also looked so fucking brave that I couldn’t stand it. She’d done what nobody else had managed to do, including me. She’d finally done it.

  “That was a very interesting turn of events,” I told her carefully.

  “Thank you.” Her voice was a whisper. She sounded hoarse. Somebody needed to get her some water. As if on cue, a server walked by and I grabbed a glass of champagne from their tray. I held it out to Paige, and she sipped on it. Then she nodded, as if thanking me.

  “You put on quite a good show,” Caleb said.

  “I did my best.”

  “I loved your idea for the article,” Amber said, hugging her, obviously comfortable with her. “And I’m so happy we’re going to finally release Rebecca’s project for the world to see.”

  “Amber?” I asked. “You’re the reporter publishing the article?” I had no idea she was still thinking of going into media.

  “It’s my first piece,” she confirmed. “And I think it’s going to be a good one.”

  “I contacted Amber earlier in the week,” Paige explained. “I thought it would be good to have the media on my side. I don’t know if Josiah will go to jail or not, but hopefully, we’ll be able to get some justice for your sister.”

  Then she looked at Annabelle, who was just gawking at her.

  When they were close, it was easy to see the resemblance between them: the dark hair, the bright eyes, the button noses. Annabelle didn’t seem angry to find out she had a sister, which surprised me. Instead, she reached for Paige, and pulled her close into a tight embrace.

  “I always knew my dad was keeping something from me,” she whispered. “I just never knew it was something like this.”

  “I’m sorry,” Paige said. “I don’t expect you to want to see me ever again.”

  “Are you crazy?” Annabelle shook her head. “I’ve always wanted a sister.”

  Her reaction shocked me. Hell, it shocked all of us, but I don’t think anyone was more shocked than Paige. She just stared at Annabelle for a long time. Neither one of them spoke. Annabelle reached into her bag and pulled out a business card.

  “Here,” she said. “Call me anytime. We’ll talk. Catch up. I’ll answer any questions you have about our dad.” Then Annabelle, being graceful and like a gazelle, turned and walked away. We just stood there staring after her, as though none of us could quite believe what had happened. Then the noise hit me all at once.

  The room was still in chaos. People were yelling, talking, and shouting. The police were there, suddenly. Had they been there before? I wasn�
�t sure, and I was certain I’d have to answer questions, but first, I needed a moment. I grabbed Paige by the hand and pulled her through a side door, escaping into an empty hallway.

  “You came,” I said.

  “I came.” She looked up at me with tears in her eyes, as though she was just as shocked as I was that she’d managed to do it. She’d come. She’d come to the gala, and she’d stood up for my sister, and she’d stood up for her mother.

  More importantly, she’d stood up for herself.

  She’d put herself first.

  She’d done a damn good job of it, too.

  “You were so brave,” I pointed out.

  “I had to be. Your sister deserved it.”

  “I still can’t believe you’re here.”

  “Well, you did send a dress,” she smirked even as her eyes were brimming with tears. “I couldn’t let it go to waste.”

  I didn’t know what I’d done to have the universe decide to give me a second chance. I just knew that I didn’t deserve it. I didn’t deserve any of it. Paige was incredible. Wonderful. Perfect. She was everything that I wasn’t, and somehow, despite everything that had happened, she’d managed to find a way to continue to love. I was being given a second chance. I wasn’t about ot screw that up.

  “Paige, I need you in my life,” I told her. I couldn’t wait any longer. I didn’t know what was going to happen next, but I had a feeling that there would be detectives called in and that lawyers would be getting involved. Things were about to be pretty crazy for a long time, so I’d take this moment while I still could. We had silence for a few minutes before someone came to find us. We needed to seize the moment while we could.

  “I need you, too,” she whispered, looking at me. “I’ve always needed you. It’s always been you.”

  And then she kissed me.