“Do you want some breakfast?” My mother’s tone was so cheerful it was almost disgusting.
“No, I’m okay.” I shook my head back and forth as I walked around the corner. “Where’s Edgar?”
“He went to meet with a contractor.” She poured a cup of coffee and sat down at the table. “It’s going to take a lot of work to get this place fixed up again after Jenny’s little temper tantrum.”
“Yeah…” I nodded and poured a cup of coffee for myself.
“Where were you anyway?” She tilted her head to the side.
“I was out…” I felt a lump rising up in my throat.
“You have a boyfriend, don’t you?” My mother narrowed her eyes at me.
“What? Why would you think that?” I tried not to react to her question.
“I found a bag of your things in the living room after you went upstairs…” She looked up at me. “I’ve packed my fair share of overnight bags.”
If that’s all she thinks it is, then I better go along with it.
“Fine.” I nodded. “Yes, I’ve been seeing someone.”
“I had a hunch.” She nodded. “At first, I thought you were just coming home late every night because you didn’t want to be here, but now it makes sense.”
“We don’t get to talk much these days…” I sipped my coffee.
Not that we ever did.
“I know, but things should be a lot better after the wedding.” She smiled. “It will be nice to have some peace and quiet around here!”
“Wedding?” I feigned confusion. “Didn’t you already have one of those?”
“I know you were listening last night, Leigh.” My mother narrowed her eyes. “You’re too nosy to mind your own business.”
If the cards are on the table, I might as well play them.
“It didn’t sound like Jenny was very excited about this—wedding.” I tilted my head to the side. “Shouldn’t she get to decide who she marries?”
“After what she did last night?” My mother motioned to the house. “Do you really think she is capable of making her own decisions?”
“There seems to be a pretty big jump from throwing a temper tantrum to being forced to marry someone…” I took a quick sip of my coffee before I said anything that I would regret.
“Edgar knows what is best for his daughter. I trust him.” My mother shrugged. “She’s going to be marrying a wonderful man—handsome, charming, and he’s from a very wealthy family.”
“You’ve met him?” I raised my eyebrows in surprise.
“Yes, that’s part of the reason we went to Cabot Beach. We were supposed to meet the rest of his family today—but we had to rush back to Carson Cove.” She sighed. “I still can’t believe she did this to our home…”
“So, this wealthy, handsome, charming man—is okay with marrying a seventeen-year-old girl that doesn’t want to be his wife?” I shook my head. “Something seems off about that.”
“Marriages in his family are often arranged.” My mother waved off my concern. “It’s already decided, so don’t worry about it—she’s not our problem anymore.”
I never thought my mother would dismiss someone’s entire life so easily…
“Until then, she just stays locked in her room?” I took a sip of my coffee and raised my eyebrows inquisitively.
“Well, she certainly can’t seem to behave when she isn’t!” My mother’s response had a little bit of venom in it. “I tried so hard to fix this place up! Just look at it now!”
“Yeah…” I sighed.
Let’s just make it all about you…
It was clear that my mother wasn’t going to be any help. I retrieved the bag I packed the night before and returned to my room. Edgar came home a short while later, and I decided to use the fact that my mother thought I was seeing someone as an excuse to leave Sinn Manor. I didn’t know where I would go, but I needed to get away for a little bit. I drove around for about an hour before I finally decided to go to the villa Damien rented for us. It was quite lonely without him, but that felt better than being trapped in Sinn Manor.
I returned to Sinn Manor late Saturday night after everyone else was in bed. It appeared that some effort had been made to clean up some of the destruction. All of the glass was gone from the floor, and plastic had been taped over the windows. I checked Jenny’s door when I got upstairs, and it was still locked—if she heard me outside, she didn’t say anything. Even if I had a key, I would have been scared to unlock it. I had no idea what kind of rampage she would go on if the opportunity presented itself. She covered for me after the party, but I wasn’t sure if she would trust me when she was sober. It was too risky either way—being locked up was probably the best option until we could actually make our escape.
There has to be a way to fix this…
The next morning, I woke up and got ready for work. I wasn’t in the mood to stand at the front desk all day, but I didn’t want it to seem like anything was out of the ordinary. I checked the local news on my phone and didn’t see any mention of Damien’s arrest. I drove by the police station just to be closer to him—and then called in sick to work. It wasn’t a lie. My stomach was in so much turmoil, I felt like I might start throwing up at any second. I knew that was probably the last straw for me, and I would get fired, but I didn’t have the mental capacity to care. I spent another day at the villa instead—where I could be alone with my sorrows. They were all I had.
Chapter Twenty
Damien
“Sinn.” The guard walked up to my cell. “Your lawyer is here. Let’s go. Put your hands through the bars.”
“Is that really necessary?” I walked up to the bars and extended my hands. “It’s not like I’m going anywhere.”
“Keep your mouth shut.” The guard glared at me and made sure the handcuffs were tighter than they needed to be.
I had plenty of attorneys that I could have called, but Addison Regan was the one I needed—not because she could get me out of jail, but because she was familiar with everything that was going on with my family. I was more concerned about what would happen to Leigh and Jenny than how long I was going to spend behind bars. I had accepted that fate—and if they got away from Sinn Manor, then I would serve my time with a smile on my face. I just needed confirmation, and Addison was probably the only one who could find out for me.
I was led down a hallway and put in a white room with a metal table in the middle of it. The guard secured my handcuffs to the table, and the table itself was bolted to the floor. They were making damn sure I couldn’t do anything but sit in my chair. It seemed a bit excessive, but I was at their mercy. I sat alone in the room for nearly twenty minutes before the door finally opened, and Addison walked in.
“Thanks for coming.” I looked up at her and sighed.
“I almost didn’t…” She put her briefcase down on the table. “I don’t do very much criminal work these days—I got tired of helping bad guys walk.”
“My freedom won’t be on your conscious.” I shook my head back and forth. “I’m going to plead guilty.”
“Then, why am I here?” She raised her eyebrows. “I’m sure you know a whole army of lawyers that could have entered a plea for you. Do you want me to try and cut a kind of deal with the District Attorney in exchange for saving the taxpayers some money?”
“Maybe, but we can discuss that later.” I leaned forward. “I need you to make sure my sister is okay.”
“We’ve already discussed your sister’s case.” She opened her briefcase and pulled a few papers out. “You know the options are pretty limited unless your mother signs the paperwork—and now? I’m not even sure that would work. Your father is sure to use the fact she checked into Juniper Health against her.”
“I realize that.” I nodded. “I need to know if she’s still staying at Sinn Manor. Do you think you could hire a private investigator for me?”
“I can.” Addison pushed the papers across the table. “But you should probably take
a look at the charges the District Attorney is planning to file before you start worrying about anyone other than yourself right now.”
“Fine.” I picked up the papers and started reading the charges—then my heart sank into my stomach. “Attempted murder!? What!?”
“Your father’s bodyguard had enough drugs in his system to kill him—the doctors were able to save his life; otherwise you would be looking at a murder charge. Read the report.” Addition motioned to the page underneath the one I was staring at.
“This has to be a mistake…” I flipped the page and started reading.
There’s no way that my sister got her hands on drugs this strong—he was out cold, but he wasn’t minutes from death.
“The doctor thinks otherwise.” Addison leaned back.
“Wait a minute.” I glared at the paper. “It says Pennington was taken to the hospital. This is my father’s personal doctor—he’s the one who wrote the report. There’s no way he was on call in the middle of the night!”
“I’ll look into that.” Addison picked up her pen and made a note.
“Just make sure my sister is okay.” I put the paper down.
My father did this. He took advantage of the situation, and now he’s set me up to do real time behind bars…
“Is there anything you need to tell me?” Addison tilted her head. “I’m your lawyer—it’s better if I know the truth.”
“No.” I shook my head back and forth. “Make sure my sister is safe and figure out how to get me out of here.”
Just long enough for me to wrap my hands around my father’s neck.
“So I take it you will be reconsidering the guilty plea?” She raised her eyebrows inquisitively.
“Yeah.” I exhaled sharply. “I don’t have a fucking choice.”
Addison wasn’t sure if the judge would release me because of the seriousness of the charges. I figured I would get charged with drugging Pennington, but that was a long damn way from attempted murder. The charges for trashing Sinn Manor were the least of my worries—that was a drop in the bucket compared to the one that shouldn’t have even been there. My father set me up. There was no doubt in my mind. If he wasn’t going to play by the rules, then neither would I—I just had to get the fuck out of my cell so I could give them a real reason to put me back in it. If I was going down for something like that, I was going to make sure the charges were legit instead of fabricated.
My life is basically over now. I might as well make sure every day I spend behind bars is fucking worth it.
I was consumed with worry when I returned to my cell. I missed Leigh. I would have torn down the walls with my bare hands if I was able to do it—just so I could hold her one more time. The future I thought we would have together, was never going to happen. I practically confessed when I walked out of Sinn Manor and let the cops put the handcuffs on me. I could plead innocent, but the case would be a slam dunk. I was going to prison, no matter what. I never thought I would be capable of killing someone, but Edgar Sinn had managed to bring out a dark hatred in me that almost as intense as the pain I felt after Caroline died.
I’m sorry, Leigh. I promised you the world, and now I’m going to burn it to the fucking ground.
The next couple of days were filled with news I didn’t want to hear. Addison hired a private investigator who was almost certain that Jenny was still at Sinn Manor—but worse than that—so was Leigh. My arraignment got delayed because the District Attorney still needed to interview the victim. It didn’t surprise me that Pennington was dragging his feet, especially if he knew that I was stuck behind bars a little longer because of it. Addison tried to reach out to my mother, but Juniper Health turned her away just like they did me—it seemed that we would need a court order to see her, and we definitely weren’t going to get that.
“You know the drill, Sinn.” The guard walked up to the cell and motioned to me.
“Bracelets and keep my mouth shut.” I walked up to the cell and let him fasten the handcuffs on me—he didn’t snap them tight for a change.
“Now you’re getting it.” He smiled and opened my cell.
The guard led me back down the hallway to the same room I had the pleasure of occupying every time Addison came for a visit. I wasn’t sure why she was back so soon. It was supposed to be a couple of days before the District Attorney filed his motion to arraign me—the right to be arraigned quickly didn’t appear to be a concern in Carson Cove. I was probably lucky to get a damn phone call. If my father had anything to say about it, I would have just rotted in my cell until someone noticed that I had been there for a while. There didn’t seem to be any urgency behind getting rid of me—it was an opportunity that fell into his lap, and he jumped on the chance to put one more knife in my back.
“Hey…” Addison walked into the room, and her pace was a little more hurried than usual.
“More bad news? Lay it on me.” I sighed. “I’m sure it isn’t going to get any worse—unless I’m looking at the death penalty now.”
“It’s not that bad.” She shook her head and sat down. “You may feel differently when you see this, though.”
“What?” I stared as she opened her briefcase.
“I decided to keep the private investigator on the payroll for a few more days.” She pulled out a piece of paper. “Especially when we realized that your sister wasn’t leaving Sinn Manor at all—not even to go to school.”
“Then maybe she’s not there.” A hint of hope swirled in my stomach. “She might have actually escaped…”
“I don’t think so. He set up an alert for any sort of activity—credit card usage, bank withdrawals, hospital admissions—even legal transactions.” She sighed. “This is probably the last thing I expected to see.”
“What is it?” The hope in my stomach immediately came to a halt.
“Damien, your sister is getting married this weekend.” She put the piece of paper down in front of me—it was a marriage license.
“What the fuck?” I snatched the license up and stared at it—my eyes were drawn to the groom. “Who the hell is Giovanni De Luca?”
“Franco De Luca’s son.” She sighed.
“Okay, call me out of the loop, but who the hell is Franco De Luca?” My head began to spin with confusion.
“The head of the De Luca Family. Damien, they’re connected to the Mafia.” Addison leaned back in her chair. “Your sister isn’t even old enough to get married. Your father signed the marriage license as her damn guardian.”
“Holy shit.” I threw the paper down as things began to become a lot clearer in my head. “This is what it was all about…”
“What do you mean?” Addison tilted her head inquisitively.
“Leigh overheard a phone call. My father was making some sort of plan for Jenny—he said he had already gotten rid of my mother.” I shook my head in disbelief, and anger flooded my veins. “He got rid of her so she couldn’t object to her seventeen-year-old daughter getting married!”
“I need to look into this a little more.” Addison put the marriage license back in her briefcase. “This is way above what I normally deal with, but I’ve got business associates who might be able to help.”
“There’s no way Jenny is going to walk down the fucking aisle and say I do.” My blood was filled with so much rage I was seething. “He’ll have to force her—somehow.”
“We don’t have long to figure this out.” She slammed her briefcase shut. “I may need to focus on this instead of your case—for now.”
“That is your top priority.” I nodded. “I need one more thing from you first though.”
“Okay, what is it?” She leaned forward.
“I need to get a message to Leigh.” I exhaled sharply.
“Your stepsister?” She raised her eyebrows in concern.
“I guess I should explain that first.” I nodded quickly. “I knew her before she was my stepsister…”
Leigh, I’ve tried to get you to of Sinn Manor so many fuckin
g times—this time, I need you to listen to reason.
Chapter Twenty-One
Leigh
I felt like I was slowly going insane. I checked the docket every day for Damien’s name, and it never appeared. He might as well have been a ghost. I had to assume Edgar had something to do with it, but I couldn’t really confront him with that accusation. Jenny still hadn’t been allowed to leave her room. Her meals were brought upstairs by Pennington or Martinez. They seemed to be the only ones who ever went into her room. I guess I shouldn’t have been very surprised that Edgar didn’t bother to check in on her—but then again, she probably would have tried to claw his eyes out if she got the chance.
Edgar and my mother were still acting like newlyweds while planning Jenny’s wedding like it was the biggest event to ever happen in Carson Cove. My mother tried to take me dress shopping, and when I turned her down, she had one delivered to Sinn Manor. The mansion was still being repaired from the damage that was caused, so it was clear the wedding wasn’t being held there, but I hadn’t been able to find out where Jenny was supposed to stand when she refused to say her vows.
“Are you actually going to stay for dinner tonight?” My mother walked into the kitchen as I searched the fridge for a snack.
Devious Intentions (Carson Cove Sandals Book 3) Page 21
