last chapter ending, deviltree** not three
SEVEN YEARS BEFORE JUNIOR YEAR GRADUATION CAESON I was nervous. To say the absolute least. And I meant that—it wasn’t just common English. Nervous was the least of the emotions I was feeling at the moment. Pooled in with so many other grotesque emotions. Like… my fear. My feet were spread apa
I hated him. “We’ll cut to the chase,” he said, glancing at his watch like he had other, more important places to be. “I know what you’ve been doing, Caeson.” Panic seized my chest. He could be talking about a number of things. My reaction could set things off in a way they weren’t already heade
72 HOURS BEFORE JUNIOR YEAR GRADUATION CAESON The hallway was empty as we strolled toward our father’s study. Neither of us spoke. I eyed the bowl of sweets idly placed on one of the bannisters as I walked forward. My hand sank into the bowl as I passed it, snagging up a peppermint. The wrap
72 HOURS BEFORE JUNIOR YEAR GRADUATION CAESON Our father clasped his hands in front of him and gestured to the laptop, asking sarcastically, “How do you think I got it?” “What could you possibly want to do with this?” Reigh seethed the question. “Taide and I are in the video too.” He made it s
48 HOURS BEFORE JUNIOR YEAR GRADUATION CAESON “You’re sure we didn’t leave him back there?” Reigh turned away from me and gazed out the windshield of my car. He’d been a man of few words ever since yesterday. We were on our way back to the mansion. Just me and him. I had no damn clue where Tai
It felt like I was about to do the same. She opened the door. All the worry she’d been feeling in the last 24 hours slammed into me, and I clenched my jaw. It hadn’t waned, and she was waiting for me to be the reassurance she needed. “Where are the others?” Her voice came out small. Unsure. She
24 HOURS BEFORE JUNIOR YEAR GRADUATION CAESON I never thought I’d be sitting in this kitchen at 3 a.m., with my brothers, knowing what had to be done. The air was thick with tension, so heavy I could taste it, like stale smoke hanging in the back of my throat. All three of us were here, thou
96 HOURS BEFORE JUNIOR YEAR GRADUATION REIGH I stepped out of the bathroom, towel wrapped around my waist, feeling the cool air hit my damp skin as water dripped from my hair onto my chest. I froze in the doorway, my eyes immediately finding Charlotte lying in my bed. She was sleeping soundl
CHARLOTTEI had no intention of sharing visiting hours with the boys.There was no reason to put myself through that kind of torment.The moment I found out Madeline was awake, I demanded that Caeson drop me off at the care home where I had left Da’ana. I wasn’t ready to deal with my father’s case,
TAIDEThe steady beeping of Madeline’s heart monitor was the only sound in the hospital room.The rhythmic pulse filled the silence, a reminder that she was still here, still breathing, still alive.But it didn’t feel like enough. Not when she lay there motionless, her skin pale against the crisp wh
The foundation still looked solid though.I stepped onto the creaky porch, staring at the front door.This was where Charlotte grew up.I felt something tighten in my throat. She probably had good memories here, but I knew the ones she remembered most were the bad ones.I couldn’t imagine what it wa
CAESONI killed the engine of the car and leaned back in my seat, exhaling slowly.It didn’t do anything to relieve the pressure in my chest. The air in the car was thick with silence, the kind that had weight, like it could smother you if you let it.Charlotte hadn’t moved yet. She sat in the back
Like we didn’t matter.My nails dug into my palms as memories slammed into me. I could still see it—the nights he reeked of alcohol, his head lolling to the side, completely oblivious to the fact that he had two daughters who needed him to pick himself up and be… more than the person he was choosing
CHARLOTTEThe car ride was too quiet.Too damn suffocating.The weight of everything that had happened in the span of a few hours pressed down on me—Madeline, the triplets, my father. My hands trembled against my lap, and I clenched them into fists for the umpteenth time, trying to force myself to f
It was only after the shock of silence that followed that I realized I’d spoken those words out loud. Dot gasped, reaching for me instantly, pulling me into an embrace. I didn’t expect it to be as comforting as it was. And so I didn’t fight her. She guided me to the steps outside the hospital, sitt
CHARLOTTE It felt like a slap to the face. The doctor’s words hit me so hard that I lost my footing. My knees wobbled, and before I could steady myself, the plastic cup in my hand slipped through my fingers and crashed onto the tiled floor. Water splashed across my shoes, soaking into the hem of m
CHARLOTTE The reality of the situation hit me with frightening clarity. Madeline was dying. I moved before I could think, panic exploding through my chest as I ran forward and fell to my knees beside her. My hands hovered uselessly, trembling as I tried to find something, anything, to hold o