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“I’m sorry that you’re going through this tough time,” Alexander said. “But at least now you won’t have to deal with Chloe’s craziness anymore.”
“Only on visiting days,” Olivia added, doing her best to bring humor into a serious situation.
This made a strangledugh escape from Felix’s mouth. He thanked the two for trying to make him feel better.
Then, Olivia and Alexander walked down the sidewalk, their arms brushing every few steps. Neither of them knew that they were both doing this on purpose just to feel the warmth of the other’s skin.
*Olivia*
As Alexander and I walked toward Sarah and Adam, my stomach swooped when I saw that Sarah was crying.
Adam had his arm around his sister’s shoulders as she sobbed into her hands. “I want justice for my boy!” she yelled as her tears sshed onto the sidewalk, creating a small puddly around her feet. “Why is Chloe still in the interrogation room? Why isn’t she behind bars yet?”
“Sarah…” Adam said, his voice pained. “We are so much closer to getting justice for Russell than we were yesterday. The police are still fathering all the evidence that they need. You will get justice for your son. I promise you.” Adam looked up, and when he spotted Alexander and me, his shoulder/slumped in relief. “Look, here are the people of the hour now. Don’t you want to thank Alexander and Olivia. They are the only reason why Chloe and her mother were arrested.”
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<b>Chapter </b>241
Sarah looked up, and when she saw us, she let out a loud <b>cry </b><b>and </b>threw arms around us. She thanked Alexander and me epeatedly and kept saying how grateful she was for us.
Adam smiled gratefully at us and put his hand on his sister’s shoulder. “Come on, now. Today isn’t a day for tears. If Russell was here, he would want us to celebrate. Why don’t we all go out to dinner? It’s been a long day, and we could all use something to cat.”
But it was like Sarah hadn’t heard a word her brother said. She rested her head on Alexander’s shoulder and began to cry even harder. I could barely understand her, but I thought she was saying something about hoping we didn’t think she was ungrateful.”
I blushed under all her praise and patted her gently on the back. “Don’t worry, Sarah. We know how grateful you are. And it wasn’t only us who made it possible for Chloe and her mother to be arrested. We couldn’t have done it without your valuable information.” I paused and took a breath. “Chloe and her mother will be punished for their crimes. They will no longer get away with their sins because of their family name.” Just when Alexander and I pulled away from the older woman’s embrace, we heard a woman’s voice from the side of us. “I wouldn’t be so sure about that.”
The four of us turned to see a woman in a white sedan. Her window was rolled down, and her ck designer sunsses were lowered to the bridge of her nose. The woman’s dark hair was long, sleek, and shiny. Her light makeup was perfectly applied, and her white blouse was crisp and bright.
I stepped forward to confront the woman, wanting to know why she‘ had said something like that, but Alexander grabbed my arm to stop <ol><li>me. </li></ol>
“I recognize her,” he muttered. “She’s connected to the Windsor’s in
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some way.”
“Do you think she’s here to defend Chloe?” I asked as my pulse. quickened. “Is this the grand defense that she’s been waiting for?”
“Don’t worry, the evidence is stacked against her,” Alexander assured me in a quiet voice. “No one can save her now.”
The four of us walked away from the impably dressed woman. We met Aiden, Ava, Gai, and Richard by the white van. Ava arranged for Alexander and me to sit alone in the very back again, but I found that I didn’t mind it that much this time.
I crossed my arms after I sat down and thought about that woman we had seen in the white sedan. What if there was a way she could get Chloe and her mother out of jail?
As if sensing that I was worried, Alexander gently touched my face, rubbing his warm thumb against my cheek. For a moment, I closed my eyes and leaned into his touch, but then my eyes flew open when I forced myself to remember he was my boss.
I turned away from him and made sure that when we got to the restaurant, I was sitting on the opposite side of the table from him.
Once everyone got their meal, Sarah said that she had an announcement to make. As she stood, I noticed that she seemed a little bit happier than before. “I’ve decided that I’m going to live with Kelly now that I don’t have to hide from the Windsor’s anymore.”
Even though Kelly had betrayed us, I knew that she had only done it because she had been manipted by Chloe. I found that I was d that Sarah and Kelly had each other and that they could help one another deal with the grief of losing Russell.
When dinner was almost over, Kelly walked in with an uncertain
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smile. After she hugged Sarah–the embracested <b>for </b>a <b>long </b><b>time</b>, and I couldn’t tell which woman needed the hug more–she <b>apologized </b>to us for what she did. She said that the doctor had prescribed her medication to help, and she had a meeting set up with a therapist tomorrow. We forgave her. I was happy to see that she no longer tried to hide the scars on her face.
The rest of the day was a blur after that. We picked up our luggage from the hotel, then started the long drive back to New York. I chose to sit in the back of my car that Aiden was driving so that I could avoid Alexander. Gai sat in the front, and Ava sat beside me. I was exhausted and used Ava’sp as a pillow. Halfway through our trip, we stopped at a fast food restaurant for a quick dinner. When Ava asked if I wanted anything, I waved her off, quickly falling back asleep.
When we got back to New York, Ava shook me gently awake. I was surprised to see that it waspletely dark and wondered how long I’d been asleep for. The city was bright with lights, and I rubbed my eyes, trying to wake up. I reached up to use Ava’s shoulder in order to sit up, but when I put my hand on her body, it was muscr and hard.
Then, a familiar woodsy smell washed over me.
Alexander.
“Hey, sleepyhead;” he murmured and stroked my cheek with his warm finger.
I froze, not daring to open my eyes. Confusion flowed through me. I clearly remembered falling asleep on Ava’sp. Had they switched when we stopped at the fast food ce for dinner? I could definitely see my friend agreeing to something like that. Embarrassment shot down my spine.
Alexander must know that I was awake by now. He chuckled and leaned down to whisper in my ear. “I know that you were expecting
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Ava, but don’t I make a better <b>pillow </b><b>than </b>her?”
His warm breath against my check made my mouth dry, <b>and </b><b>my </b><b>hands </b>shook. I tried to keep my cool as I sat up and pretended to just <b>wake </b><ol><li>up. </li></ol>
“Why are you sitting here instead of Ava?” I asked and yawned. “Did you bribe her with a million dors to switch seats with you?”
Alexander’s jaw clenched, but his expression was unreadable. I wasn’t sure if I had offended or amused him.
Or maybe both.