I froze at that. She didn’t reply. I glanced down at the screen again. On the corner of Bank and 5th, I saw the black Mustang rush down the dark road, just as Sarah Foster, I’d never forget her name, crossed the street, listening to her music and reading.
“Ah…” I gasped when I hit her. Her body went up on the dashboard and then rolled off, hitting the ground. I wanted to close my eyes but couldn’t, waiting to see myself. However, it wasn’t my blond hair…it was red. It was Rory. She came out of the car frantic, rushing to the girl, then looked around…in horror I watched as she pulled my blacked-out self from the passenger seat and into the front, closing the door before getting into my spot.
“How is that ownership feeling now?” She gutted what was left of me. “Your family isn’t in debt, by the way. The lawyer was a family friend of theirs and they barely paid him anything. Your former fiancé is now married to your stepsister.”
“What?”
She stared at me and then just snickered, shaking her head. “I apologize. I figured they told you, but I forgot your family doesn’t seem to understand the definition of family. From start to end you were set up and abandoned. Your cousins are even using you, saying that the Callahans had you locked up for asking questions…your sense of duty didn’t seem to come to play there…but hey, none of us are perfect.”
I sat in silence as she rose to her feet.
“That’s enough for the day. I’ll come back tomorrow.”
Frozen, the tears I held back for seven years, for seven long painful years, poured out of my eyes to the point that they burned. With each passing moment, I hurt more and more to the point that I wanted to…I wanted to die. I think I was dying…
I didn’t even realize they were walking me back, until I walked by the phone rooms.
“My phone call,” I whispered, brushing the tears off my face with my cuffed hands. “I haven’t taken one in months. I need to make a call.”
I looked at Jimmy.
He nodded for them to take me.
I wanted to run. But I waited patiently, as patiently as I could as they opened the doors, gave me the card, and sat me behind the table. I wiped my nose with my hands before pushing the buttons…praying they wouldn’t insult me by not answering.
“Ivy?” Rory’s voice came over the line.
“Hey...” I tried to say cheerfully, but my throat was dry.
“You have amazing timing! We’re having a get-together. The whole family is here. Do you want to say hi?”
Licking my lips, I nodded even though she couldn’t see. “Sure. Can you put me on the speaker?”
“Guys, it’s Ivy!”
“IVY!” I heard a chorus of cheers and I had to bite back the sob threatening to rip through me, my whole body shaking in rage.
“How’s the big house? You got any—”
“Shut up, Elroy,” Rory yelled.
“Stay strong, all right? It’s almost over,” Cillian’s deep voice spoke up.
“Yea. We can’t wait for you to get home,” Shay, my stepmother, spoke up next.
And I waited and waited…but he didn’t speak.
“Ivy? You there?”
“Yea,” I replied, gripping the phone tightly. “I was waiting for Pierce to speak.”
They were all silent.
“Pierce,” I called. “You aren’t going to say hi? I feel bad enough not being able to congratulate you and Rory on your marriage.”
Silence.
“For fuck’s sake, find your balls and speak!” I hollered.
“I—we—Ivy. I’m sorry,” his bitch ass finally said.
“Ivy, nothing happened before. We were both so sad about you—”
“Rory, do me a favor and shut your fucking mouth and stop insulting me, you little cunt.” I hissed.
“Ivy!” her mother yelled at me. “We didn’t want you to find out like this but don’t be like this.”
And I just laughed. “Be like what? Pissed? Oh no, Shay, I’m not pissed. I’m motivated. So fucking motivated I’m shaking with anticipation. Maybe you all have forgotten who the bloody fuck I am. But don’t worry, I’ll remind each and every one of you—”
“Ivy, I know—”
“I KNOW EVERYTHING!” I screamed, trying to keep calm. “You all know what you did to me. How each one of you betrayed me. We were family, but you betrayed me and now…I’m going to come for you all. I might have been blind when I came here, but believe me, now I see.”
“And what can you do from a prison cell eight hundred miles away?” Cillian asked. They weren’t even scared…I was worth nothing to them. That was what I meant.
“Seven years ago, I told you vengeance knows no boundaries and has no expiration date. I still believe that. So watch your front became I’ll be out real soon.” Slamming the phone on the receiver, I sat clenching my fist.
I want them dead.
I want them all dead.
***
I was already sitting and waiting when she came in. I couldn’t sleep. I just waited, sitting in the darkness, no food, no water. Nothing mattered but this.
“Good morning.” She sat across from me, wearing a long-sleeved, short, gray dress under her gray coat, and her pearls.
“What do I need to do?” I asked directly.
She frowned, accepting her new cup of tea. “The first thing is to politely greet people when spoken to. Manners aren’t just for appearances.”
“Good morning…how was your evening? What do I need to do?”
“Now that you know the truth, you can’t even apologize.” She smirked, taking a sip of her tea. “Which makes you already like so many people in my family.”
“You’ve shattered my whole world…excuse me if I hardly feel thankful.” I snapped, really wishing these damn zip ties were off my hands. “I just feel…so goddamn angry!”
“You are a mess, Ivy O’Davoren.” She smiled and nodded at me. “An angry, impulsive, reckless, lost, and utter mess of a woman. Whose life was ruined not by the people you’ve devoted yourself to hating but your own family. If you didn’t feel angry I’d worry about your sanity.”
“I’m sure you could have phrased that nicer.”
“I could have. But I don’t want you to feel good while you’re locked up like an animal. I want to see if you’re willing to do anything to get out of this hellhole and get justice. Because, Ivy, I can make you one of the most powerful women in this country. Anyone who hurt you both in the past and present will beg for mercy. You will want for nothing ever again. You father will rest assured, knowing the people who killed him and destroyed his family have been so thoroughly punished, it becomes a cautionary tale. But I can only do that if you’re sure.”
“I am. I’m sure. What do I have to do?” I said for the third time.
“Give up your last name.”
It was then that I was sure the devil was an old woman with a spectacular taste in fashion.
“I know that look.” She smirked. “But no, sweetheart, I’m not the worst. I’m just the old woman who’s been tasked to prepare you for the worst. So get scared now, let it out of your system, throw up if you need to, and when you’re done, we’ll get started.”
I swallowed the pocket of saliva in my mouth, sitting up now. “I’m fine.”
“Brilliant.” She opened her purse, taking out her phone to press only one button before looking back up at me. “Things are going to start happening very quickly. Is there anything you need?”