Created in Chaos (Corrupt Credence Book 2), page 22
Lucian: Talk when I get there.
I debate whether or not I should tell him Nova went for a walk but decide against it. He would probably insist I go get her, and I don’t think we need to put more garbage on her plate at the moment. I’m sure I’ll catch shit for it later, but I can deal with him.
I hear him on the stairs twenty minutes later, and I’m a little anxious about Nova being gone so long myself.
His eyes scan the room the moment he enters the door. “Where is she?”
“She went for a walk a little over an hour ago. She saw the coast guard helicopter.”
“How’d she take it?” He drops down into a chair. If I’m not mistaken, there’s a little relief in his tone.
“Better than I thought she would,” I answer. “She’s worried you won’t get away with it.”
He waves his hand dismissively. “I was worried she would feel guilty or some shit.”
“I think she’s more concerned about us blaming her in the long run. I’m not sure she will tell us if she feels guilty.”
“I don’t know how she could. All those fucks got off easy, if you ask me,” Lucian comments, proving killing someone isn’t always the worst thing that can happen.
“What’s the problem?” I question before Nova comes back. It would be our luck that she would walk into some shit she doesn’t need to know about.
“Alden,” Lucian snarls.
“Care to elaborate? Did he flee the country or something?”
“No, that old bitch has been harboring him from the beginning.”
“We already assumed that.” I shrug. He’ll have to leave at some point. We can get him then or use the fact that they protected him against the Umbras.
“But we didn’t fucking know that Dad never went through with disowning that traitor. He only made it official with Albert.”
“What?” To say I’m shocked is an understatement. “Have you confirmed this, or is this just what that chick told you?”
“Lev is digging into it now, but she swears she’s seen evidence. He still has his robes and family crest.”
“But that would mean…”
“We can’t ask for death since he was technically still a Morningstar, if in name only.”
“If they knew this, then why not present the evidence that night instead of pretending he escaped?”
“Maybe Rory didn’t know. Maybe Astrid was trying to cover her ass or cover the fact that they knowingly had a member of a different family working for them, which would be a problem.” Lucian gets up and begins pacing the room.
“Have you talked to Hershel? Someone at the firm would know,” I ask, bringing up the lawyers.
“Hershel confirmed he created the documents, but it wouldn’t matter if Dad didn’t submit them. Our best source would be to go straight to the record keeper, which is currently a fucking Quade since this is Cadieux bullshit, but I don’t want to alert anyone to the fact that we know and send up any red flags.”
“Why would they even hire him if he was still a Morningstar? We would never let an Umbra in our house.”
Lucian looks at me dead in the face and shakes his head like I’m an idiot. “Except when we did.”
“Christ, I don’t even think of her as one of them.” I scrub the top of my head, ruffling my hair.
“They have a reason, just like we did. Maybe they were playing the long game all along, planning on using him against us in some way,” Lucian speculates. “I told Hershel to draw up the original documents of everything he has on Albert and his family. Once I know for certain Alden is still a Morningstar, I will submit them so he can officially be blacklisted. I doubt it will be effective retroactively, but it won’t stop me from killing him.”
“Should we tell her?” I know it’s not the best idea to keep things from Nova, especially after last night, but there’s no way her knowing could help anything, and she’s already dealing with enough.
“Let’s figure out what we know before we tell her.” He almost sounds reasonable, or maybe I just think that since he gave me an excuse not to tell her.
“Did that Bridget chick say anything else?” I press.
“Other than she’s convinced there was something going on with Nova and Alden? No.”
“Did she see anything?” I ask doubtfully. I trust Nova, and she said there was nothing between them.
“She saw him going to her room a hell of a lot, letting himself in with a key.” Lucian’s eyebrows are high, challenging.
“She didn’t mention that.” I don’t like the idea of him having that kind of access to Nova. Did she give it to him, or did someone else?
“She sure as fuck didn’t, but you can bet I’m going to ask her about it.” Lucian seems calm, but I know he isn’t capable of keeping a level head when it comes to Nova.
“Don’t accuse her of anything,” I warn. “That chick could be lying for all you know.”
“She was too fucking bitter to be lying.” He snorts.
A few seconds pass in silence, and Lucian looks around the room. It’s easy to read what he’s thinking and feeling, like something is missing. This place feels empty without Nova. “How long has she been gone?”
I tap the screen of my phone on my thigh. “A while, nearly two hours.” Unease unfurls in my stomach. I should have gone with her. Maybe being alone wasn’t what she needed, or maybe I’m just nervous about Lucian being a dick when he asks her about Alden.
“That seems like a long enough walk to me.” He checks his phone, and his brow furrows almost immediately. “What the fuck would she be doing over there?”
“Over where?” I stand up to look over his shoulder, even though I could check her location on my phone just as easily.
“Near the docks and dry storage.”
“The coast guard is probably still out on the water. Maybe she wanted to see what was going on,” I suggest.
He huffs and pockets his phone. “Let’s go get her.”
NOVA
An hour into my walk, I don’t feel any different than I did when I left. My thoughts are still muddled and chaotic. I thought gaining a little space from Nox would give me some perspective and help me wrap my head around the fact that I’m not running for the hills after everything I know about this island and what the people here are capable of, but it hasn’t.
He doesn’t have some magical power over me, and there’s no Kool-Aid I’m sipping that has made any of this more tolerable. It’s just me and my willingness to accept them as they are, and the knowledge that I would do whatever it takes to protect them.
It’s frightening, but also the tiniest bit freeing too. Maybe next time—because I’m certain there will be a next time—my world gets turned upside down, I won’t feel the need to examine the reasons behind how I feel.
When my phone rings a short time later, I don’t even bother looking at it before answering it. “Hello?”
“Nova, I’m glad you answered. Don’t hang up. You’re going to want to hear what I have to say.”
“How did you get this number?”
“I thought you would understand by now the lengths people will go to when they are backed into a corner,” Astrid answers, and my blood ices over. Does she know what Lucian did?
“What do you want?” I manage not to sound as worried as I am.
“We’re past wants, my dear girl. It’s time to talk about needs. I hoped it wouldn’t come to this, but the Morningstars have forced my hand.”
“What are you talking about? They haven’t forced anything.” It’s as natural as breathing to defend them.
“That’s where you’re wrong, and in turn, I must now force you.”
I scoff into the phone, but I can’t really mount a response at the moment because I don’t even know what she’s talking about yet.
“If you do not return home and take your place in the family, I will ruin the Morningstars.”
“And how do you plan on doing that?” My tone is cocky.
“You’ve already done it for me, Nova.” The confidence in her words rekindles the fear I felt moments ago. “I’m not sure how much they have told you, but even we have rules. You have broken the most sacred rule of the island.”
“What is that?” I ask softly. I don’t really want to know the answer, but I think I already do.
“You have formed an alliance within the families, created a united front, and weakened the others by doing so. It’s grounds for banishment. They would lose everything, my dear—their home, their money, and their power, which is the one thing they crave more than anything else.”
Her words ring with truth. Lucian warned me about what could happen if the families joined, creating a stronger front. It’s exactly what I used to threaten Nox when I thought I wanted to leave. God, I’m dumb.
Lucian also made me believe Astrid would never pursue that avenue because she wouldn’t risk losing her heir. “You can’t prove anything,” I reply, though it already feels like a lost cause.
She lets out a tinkling laugh. “Why do you think I’ve allowed you to carry on so long? All I had to do was wait, and I knew you’d give me everything I needed, but don’t worry, they didn’t help themselves either. Too arrogant for their own good.” She nearly mutters the last part.
“What proof?” I’m not doing anything she says just because she states she has something on me.
“Well, would you like to hear everything or just the most damning evidence?” she asks conversationally.
I roll my lips in and bite down to keep from saying something I might regret.
After a moment of silence, she says, “The juicy bits will do, I’m sure. After you were attacked, we made sure to tighten security on campus, which is how I was able to witness your little tête-à-tête on the stairs. You freely admitted to everything.”
My stomach drops. I can’t even argue. I need to go to Nox and Lucian. They will have an idea.
“Just imagine how hard it would be for them to defend themselves against their transgressions without all that money and power they are used to, and really, dear, how appealing do you think you would be to them when they know you are the cause of their downfall? How soon before they hate you just like they hate me?”
I can’t say that the thought of them hating me isn’t a concern, but it’s small compared to the other fear. Lucian could go to jail for the rest of his life for what he did last night. He told me that money and power buy his ability to get away with anything. I can’t let that happen.
Resignation sours my stomach. I want to vomit on the spot. Hot saliva pools in my mouth, but I don’t allow myself to cry. It takes a few times of opening my mouth to finally get a single word past my tight throat. “Fine.”
“Where are you?” she asks too quickly with an eager tension that’s been absent the entire conversation.
“Where do you think I am?” It seems when I’m being nasty to her, I have no problem speaking.
“Can you get to the gate?” she inquires impatiently.
“I’d never make it out. They have too many guards.” I sound like I’m bragging.
“I suggest you figure out a way to get past them, unless you’d like me to make a call for an emergency meeting.”
Damn it, I was hoping I could at least see them again, try to explain, or…or nothing. I don’t know if I would have the strength to leave if I did see them. “Can you send a boat?” I look at the dock in the distance, the same one we left from yesterday. God, that almost feels like a lifetime ago.
“Where?”
“The Morningstar dock. There’s a big building near the water, like an airplane hangar.”
“Leave your phone and anything else they can use to monitor you behind, and, Nova, I’m so happy you’ve finally seen things my way.”
The line goes dead before I can tell her to fuck off, but I say it anyway.
As the seconds tick by, nervousness fills my stomach. If they find me now, I know I’ll tell them everything, and their lives will be ruined. I have to make sure that doesn’t happen. I wait until I hear the boat before placing my phone on a nearby rock. It’s so tempting to take it with me and hide it somewhere so I could try to explain once I’m gone, but I can’t risk it.
I start to run toward the boat, but I skid to a halt on the pebbly water’s edge. Alden is behind the steering wheel with a grim expression on his face. “Get in the boat.” He doesn’t need to raise his voice, even though he’s at least ten feet away from the dock.
I look down at the water, knowing what he expects, then jump in. I’m not a good swimmer, though I make it to the back of the small craft easily enough, but climbing the silver ladder hanging off the back is a different matter. I feel like I weigh three hundred pounds with my clothes dripping wet, but that’s better than being naked.
When he reaches out a hand to offer his assistance, I snarl, “Don’t fucking touch me,” then shove his hand away.
“I see they taught you well.” He shakes his head and gives me his back, allowing me to struggle to pull myself up.
“We’ll see how well,” I mumble under my breath. Astrid may think she trapped me, but Lucian and Nox made sure I know my worth. If she thinks ruling me will be easy, she’s dead wrong.
LUCIAN
Nova is nowhere to be seen when we reach the dock. I check my phone again just to make sure she’s not on her way back to the house, but her little red dot hasn’t moved.
“Where is she?” Nox steps out of the UTV and looks around. “Nova!” There’s an edge of panic in his voice I try not to pay attention to.
I call her phone, willing her to answer the damn thing. “Pick up.” When the automated voicemail instructs me to leave a message, I hang up and use the Find My Phone app. It leads me to the tree line, where I find her abandoned phone sitting on a rock.
“What is this?” Nox looks down but doesn’t touch the thing.
“I don’t fucking know. What did she say when she left?”
“I told you, she said she was going for a walk. Do you think she got hurt or something?” Nox continues to look around before shouting her name again.
“This looks intentional. Why the hell would she leave her phone here? There’s no way she went swimming, right? The water is too deep here, and she said she isn’t a strong swimmer.”
“No way,” Nox replies.
I bring my phone back up to my ear and call Lev. “I need someone on the cameras now. Get eyes on the dock. Nova’s phone is here, but she’s not.”
“I’m on it. How far back should I go?”
“No more than two hours.” I finally pick up her phone. Her screen is the generic swirls and shit, asking me to give the passcode. I type in the numbers I memorized after watching her do it over her shoulder several times, and a note app is up with a brief message.
I’m sorry.
🖤
“What the fuck does this mean?” I shove the phone in Nox’s face.
He scans the tiny message at least twice before he runs right into the water and starts yelling again.
“Here she is. Roll that back. She’s on the phone,” Lev tells me between talking to someone else.
“How long and who? I want her phone records.”
“Five minutes maybe. She looks…devastated,” he says softly. “I’ll have to sign into the cell carrier. It would be faster for you to check the call log.” I should have known that. I’m not thinking clearly. “Motherfucker,” he curses.
“What?” The pit in my stomach drops to my balls.
“Alden. He was in a boat.”
“She went with him willingly?”
“He made her swim over. She… Shit, she slapped his hand away when he tried to help her up, but he didn’t force her.”
I don’t bother hanging up before I chuck my phone at the rocky beach. “Nox, get your ass over here. She’s not in the fucking water.”
“Where is she?” He jogs over, soaked from the waist down from his jaunt into the ocean.
“She left with Alden.” If it were possible for me to spit venom, I would have when I snarled his name.
“No way, she wouldn’t do that,” he denies.
“If you need proof, we’re about to see it on video.” I stomp over to the UTV and climb in, barely waiting for Nox to get in his seat before speeding away.
Lev is waiting in the security room with the footage already on the big screen when I walk in. “Let’s see it,” I demand, half convinced he must be mistaken but unable to voice my doubt.
“I found some earlier footage,” he says, and I see Nova walking along a path. A smile lights up her face before she puts her phone up to her ear. The grin slips within a heartbeat.
“Is there audio on this?”
“No, the only cameras we have with audio are near the house and the gate,” Lev answers.
“Do we have anyone who can tell me what she’s saying?”
“I’m already working on that, but it’s not foolproof, and she’s moving around a lot, so we may not catch everything.”
“I want your best guess.”
“You two would probably be the best to judge since you know her. Roll it back to sixteen thirty-two,” he tells someone seated at the desk. “I’m pretty sure she’s asking for proof here. See that? What proof.” Lev looks at me for verification.
I can read the same words, but without the sound, I can’t be positive.
“Yes,” Nox says eagerly. “Look at the way her lips purse, just like when she calls you pretty. I want to see the rest.”
I think I pick up a few more words, but she does a lot of listening, and like Lev said, she moved around the entire time, almost like she was pacing, but I can clearly read her final words. “Fuck off,” the three of us say in unison as Nova jerks the phone down to her side.
“She must have been mad. She only curses when you really piss her off,” Nox chimes in.
“Maybe you don’t know her as well as you think you do,” I snap back.
“That’s bullshit and you know it. We know her. If she left, it was because she didn’t think she had any other choice.” It pisses me off to hear Nox defend her so easily, even though I want to do the same, but I don’t have the balls to do it, because it looks like she fucking played us.
