I don’t recognize myself when I look in the mirror.

My green and black hair is twisted in an elaborate chignon at the base of my neck, the pink diamond tiara glittering on the crown of my head. The earrings catch the light, keeping the eye drawn up toward my face. There’s no necklace with the outfit which seems to be intentional; the bare expense of my pale chest above the bodice of my dress provides a nice contrast with the pink of the gown and the slightly brighter shoes.

The gloves and the wrap lend an elegance to the outfit, helping to offset some of the youthfulness of the cut and color. My makeup is subtle enough that I might not be wearing any—wink, wink. That is, I’m wearing a shit ton of makeup to look like a walking-talking Snapchat filter.

I purse my lips tight, blinking the long, curved lengths of my eyelash extensions.

Yes, eyelash extensions. Justin’s makeup artist did them for me before she did my face up.

My nails look very much like Raúl’s—a French manicure with blunt tips. I reach one hand up and rest my fingers against my cheek, studying my dark eyes in the mirror. I’m the perfect blend of Tess and Justin, a twisted fragment of their DNA.

DNA.

Fuck DNA.

It’s DNA’s fault that I’m even in this situation, that Parrish is in this situation.

“Ready?” Maxx asks as I spin around in a swirl of skirts. He hasn’t seen me since the crew of beauty experts descended on the scene. His green eyes go wide, his face flushing, lips parting slightly as he takes me in. “Holy shit.”

“Holy shit is right,” I choke out as I stare at him, dressed in a white dinner jacket with a black bowtie and black slacks. He looks like James Bond in Goldfinger, the suit tailored perfectly to his muscular form. His hair is gently tousled, his black dress shoes shiny, and the smile that stretches across his face … well, the whole scene gives me heart palpitations.

“You look—” we both start.

“Handsome,” I blurt.

“Perfect,” he breathes.

“Late,” a voice says from behind Maxx, drawing my attention over to Raúl. He’s checking his phone and adjusting pink giraffe print glasses. Before I let myself forget, I snatch the skeleton key off the bathroom counter and slip it into Maxx’s pocket—just in case. If anything were going to happen with Parrish, it would be tonight. “We need to get moving. We were supposed to leave seven minutes ago.”

I frown at him, but Maxx doesn’t allow me to sink into a mood, reaching out to take my hand and pulling me toward him. He presses a kiss to my knuckles that has me flushing all over.

“Do not mess her makeup up,” Raúl warns when it looks like X might actually try to kiss me. X’s face flashes with undisguised annoyance, but he says nothing, taking my arm in his and leading me out of my room and down the stairs.

If this were, like, prom or something, I’d be all aflutter.

As things stand, the best I can do is appreciate how pretty Maxx is. That’s what grounds me.

Tess is waiting at the bottom of the stairs with Paul, and both of their eyes go wide when they see us.

“We’re late apparently,” I tell her as we pause in the foyer and Raúl flashes me another annoyed look. He has a far less pleasant disposition than Justin’s other minion—Mr. Volli, that is. He’s probably just as evil; I don’t doubt that for a second, even if I do enjoy his glasses changes.

“I see,” Tess remarks, exchanging a look with Paul. “Well, I hope the two of you have a wonderful time tonight.” Her nostrils flare with all the unspoken things she wants to say but manages to keep to herself.

“I’m sure we will,” X assures her when I find myself tongue-tied all over again. He very quickly escorts me away from the uncomfortable situation and into the back of the limo. I half-expected Justin to be waiting inside for us, but he isn’t there.

“Your father will see you at the party,” Raúl assures me, slamming the limo door before climbing in beside the driver. Maxx and I exchange another look, but it very clearly isn’t a safe place to talk, so we keep our comments to ourselves.

Mostly, we check each other out unashamedly.

I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen such a handsome man in all my life. I mean, he was beautiful before, but he looks so elegant tonight—and so much older.

“We both look twenty-five,” I murmur, and he chuckles.

“Pretty much. But in a good way.”

Maxx sits back against the seat, crossing one leg over the other and resting his ankle against his knee as he folds his hands together over his belly.

I just stare at him.

“You’re sitting like that on purpose,” I tell him, and he grins.

“I might be. Do you like it?”

I refuse to answer that with words, but I’m sure my smile says it all for me. I glance out the window as we pull out of the driveway and make a left turn. Chasm’s house is all of three seconds away from the Vanguard’s—Medina is five square miles of land mass with a population of just over three thousand. In essence, it’s the ultra-wealthy bubble that floats beside Seattle.

We could’ve walked there, if you set aside the mass of reporters and the fancy clothes.

My heart is in my throat as the limo joins a queue of others, waiting for a chance to glide through the open gate outside the sprawling McKenna manor. Our driver pauses beside the front steps and Raúl opens the door for us.

Maxx takes my hand as we climb out and ascend the front steps. There’s a doorman checking names off a list, but he waves us straight through without so much as a glance.

Fortunately, Chasm is waiting just inside the doors for us.

My heart stops when I see him.

He’s in a tux, just like Maxx, but his is black-on-black-on-black. Even the tie—which is a bit crooked—is black. The very first thing that I do is pause in front of him to fix it. His hands come up quick, snatching my wrists in a firm grip as his golden eyes blaze.

“I’ve never seen a prettier girl in all my life,” he growls out at me, and I shiver in response. His attention flicks back to Maxx before returning to my face. “No joke, naekkeo ,” he says, and then he kisses me with so much passion and want that my knees almost buckle. I miss the brush of his lip piercings, but he’s in ‘Seamus-approved’ Kwang-seon mode tonight. He pulls away with just the slightest kiss of my lip gloss on his pretty mouth.

People are staring at us as a live orchestra performs in one corner, and several massive screens flash with images and quotes about Milk Carton. Chasm pulls back, turning to follow my stare.

Much of the furniture has been cleared out, lending the massive, open space the look of a ballroom. People lounge on chaises carefully arranged in corners or against walls while waiters glide through the crowd with trays of food and glasses of champagne.

Chasm snatches a pair off the next tray, offering the glasses up to me and Maxx.

“Trust me: you’re going to need this,” he warns us, moving to stand beside me as Justin spots us through the crowd. He lifts his own glass in greeting, a casual smile on his lips. To anyone else, I’m sure the gesture seems friendly and inviting. To me, it might as well be an ironclad command that drags my feet across the floor.

My body feels like it’s made of lead as I move toward him, the two boys posted on either side of me like sentries.

“Justin,” I say politely as I approach him, and his smile widens, blue eyes crinkling at the edges.

“Call me … daddy,” he offers up, and it takes every ounce of strength that I possess to keep my face from falling. I can’t even bear to call Tess, mom. And now this fucker right here wants me to call him … gag … daddy?

“Would dad work?” I offer up with a grin, and I swear to god, his eye twitches.

“Daddy would be preferable,” he purrs, sipping his drink and then pausing as a redheaded man comes up to stand beside him. Ah, right. This is Seamus McKenna, Chasm’s asshole of a dad. He stares at me with amber eyes that are just a shade lighter than his son’s, and then he smiles.

“You look ravishing tonight, Dakota,” Seamus says, the faintest hint of an Irish accent in his words. “You must be so proud, Justin.”

My bio dad beams at me, sipping his drink as he studies me over the rim of his glass, and I fight the urge to kick off these painful heels and start running, skirts in hand. I would run barefoot all night to escape this man, if only Parrish was with me and Maxx and Chasm.

We could run together and never look back.

Instead, I practice another of my signature forced smiles on the pair of them.

“Thank you,” I tell Seamus, proud of myself for keeping my voice so strong. How much does Seamus know about Justin’s exploits? Just the Milk Carton stuff? Or all of it? I can’t tell. “And congratulations, by the way, on the merger between Milk Carton and Fort Humboldt Security.”

Justin laughs, his voice a merry accompaniment to the quiet, refined revelry taking place around us.

“It seems that news has already gotten around,” he tells me with a sharp grin. But he, of course, knew that since he had to have at least heard audio from the confrontation between us and Veronica outside the hedge maze. I had both of my phones in my blazer at the time. “Secrets are usually very well-kept in this town. I’m surprised.”

He doesn’t sound surprised, just bemused.

Seamus’ eyes flick to his son and then back to me again. I’m not looking at Chasm, but I can feel him tense up beside me. I don’t blame him, considering all the stories I’ve heard, the bruises on Chasm’s arms, and the way Maxx reacted when he told me I needed to pretend to be his girlfriend so that Seamus didn’t get the wrong idea about me and Chas.

Justin finishes his champagne and sets it on a waiter’s passing tray, trading it out for a fresh flute. He reaches out with his glass, as if he’s asking me for a toast.

I click my own glass against his, even though I’d rather not. I’d rather not participate in anything with Justin Prior, but that’s not an option right now.

“No matter seeing as we’re making the official announcement tonight,” Justin muses, studying me yet again. His lips curve up in another smile. “Did you hear the news about your brother? Milk Carton has already come through for poor, sweet Tess.”

“I’m sure you’re relieved,” Seamus remarks, lifting his own champagne flute to his lips. “All three of you. Soon enough, we’ll be rescuing that boy; I can feel it in my bones.”

Justin maintains that pleasant expression of his, even as I stand there and seethe.

What a piece of work this man is. He kidnaps Parrish and then, what, orchestrates it so that his app finds him? Is that what all of this is? A publicity stunt?

“If you’ll excuse me,” Seamus remarks, apparently spying someone in the crowd that he’d like to speak with. He peels away from our little group, and I take a small step forward, careful to keep my voice low enough that nobody but Maxx or Chasm can hear.

“If you were going to use your app to ‘find’ Parrish, then why ask me to do it at all?” I whisper, but Justin’s expression never falters. Instead, he reaches out and cups the side of my face in a way that might be viewed as fatherly by anyone watching. But his grip is too tight, and his nails are digging into my skin in such a way that I actually have to fight back a grimace.

“The app is not going to find Parrish; you are. That is, if you want him back. If you don’t, I’ll just slit his throat and dump his body in Lake Washington. His only worth to me is his worth to you and Tess. That’s it. I neither like nor dislike the boy. He simply is. ” Justin drops his hand by his side as I do my best to ignore the throbbing in the side of my face. “Go mingle with all of my pretty friends. Make yourself seen. I want everyone to know what a beautiful daughter I have. Don’t stay away too long though. I have someone I’d like you to meet.”

Justin pats me on the cheek once more before taking off.

Maxx steps up beside me, tilting my face to his and gritting his teeth in frustration.

“He’s left red marks all over your cheek,” he grinds out, stroking a finger over the indentations as Chas scowls, his eyes scanning the crowd.

“Do you see these people? Fawning over a man they ran out of town? Whether he was guilty or not, it makes them all fucking despicable to me. Either he wasn’t guilty, and here they are schmoozing a guy they framed or else he was guilty and, well, here they are schmoozing a man they know is a total douche. It’s sick.”

“Whitehall Prep is the perfect name for our academy,” I mutter, downing the champagne. “Prepping all those brats to join their parents’ schemes.”

I catch sight of a beautiful, honey-haired girl across the room, and my breath catches.

Lumen.

I did not expect to see Lumen Hearst at my father’s launch party.

“Oh hell no,” Chasm says as soon as he notices where I’m looking. Maxx turns his head to follow our gazes and cocks a brow. “Don’t even get started with that bitch today.”

“This is the perfect place to try to talk to her,” I reason, gesturing around with the hand that isn’t holding the champagne. God, if Tess knew I was drinking here, she would lose her shit. Clearly, Justin doesn’t care either way. “We’re not at Whitehall, and she can’t exactly beat me up in the middle of a crowd, now can she?”

“Maxx, can you talk some sense into our girl?” Chasm asks, frowning down at me in annoyance. “She keeps trying to make friends with her enemies. Lumen had her posse kick your ass; she isn’t redeemable.”

“And you had your posse kick her ass,” I clarify. “Let’s just see if we can’t get her alone. Something is going on with her. Think about it: she went missing for a whole night and woke up in a field. Does that not sound familiar? Like how I woke up in the middle of the woods? Justin could be blackmailing her, too.”

“Blackmailing her with what? Parrish?” Chasm lets out a barking laugh. “Not a chance in hell.”

“Everyone says she’s been chasing after him for years,” I add, trying to fight back a ridiculous spurt of jealousy. Thanks mammal brain, but I don’t need you just now. Let’s save Parrish’s life before we start getting upset about rival love interests. Also, didn’t you sleep with both of Parrish’s besties while he was in captivity? Yeah, not helping. “Maybe he—”

“Lumen doesn’t care about Parrish—certainly not enough to do even half the things you have trying to save him.” Chasm folds his arms over his chest. “You’ll never convince me otherwise.”

“Danyella told me they’ve been playing a ‘will they, won’t they game’ for years,” I continue, and Maxx laughs.

“Danyella, who’s been giving you the cold shoulder for weeks? That, and following Lumen around like a lost puppy? Lumen did her wrong, too, you know. Yet, there she is. Maybe you’re both too nice.” Maxx glances toward Lumen as she laughs and flirts with a half-dozen other Whitehall Prep students who are here at the party with their parents. “As soon as they hit Whitehall as freshmen, Lumen kicked her old bestie to the curb for newer and better friends.” Maxx shrugs and shakes his head. “I don’t trust either of them, to be honest.”

But maybe I am too nice? Because I really, really want to talk to Lumen. This is my chance, and it might be the only good one I get for a long while.

“I mean, I did burn the theater down and ruin the production,” I start, and Chas sighs.

“You’re very clearly going to do it anyway,” Chasm says, gesturing loosely with one hand. “So let’s get this over with.”

“Thank you,” I tell them both earnestly, and I swear, they both soften right away. I stifle a smile as I weave through the crowd. Before I even get to her, Lumen turns around, dressed in a form-fitting gold gown that sparkles when she moves.

Her earth-colored eyes bore right into me, and her face takes on a cold, dangerous cast.

She moves away from me so quickly that she disappears into the crowd, and I curse under my breath.

“Clearly, she doesn’t want anything to do with me,” I mutter, temporarily defeated but refusing to give up. If Lumen is here, then her parents are clearly trying to impress Justin. She can’t run from me forever. Even though the school year is almost over, she has another year at Whitehall with me, Chas, and … Parrish … before they graduate.

“Want to meet my parents instead?” Maxx offers up hopefully, giving Lumen’s retreating back a dark look before he drops his attention to me.

“Introducing her to the parents already? You move quick,” Chasm jokes, but there’s no heat to his quip. He hates being here in this crowd as much as I do. His eyes dart around, searching the faces in the room before he returns them back to me. “They’re much nicer than my dad, so don’t worry too much about that.”

X gives a snort and snatches my empty champagne glass from my hand, dumping it on a nearby table before he hooks his arm with mine, guiding me over to two men in suits standing beside a table laden with refreshments.

“Hey,” he says, and both men turn to look at us. One of them smiles brightly while the other has a small crease between his brows. They exchange a quick couple look before turning back to us. “I wanted to introduce you guys to my friend, Kota.”

“Maxine’s little sister?” the blond man says, slightly shorter and smaller of frame than the other.

My heart breaks all over again, but I do what I’ve been doing for weeks, cobbling it together and leaving it messy and slightly off-kilter.

“That’s me,” I say with as pleasant a tone as I can manage.

“Dakota, these are my dads,” Maxx explains, gesturing at the blond one first. “Laurent and Hamilton Wright.”

“So lovely to meet you,” Laurent, the blond one says. The other one—the one with the dark hair that very much looks like Maxx—forces a smile. I consider all the things that X told me, about how his parents encouraged him to seek Maxine out, how interested they were in her, how they talked shit about me before ever meeting me. Part of me wants to be upset, but there are just too many unknowns in this situation. Besides, my dad is a goddamn serial killer, so I can’t really fault Maxx’s parents for spreading gossip, now can I? “I hope our son has been a polite houseguest?”

“We also hear he’s adopted a rabbit,” the other one, Hamilton, says, frowning prettily. They’re both very handsome men actually. To be fair, most everyone in this room is good looking. Money can do that, you know. Plastic surgery (probably through Dr. Paul Vanguard), personal trainers, private chefs, nutritionists, access to the best doctors, fancy clothes, makeup artists, hair stylists, lash extensions, microblading … do I even need to keep going?

I take all of that pretty in with a very large, very salty grain of reality.

“Not sure how I feel about that,” Hamilton continues as his husband sighs dramatically, draining a glass of wine. “But I suppose it can live with us when you move back into the dorms next year.” My heart sinks a little at that thought, of X leaving and going back to Eugene. I know we’ll only be five hours apart, but with Maxine, I already know that at times it can feel like an impossible chasm.

That, however, is future Dakota’s problem.

“We were sorry to hear about Maxx and your sister,” Laurent adds, giving his husband a look that clearly says let the damn bunny thing go, please. He looks back at me with caramel-colored eyes and smiles again. “She seems like such a nice girl; I can only hope we raised our son well enough that he didn’t do anything to upset her.”

“Thank you for the vote of confidence,” Maxx interjects as I spot Lumen in the crowd again. She looks a bit flustered, one of her fists clenched tight at her side. “I told you: it was a mutual breakup. Can you let it go, please?”

I smile slightly at the sound of Maxx talking like a normal teenager.

“And Kwang-seon, how are you?” Laurent asks as the dark-haired man watches the crowd in a similar fashion to the way Chasm is doing now, like he’s surrounded by predators and is on the defensive.

“Uh, what?” Chas asks, looking back at Maxx’s parents and blinking rapidly. “Oh, I’m doing well, thank you for asking.” He affects the same polite tone that he uses on Tess when she’s in a bad mood. “I hear Laurent’s managed to land a new job?” he inquires politely as my eyes seek out Lumen once again.

She’s alone right now. I consider how to make my escape.

“Hamilton will continue working as Tiffany’s manager for the time being; I’ve just landed myself an incredible new position in Justin’s company.” I look back to see Laurent smiling excitedly as Maxx frowns. I just assume that Tiffany is his sister. That’s how little we really know each other, huh? I didn’t even know his sister’s name until just now.

But you really get to know both the best and worst of others in the middle of a crisis; Maxx has shown me all his cards, and I really like what I’ve seen so far. A lot. Too much, probably.

“I didn’t know that,” Maxx interjects, flicking a glance at Chasm. They exchange information silently, in the way that really good friends sometimes do. Or lovers. Yeah, lovers do that, too.

“Well, I just learned about it tonight,” Laurent continues happily, lifting his glass up toward the crowd. “It pays triple what my last job did, and I can work remotely from Portland. It’s a fantastic opportunity. Kota, if you see your father in this melee, give him my thanks. I doubt I’ll get a chance to talk to him; everyone in town seems to be fighting for his attention.”

“I absolutely will,” I agree with a pleasant smile. “Pardon me. I need to use the restroom, but it was lovely meeting you both.”

I slip away before either of the boys can stop me, only to realize that Lumen is headed right for me, her face set in a determined cast. She doesn’t stop when she gets close to me, slamming her shoulder so hard into mine that I actually stumble.

“Out of my way, bitch,” she snaps, a glittering gold nightmare in a very pretty, very expensive gown. I’m still trying to catch my balance when her left hand—the one that was clenched into a tight first earlier, presses against mine. Something small and square slides into my palm and off she goes.

“What is your fucking problem?” Chasm snarls, intercepting her. I clutch the item tightly as I turn around to see Lumen facing off against both boys.

“Problem?” she asks with a breezy laugh as she tosses her hair over one shoulder. “She is my problem. You are my problem. Why don’t you ask Danyella how many nights she stayed up crying because of you two?”

“Keep harassing Dakota and see what happens when Parrish gets back. What I’ve done to you thus far will seem nice comparatively.”

“Go fuck yourself, Kwang-seon,” she snarls, turning her vitriol on Maxx. “And what about you, Maxim? I thought you graduated last year. Don’t tell me you’re one of those pathetic college boys who sniffs around high school girls looking for an easy lay?”

“Don’t pretend like you aren’t afraid of us,” Maxx warns her. “And if you’re not, you should be. Dakota was seriously hurt; she broke several bones. Maybe we should break some of yours as payback?”

“As if Chasm’s horde of whores didn’t already try,” she quips, shoving between them both and taking off at a quick clip. I let her go, squeezing whatever it is that she put in my hand so tightly that the corners of it hurt my palm.

“Are you okay?” Maxx asks, and I nod, glancing up at the large plastic ‘bubbles’ near the ceiling. They float around and even shimmer like real bubbles, but I know what they truly are: drones. Seems like something out of a sci-fi romance, but it’s not. My grandmother’s best friend went to Las Vegas last year where they have the world’s largest legal cannabis dispensary; she said she saw these things hovering all over the place for security.

Disturbing.

Justin can monitor every single thing happening at his party whenever he wants—and probably have all our faces tagged and catalogued by his stupid Milk Carton app.

“I just need to use the bathroom—” I start, and then pause when I see Justin press a kiss to a woman’s cheek. She leans back and smiles at him. Something about her expression bothers me, like maybe I’ve seen her somewhere before. She has long brunette hair with blond highlights woven expertly throughout, and her mouth is full and pouty. I swear that we’ve met, even though I can’t place her face.

Then it hits me, and my blood goes cold.

“Take this, but keep it hidden,” I whisper, letting my hand tangle with Chasm’s as I sweep past. I leave Lumen’s note with him, and he slips it immediately into the pocket of his jacket.

I’m breathless by the time I arrive at Justin’s side, and he looks over at me in a knowing—and very pleased sort of way—because he knows what I’ve just figured out. He knows that I know who this is, just by looking at her.

That mouth … I know a pouty mouth just like that on a very intimate level. For as long as I live, even if I never see Parrish Vanguard again, I won’t forget the full lushness of his lips.

“My darling,” Justin remarks, sweeping an arm around me and drawing me close as the woman turns her attention away from a group of well-dressed businessmen and over toward me. Her smile is poisonous, her gaze sharp. “I’d like you to meet my girlfriend, Caroline Bassett.”

I almost choke. Chasm does choke. Maxx maintains his calm through some sort of miracle.

“You’re Parrish’s bio mom,” I blurt before I can stop myself. That causes her pretty smile to falter, but she regains her composure well. Also … Justin Prior has a girlfriend?! After all the fawning and obsessing over Tess that he’s been doing?

I smell a plot.

Justin Prior just doesn’t do coincidences.

“I gave birth to him, yes,” Caroline remarks, which is a really weird way to respond to my statement. Particularly, it’s even weirder because Parrish is missing. I think about Tess and how she was shouting at this woman over the phone the other day. Caroline doesn’t seem particularly perturbed that her son has been gone for over two weeks. “And you must be Dakota Banks, Justin’s beautiful daughter. It’s so lovely to meet you. I’ve been after Justin all week to arrange a meeting between us.” She gives him a look, but he just chuckles good-naturedly.

“I’ve only just met my own child, Caroline. Don’t be greedy.”

Her eyes sweep past me to land on Chasm first and then Maxx. She takes note of them, catalogues their appearances, and then dismisses them just as quickly. Whatever she’s here for, it isn’t love and family, that’s for damn sure. My attention slides over to Justin, but he’s smiling at his girlfriend in that charming way of his.

If she’s a monster, fine. Doesn’t matter. So is he. They deserve each other.

This is clearly the person he was so eager to introduce me to. Figures that he’d pick Parrish’s bio mom to date after kidnapping and imprisoning her son. Or before? I wonder when they met and how long they’ve been together, how long Justin Prior has been plotting all of this.

Milk Carton’s aging software was put in place specifically to locate me, so clearly this has been in the works for a very long time. Probably since shortly after Saffron kidnapped me. It occurs to me that all this time, I’ve been obsessing over that stupid Netflix documentary, about my grandparents calling the hotline, about Tess spiriting me away to live here.

In retrospect, that was a good thing. I was bound to end up in Medina whether I liked it or not. The only difference here is that I’ve got Chasm and Maxx on my side, that Tess found me first, that I wasn’t dragged straight from my quiet life in the Catskills to this West Coast mess.

Justin would’ve found me, regardless. But I would’ve been even more blindsided by his entrance into my life, even less prepared. At least that’s something.

“Well, if she’s a part of your life, honey, then she’s a part of mine.” Caroline smiles at me, her sleek black dress clinging to all of her curves. She’s a beautiful woman, as beautiful as Parrish is handsome. Yet, I can’t get past the fact that she’s at a fancy party fawning all over Justin while her son is missing. “I hope we can get to know each other, Dakota.”

“There’ll be plenty of time for that,” a redheaded man booms out, breaking away from the other well-dressed men beside him to clamp a hand on Justin’s shoulder. I feel my bio dad tense up beside me, his arm still wrapped firmly around my shoulders. “I hear you just put an offer in on a house?”

“Mm,” Justin agrees, releasing me finally as I study Caroline further. I let my gaze drift back to Chasm’s, but he can’t seem to break his glare. The hatred roiling in his face matches my own. When I look to Maxx, he returns my stare, reaching down to give my hand a quick squeeze. “I have actually. The elderly owner passed away from a chronic health condition. I managed to get my offer in before the place even hit the market.”

That intrigues me for more than one reason. First off, I wonder if the owner wasn’t also a victim of the Slayer. Second … could this be the house that Tess mentioned, the one that she said Justin bought for her? Then again, she mentioned a family living in that house, not a sick, elderly person. Still, it’s another option, another place for us to check out.

“In Medina or elsewhere?” the man babbles as Justin drops his arm from my shoulders and plucks yet another glass of alcohol off a passing tray; the drone bubbles flutter above our heads as the orchestra continues to play.

“Here in town, of course. Anything less would be obscene.” He sips his drink as I debate the best way to escape this conversation so that I can find a spot to examine whatever it was that Lumen slipped into my hand. I didn’t dare glance at it with the drones overhead.

“You have great instincts,” Justin’s companion continues, continuing to pat my bio dad on the shoulder. Am I the only one who recognizes how much he hates being touched like that? His smile is still firmly in place, but there are cracks in it. Caroline notices, I think, but then she swings her gaze over to me, and I find myself choking on the pain of missing Parrish.

She looks so much like him, and she doesn’t even care that he’s gone. He mentioned his mother briefly in passing, but only once. That, and … I flush in shame as I remember how I threw her abandonment of him in his face. It’s not something I was proud of at the time, and it’s even more shameful now that I think back on it.

“Didn’t she run off when you were a kid? I can see why. Clearly, you drove her away.”

Ugh.

“Great instincts in both business and real estate,” the man continues as he prattles along, oblivious to Justin’s distaste for him.

“Well,” Justin begins, taking in a deep breath and straightening out his jacket. “Instinct is a marvelous thing. It can neither be explained nor ignored.”

The blood drains from my face, and I feel so dizzy that I actually start to topple over. The boys steady me on either side as Justin flicks a curious glance my way and takes great effort to restore the usual brilliance in his smile.

“Don’t worry,” Caroline tells me, gliding closer in her floor-length gown. “You’ll get more used to the heels over time. With all these lovely parties your father plans on throwing, I’m sure you’ll have plenty of practice.”

“I’m certain that I will,” I agree as the big man in the navy suit continues to chatter away and Justin pretends to be interested.

Meanwhile, I’m reeling. I’m breaking apart. I’m falling to pieces.

“In the meantime, I’m going to hit the bathroom. Lady troubles.” I give a false smile as Caroline’s brows go up, turning and fleeing the conversation like a house on fire.

“What’s going on?” Maxx asks, grabbing onto my right arm as Chasm takes my left. It’s the only way to stay so close together in such a large, tightly gathered crowd.

“Out. I think I might know where we can find our next clue.”