Chapter 208
Blake’s POV
I took a second, then nodded. “Yes.”
“I don’t know why you dropped the charges against Jennifer,” I said, meeting Audrey’s eyes. “But she needed to face conséquences.”
“So I made Michael keep pushing.”
I looked for any reaction, then got to the point. “I answered your question.”
“Let’s talk about Rachel Hayes now. Privately.”
Audrey signaled to Astrid with a quick hand motion before walking a few steps away with me.
“What now?” she asked when we were alone. “I already told you everything.”
“At the mansion,” I started, watching her face. “You said Rachel called you her sister. Was that true?”
“Yes.”
She crossed her arms. “You’re thick with Laurel, so you must know the family situation.”
“Rachel couldn’t stand Mr. Rose or Laurel. They bullied her constantly. That’s why she wanted me as her sister instead.”
My forehead creased with doubt. “But Laurel and Rachel were close.”
I’d heard about their relationship myself. But thinking back to those two months when Rachel cared for me… she never once said her sister’s actual name, just “sister” or “dear.” If Audrey was telling the truth…
“Just call me a liar and be done with it,” Audrey said with a bitter laugh. “You show up asking about Rachel, then don’t believe a word I say. What’s the point?”
She turned to leave.
I came to my senses and caught her wrist. “I asked because I want to believe you.”
“It’s just… I think you’ve got Laurel wrong. Their relationship too…”
‘I don’t have anyone wrong,” Audrey snapped, yanking free.
She faced me squarely. “Including you, Blake Parker.”
“If all you want is to believe Laurel’s version without checking facts yourself… why even talk to me? Trying to make me as
clueless as you are?”
“Not happening.”
She walked away without looking back.
1/2
Chapter 208
I almost reached for her, wanting to explain Laurel wasn’t what she thought. My hand stopped halfway.
Her words knocked around in my head, impossible to ignore.
After standing there like an idiot for a minute, I got back to my car and called Michael. “I need everything you can find on
Rachel Hayes.”
Michael sounded confused. “Sir, isn’t she dead? Been that way for four years? You want me investigating a corpse?*
I yanked at my tie, my patience wearing thin. “She’s not dead. She’s a vegetative patient. The Rose family’s keeping her
hidden.”
The phone went silent. When Michael finally spoke, he sounded stunned. “Wait… Rachel Hayes is alive? A vegetative patient?”
“And the Roses told everyone she committed suicide?”
“Yeah.” I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Laurel claims Scarlett bought into some psychic’s bullshit. Something about announcing her death would trick the Grim Reaper into thinking he’d already collected her soul.”
Michael snorted. “Sir, no offense, but that’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.”
“When you were a vegetable, Mr. William Parker told the whole damn world. Put out rewards for doctors. That’s why you’re walking and talking now.”
“If they told everyone Rachel was dead, they can’t exactly go doctor–shopping, can they? So what’s their plan? Let her lie there until she dies of old age?”
“Sounds to me like they want her gone for good.”
His words hit like a bucket of ice water.
Shit. He’s right.
If the Roses actually cared about Rachel like Laurel claimed, why wouldn’t they be moying heaven and earth to heal her?
“Find out if they’ve brought in any specialists for vegetative patients in the last four years,” I said, my voice hardening. “And get me the contact info for the team that woke me up. I want them to evaluate Rachel.”
Audrey’s POV
“What did Blake want?” Astrid pounced the moment I walked in, hugging Snow to her chest. “What’s his deal now?”
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