Chapter 20

“It’s been a whole damn week, and there’s still nothing about Cecelia,” Danika said with frustration, her voice tinged with disbelief as she flopped back on the couch and swirled the whiskey in her glass. “It makes no sense though. How could she just disappear?”

“Or maybe she didn’t disappear at all,” Elena sighed, her brow furrowing in thought as she scrolled down her tablet, her eyes scanning through emails with a mix of concentration and concern. “I told you, she’s on the run. McDowells probably shipped her to some remote island of sorts, waiting for this whole mess to blow over, which it obviously won’t since her asshole brother went public with everything. This entire thing they are doing is all a pretense. It always is with them. They aren’t even looking for her in earnest. They are just saying that so they can save face, so they don’t look bad in public.”

Danika scoffed in disgust. “What a bunch of idiots!”

Elena raised her glass to her lips and took a sip, savoring the strong