Chapter 152

Abigail had been in the prime of her life, completely trusting everyone in the Gibson family, when they forced her to take the fall and go to jail. She never got to attend the best schools, and her future was completely destroyed.

“Let’s not bring this up anymore. Her story is hers to tell, not ours,” Sebastian said.

His words put James in a somber mood, too.

“The Gibsons should pay for what they did,” Warren said quietly.

“The Gibsons will get what’s coming to them eventually,” Sebastian replied flatly. Daniella would be the first to go down.

“Ralph’s been investigating that car accident from years ago. Should we give him a little help?” James asked, lowering his voice.

“Stephen’s on Abigail’s side now, so let’s keep Daniella’s hit-and-run under wraps for a bit. Make Ralph work for it. A slow torture hurts the most,” Sebastian said.

James immediately understood what Sebastian meant.

“Abigail suffered through all of this, so Daniella should get a taste of it too. She can’t just waltz into prison that easily,” Warren said with a cold smile.

“In that case, let’s give her a sample of what it feels like when everyone turns against you.” James had mischief written all over his face.

“Handle it however you want,” Sebastian said, patting his shoulder and pushing both of them out of his room.

Abigail and Sebastian watched movies until four-thirty in the morning before she finally started feeling sleepy. She yawned and glanced at the man beside her. The hotel room was dark except for the glow from the TV screen, and the dim lighting gave his face an almost mysterious handsomeness.

Sebastian seemed to sense her looking at him and turned to meet her gaze. “If you’re tired, we can stop watching.”

Abigail looked away. “Okay. Wake me up at noon tomorrow so I can go to work with them in the afternoon.”

“Sure thing.” Sebastian stood up first and extended his hand to her.

Abigail was about to get up when she noticed his outstretched hand. She hesitated for a moment, then reached up and took hold of his large, warm hand.

As he pulled her to her feet, Abigail said quietly, “Thanks for staying up so late with me. Don’t forget to wake me tomorrow.”

“I’ll wake you up, don’t worry. Go get some sleep,” Sebastian said.

Back in her room, Abigail yawned again. She couldn’t quite put her finger on how she was feeling – just that she felt incredibly happy, like she was walking on air or floating in some kind of unfamiliar but thrilling bubble of contentment.

The next afternoon, Abigail went to work with Sebastian and his team.

Back in Cobridge, Stephen had been anxious for two straight days. He’d been trying to reach Ralph for 48 hours, and Ralph had only just gotten back to him today.

Stephen and Ralph met at a hotel, where Stephen said worriedly, “Abby went to Silverdale with Sebastian and two other guys. It’s been three days now. Do you think they might be taking advantage of her?”

“Abigail went to Silverdale with three men?” Ralph’s voice shot up. “Why didn’t you tell me this sooner?”

“I’ve been texting you for days and you never responded! I can’t keep calling her or she’ll get annoyed with me. You need to call her for me.”

That was exactly why Stephen had tracked Ralph down.

Ralph was about to dial, but then he hesitated. “I can call, sure, but she might not even pick up. If she was willing to go to Silverdale with them, it means she trusts them more than us.”

“I know that! Just ask her if anyone’s bothering her out there, that’s all.”

Stephen had thought it through. Getting blocked on Ralph’s phone was one thing, but he couldn’t afford to get blocked on his own number. Then he’d have no way to contact her at all.

Ralph dialed Abigail’s number. Within moments, someone picked up.

Stephen immediately leaned in to eavesdrop.

Ralph sounded nervous, his voice unexpectedly rough. “Abby, I heard you went to Silverdale with Sebastian and the others. They–”

“What’s wrong?” James‘ voice came through the phone.

Stephen exploded when he heard that. He grabbed Ralph’s phone and yelled at James on the other end. “Why do you have Abby’s phone? Where is she? What did you guys do to her? I knew it! You all tricked her into going abroad just to take advantage of her.”

“Oh wow, the brother who forced her to take the fall and go to prison for three years suddenly grew a conscience?” James shot back without any courtesy.

He added, “If you care about her so much, why don’t you figure out how to go to prison for three years yourself? Make up for what you put her through first, then come question us.”

James wasn’t about to show him any respect. He knew Abigail wouldn’t be nice to the Gibson family either.

Stephen didn’t care about the sarcasm. All he could think about was Abigail. “Put her on the phone right now, or I’m calling the police!”

“Go ahead and call the cops. I’m in Silverdale. I’m so scared!” James said, then hung up immediately.