Kidnapped in Sister’s Place and Emotionally Numbed: The Tragic Twin Cuts All Ties Chapter 07
I wasn’t surprised.
The second I’d read those texts, I knew he’d show up.
“Liora, come home. I’ll find out why Veyra left you in those woods. And I’ll get you answers about the kidnapping.”
“I’m not going back.”
“Why not?” Something flared in his voice.
“You just got out of the hospital and you’re already out here alone. Do you know how that looks? People are
going to think the pack did this to you.”
“Didn’t you?”
His face went dark.
My eyes dropped to the report in his hand.
“You just told me Veyra deliberately left me in Blackridge territory.”
“And you want me to go back and sleep under the same roof?”
“I’ll protect you.” He said it without hesitation.
“Like last time?”
He had nothing.
I turned and walked away.
He followed.
“Liora, we’re not done.”
I walked faster. I just needed him gone.
“Watch out!”
I didn’t even see it coming. An SUV was barreling straight at me.
Everything slowed.
Veyra was behind the wheel.
She was looking right at me. No mask this time. Just hate.
Through the glass, I watched her mouth move.
“Go to hell.”
Evander dove for me.
He wasn’t fast enough.
The impact ripped me off my feet. Then nothing.
I found out later that Veyra had tracked Evander’s itinerary, caught the next flight to Seattle, and rented the
SUV at the airport.
She didn’t stop. She floored it and tried to get off campus.
Every road on campus was under surveillance.
She didn’t make it.
The academy enforcers caught her at the north gate and handed her over to the regional Pack Council.
My surgery ran almost seven hours.
Mom and Dad flew in on Frostmere’s private jet. The surgery still wasn’t over when they landed.
Evander was on a bench in the waiting room. His body was numb with shock.
“Evander, how is she?” They rushed over.
“She’s still in surgery.”
“I meant Veyra!” Mom’s voice cracked.
Evander stared at her like she’d spoken a different language.
“Veyra is the one who hit Liora with a car.”
“Your biological daughter is still on the operating table, and you’re asking about Veyra?”
“Veyra is my daughter, too!” Mom cried.
“She’s at the Pack Council’s holding facility,” Evander said. His voice had gone flat.
“Why didn’t you get her out? Veyra’s never been in a place like that. She can’t handle it. I need to make some
calls.”
She was already reaching for her phone.
Evander looked at both of them for a long time.
And for the first time, he understood why Liora had refused to come home.
“Mom. Dad.” His voice dropped. “Liora lived in the woods for sixteen years. We never once went to see her”
“The day before she finally came home, Veyra got sick out of nowhere. Cried all night saying she was afraid
we’d stop loving her.”
“We stayed up all night with Veyra. And we missed picking Liora up.”
“You’d bought gifts for Liora. Every single one. But the second Veyra started crying, they all ended up in her
room.”
Mom stared at him blankly.
“What’s your point?”
He didn’t answer right away.
He stared down at his hands. When he spoke again, his voice was barely there.
“Why did I ever think she was the one taking things from Veyra?”
“We never gave her anything.”
The last thing I remember was the anesthesia pulling me under.
When I came to, the world was gauze and blur. All three of them were at my bedside.
This time was different from last time. This time, they showed up.
When I saw Dad, something in me reached for him. My lips moved before I could stop them.
He leaned in close before I could get a word out.
“Liora, help Veyra.”
