Chapter 81 Chapter 81
Hailey’s POV
We were all picking at our food, pretending to eat, when the dining room door opened again.
Sophia walked in.
She looked terrible pale, with dark circles under her eyes, her hair uncombed, still wearing yesterday’s clothes. But there was something defiant in the way she held herself, like she was daring any of us to say something.
Benita’s fork clattered against her plate.
She stood up so abruptly her chair scraped loudly against the floor, the sound making everyone flinch.
“I can’t,” Benita said, her voice tight. “I can’t sit here and look at her. I can’t.”
She walked out without another word, her footsteps heavy and angry.
Sophia flinched but moved to take a seat at the table anyway, as far from the rest of us as possible.
The silence that followed was even worse than before.
Then Isabella spoke, her voice sharp and commanding. “Damien, this is ridiculous. We cannot continue staying in a hotel. You need to take us to one of the safe houses. Immediately.”
I looked up in surprise. “Safe houses? You have safe houses?”
“Several,” Isabella said, not looking at me.
“Then why aren’t we there already?” my mother demanded.
Damien’s expression darkened. “Because there’s too much history there,” he said quietly.
Isabella’s eyes flashed with irritation. “This is not about your comfort, Damien. This is about the safety of this family.”
“I said no,” Damien repeated, his voice harder now.
My mother’s hand slammed down on the table so hard the dishes rattled.
“Are you KIDDING me?” Barbara’s voice rose sharply. “You’re worried about ‘history’ when you should be worried about SAFETY? Your home was just destroyed! Good people are dead! Your pregnant girlfriend was nearly killed! And you’re concerned about bad memories?”
“Can you just calm…..” Damien started.
“No!” my mother interrupted, standing up. “I’m done being polite. I’m done pretending this is acceptable. You need to put your family somewhere safe, and you need to do it NOW. Not when you’re comfortable with it. NOW.”
She stormed out, leaving her breakfast half-eaten.
I sat there, staring at my own plate, and realized I agreed with her. Completely.
I took a few more bites, forcing the food down even though it tasted like ash, then set down my fork and stood.
“She’s right,” I said quietly, looking at Damien. “I would like to feel safe for now. And if your mother says the safe houses are more secure than a hotel, then maybe you should listen to her.”
Damien’s eyes met mine, and I saw pain there. “Hailey, you don’t understand. Those places… there are reasons I don’t go back there.”
“I don’t care about your reasons,” I said, my voice stronger now. “I care about staying alive. I care about my baby staying alive. Whatever history you have with those properties, it can’t be worse than what we just survived.”
Before Damien could respond, Sophia spoke up from her end of the table.
“Maybe if Hailey wasn’t here in the first place, none of this would have happened,” she said, her voice bitter. “Maybe if you’d just….”
“Shut up,” I snapped, whirling to face her.
Sophia’s eyes widened in shock. Everyone at the table went still.
I’d never spoken to her like that before. Never raised my voice or challenged her directly. I’d always tried to be patient, to understand her grief over her mother, to give her space.
But I was done.
“You don’t get to talk right now,” I continued, my voice cold and hard. “You don’t get to blame me for anything. Do you know why? Because you’re a murderer.”
Sophia’s face went white. “I didn’t….”
“You brought him into our home,” I interrupted. “You gave him access codes. You sent Marco away on fake errands. You did everything Tyler needed to help the Morellis kill us. So yes, Sophia, you’re a murderer. Marco’s blood is on your hands.”
“I didn’t know!” Sophia cried, tears streaming down her face. “I didn’t know what Tyler really was! I thought….”
“You didn’t think,” I said flatly. “That’s the problem. You were so consumed with jealousy that you didn’t think about the consequences. And now a good man is dead because of your selfishness.”
Isabella stood abruptly, her expression furious. “How dare you speak to my granddaughter like….”
“I guess you love being a grandmother to a murderer,” I said, turning to face Isabella directly.
Isabella’s face flushed red, her mouth opening and closing as she struggled to find a response.
“Hailey,” Damien said quietly, warningly.
But I was too far gone to stop now.
“She nearly got all of us killed,” I said, gesturing to Sophia. “Including your unborn grandchild. And you’re still defending her? Still making excuses for her? What’s it going to take for you to hold her accountable? Does someone actually have to die before….”
I stopped myself, remembering that someone did die. Marco did die.
“Oh wait,” I said bitterly. “Someone did die. And you still don’t care.”
I walked out before Isabella could respond, my hands shaking, my heart pounding.
I found my mother in her room, packing a bag with angry, jerky movements.
“Mom,” I said from the doorway.
She looked up, and when she saw my face, her expression softened slightly.
“Come here, baby,” she said, opening her arms.
I went to her, and the moment her arms wrapped around me, I started crying again. “I’m sorry,” I sobbed. “I’m so sorry for everything. For not listening to you. For staying when I should have left. For putting you through all this stress and fear.”
“Shh,” my mother soothed, stroking my hair. “It’s okay. It’s okay.”
“I could have listened to you,” I continued, the words tumbling out. “I could have left with you weeks ago. We could be safe somewhere far away from all this violence and death. But I stayed because I was stupid and stubborn and…..”
“Stop,” my mother said firmly, pulling back to look at me. “You’re not stupid. You fell in love. Love does things to people. Makes them make choices that don’t always make sense from the outside.”
“But you were right,” I said. “About everything. About Damien not being able to protect me. About this world being too dangerous. About….”
“I was scared,” my mother interrupted. “I am scared. But that doesn’t mean your feelings aren’t valid. You care about Damien. You want your baby to know their father. Those aren’t wrong desires.”
She cupped my face in her hands, forcing me to look at her.
“But I need you to promise me something,” she said. “I need you to promise that you’ll put your safety and that baby’s safety above everything else. Even your feelings for Damien. Can you do that?”
I hesitated, then nodded slowly. “Yes. I promise.”
“Good,” my mother said, a small smile appearing on her face. “Because I have some ideas about how we’re going to handle this situation. And you’re going to need to trust me.”
“I’m ready to do what you say,” I told her, meaning it. “Whatever you think is best, I’ll do it.”
My mother’s smile widened, taking on an almost triumphant quality. She opened her mouth to respond, to tell me whatever plan she’d been formulating but then the world tilted sideways.
I felt my legs give out, my vision going dark around the edges. The last thing I heard was my mother’s scream before everything went black.