Chapter 172 *
Scarlett’s POV
My phone buzzed on the library desk. Unknown number.
I ignored it. I'd blocked Lorenzo's number at least a dozen times. The bastard kept getting new phones just to harass me.
It buzzed again.
I sighed and picked it up. "What?"
"We need to talk." Lorenzo's voice was tight. Strained.
"No, we don't." I started to hang up.
"This is important."
"Everything's important to you people." I went back to highlighting my biochem notes. "I'm busy."
"It's about what happened. When you were three."
My hand froze on the page.
He had my attention now. I'd been digging into my kidnapping for months. I had nothing. No leads. No evidence. Just dead ends and encrypted files I couldn't crack.
The silence stretched between us.
"Where?" My voice came out flat.
"I'll pick you up. Campus gate. Twenty minutes."
The line went dead.
I sat there staring at my phone. This was probably a trap. Some new scheme to drag me back into their toxic family drama.
But if there was even a chance he knew something real about that night...
I packed up my stuff and headed for the exit.
Lorenzo was leaning against a black Escalade when I got there. He was smoking. His hand shook slightly when he brought the cigarette to his lips.
He saw me and immediately flicked it away. Relief washed over his face.
I pulled open the passenger door without a word. "Start talking."
"I need to show you something first." He got in and started the engine.
I pulled out my phone and started scrolling. If he wanted to play chauffeur, fine. I'd treat him like an Uber driver.
We drove in silence for maybe ten minutes. Then I noticed the streetlights getting sparser. The buildings farther apart.
I looked up from my phone. "Where the hell are we going?"
Lorenzo's eyes flicked to me, then back to the road. "Just... trust me, okay?"
I laughed. It came out cold. "Trust you? Are you taking me to another cripple you want me to marry? Another Adrian?"
His knuckles went white on the steering wheel. "I fucked up. I know I fucked up."
"You think?" I went back to my phone. "Is that supposed to be an apology? Because it's shit."
"Scarlett—"
"I don't hate you, Lorenzo." I kept my voice level. Calm. "You're nothing to me. You're strangers. All of you."
I looked at him directly. "Just leave me alone. That's all I want."
His jaw clenched. He didn't respond. Just kept driving.
The road started climbing. We left the city behind and wound up into the hills. The headlights cut through the darkness on narrow switchbacks.
Forty minutes of this.
Finally, the road leveled out. We pulled into a driveway that led to a row of massive houses. They looked expensive. Abandoned. The kind of failed luxury development that nobody wanted to finish.
Lorenzo killed the engine.
"You remember this place?"
I looked at the houses. Something tugged at my memory. "Nico's birthday party. We came here once."
"Yeah." Lorenzo got out of the car.
I followed him across an overgrown lawn. The grass came up to my ankles. Nobody had maintained this place in years.
He stopped in the middle of what used to be someone's backyard. Pulled a tarp off something.
"I could always tell when you were faking it." His voice was quiet. "Your smile."
I didn't say anything.
"But that night, when we set off the fireworks..." He looked at me. "That smile was real. You had stars in your eyes."
I remembered that party. Nico had been so excited to invite Zelda. He'd barely looked at me all night.
Lorenzo pulled the rest of the tarp away.
There were maybe thirty professional-grade fireworks underneath. The kind that cost thousands of dollars. They were arranged in careful patterns.
He took a deep breath. "Happy birthday, Scarlett."
I stared at the fireworks.
"Remember Nico's party? I promised you I'd throw you a fireworks show for your birthday." He rubbed the back of his neck. "I know your birthday's next Monday. But you'll be with Damon that day. So... this is early."
The memory hit me like a punch.
Nico's party. All those people staring at me like I was some kind of zoo animal. Zelda laughing and clapping when the fireworks went off. Nico putting his arm around her shoulders. "I'll throw you the same party, Zee. Even bigger."
I'd been standing off to the side. Trying not to look like I cared.
When I'd shown interest in the fireworks, he'd sneered at me. "If you're not from our world, stay in your lane. What do you think this is, some backwoods hoedown?"
Lorenzo had yelled at him. Told him to shut up.
Then he'd come over to me. Lowered his voice. "Don't listen to him. I'll throw you one too. I promise."
I'd believed him. For one stupid moment, I'd thought maybe Lorenzo actually cared.
That promise had meant everything to me. It made me think that maybe Lorenzo was different. Maybe he actually tried to be fair.
Right up until they told me I had to marry a paralyzed stranger to save the family's reputation.
I turned around and started walking back to the car.
"Scarlett, wait—"
"I don't give a shit about fireworks anymore."
That little girl who wanted her brother's love was dead. She'd died the day they chose Zelda over her for the hundredth time.
Lorenzo caught up to me. "Please. Just let me—"
"Go light them for Zelda." I kept walking. "Your real sister."
"She's not my fucking sister!" His voice rose. Then he lowered it. "Zelda is Dad's bastard. With Miranda. She's not your sister or mine."
I stopped walking.
Turned around slowly.
"Yeah. I know."
Lorenzo's face went pale. "You... you knew?"
"I'm not stupid, Lorenzo."
He just stood there. Staring at me like I'd slapped him.
So what if I knew? Did he think that changed anything?
Did he think finding out Zelda was a bastard would suddenly make me want their love again? Like I was some kind of backup prize they could claim once the truth came out?
I was unique. I was irreplaceable.
And the love I wanted had to be pure. Unconditional.
I didn't want Zelda's leftovers.
"Then why didn't you say anything?" Lorenzo's voice cracked.
"Because it wouldn't have changed anything."
I watched his expression crumble. He knew I was right.
"Lorenzo, listen to me." I made my voice clear. Direct. "Nineteen years. You lived with her for nineteen years. Every day. Every moment. You think four words—'blood relation'—can erase that?"
He opened his mouth. Nothing came out.
"To you people, I'll always be the outsider." I continued. "I spent six months trying to fit in. Trying to make you love me. I'm done."
"Scarlett—"
"If you really want to make things right?" I cut him off. "Leave me alone. That's all I'm asking. Just... leave me the fuck alone."