Unmasked: A Reverse Harem High School Bully Romance (An Evergreen Academy Novel Book 4)

by Ruby Vincent

  “And that’s for everything else.”

  I staggered back and tipped onto the sofa, clutching my face. Through the tears, I could see Ciara lean over me. The pain scrambled my mind, but I forced myself to speak.

  “Ciara,” I croaked. “Listen to me.”

  “What? You going to beg and say how sorry you are? That you never meant to spread those lies about my family?”

  Slowly, I shook my head. “No. I was going to say... your sister is a sick, twisted monster that got exactly what she deserved.”

  I was ready for the next one. When Ciara swung, I threw myself to the side and her fist went sailing through the spot where I was. I took my chance and ran.

  The roof’s ledge loomed in front of me, but if I could double back around the couch, I could make it to the door before—

  Hands seized me and pulled me back. I crashed onto Ciara and flailed as she got me into a chokehold like Darren’s.

  “Let me go, you psychotic piece of shit! You’ve made your point!”

  Ciara’s arm constricted until my screaming was cut off with a gasp. “I haven’t begun to make my point,” she hissed into my ear. “Those idiots may be too weak to get rid of you, but I don’t have that problem.”

  Suddenly, the arm choking me was gone. Ciara put her hands on my back and shoved. I careened forward and fell a foot from the ledge. She was on me before I could get up.

  Ciara’s nails dug into my neck as she raised my head off the ground. “I can’t say I liked Scarlett. She grew up with her mother and never gave enough of a fuck about me to come around. It definitely pissed me off when I came to the academy and she refused to let me take over as Ace, but no matter how I felt about her. You can’t get away with—”

  “I’m innocent!” I bellowed. “I never wanted any of this to happen. She came after me. She marked me. She dropped the planter. She set my room on fire.”

  I spun around, arm up, and knocked her hand off me. Quickly, I scrambled to my feet and we faced each other.

  Ciara didn’t look pissed at my escape. On the contrary, she was smiling. “Actually, about that last one. It wasn’t Scarlett who started the fire; it was me.”

  I gaped at her, genuinely stunned. “You what?”

  She lifted her shoulders. “I told you Scarlett wouldn’t let me take over. I had to do something to prove I could be Ace so I took my chance to get rid of the mark that just wouldn’t leave. Then Daddy moved you to that dorm and I couldn’t try again.” Her smile widened. “Don’t have to worry about those cameras now.”

  I could barely hear her over the roaring in my ears. It was Ciara. She was the dark figure that escaped into the night. She tried to burn me alive.

  My chest felt so tight it hurt. A thin layer of sweat covered my body and made me shiver as the cool air ripped through my pajamas. I thought this girl was my friend and she tried to kill me.

  “How could you?” I asked, voice rising. “What the fuck is wrong with you?! Who would try to kill someone because they won’t obey a stupid card?!”

  Ciara’s face twisted. “It’s more than a card, Val. That’s what you never understood. That is why you never belonged here. Quae sequenda traditio. Tradition is everything.

  “It’s the traditions of this school that have made it the best in the world. You think the thirteen families are using the students, but what they’re really doing is helping them make a difference. No one gives a fuck about the person who had the idea. It’s the ones who make it a reality that end up in the history books.”

  Ciara took a step toward me and I resisted the urge to move back. I wasn’t getting any closer to that ledge.

  “My grandfather explained it all to me.” She took another step and was only inches away. “We do good. Not just for the students, but for the future. We make sure that people with the potential to be something, achieve that potential. The very least we can ask in return is that people don’t ruin our good name.” She swept out her arms. “All of this is mine, and everyone here has to obey me—whether they know it or not.”

  I lifted my chin and looked her directly in the eyes. “I won’t.”

  She laughed—a sharp, mirthless sound. “You don’t have that option anymore.” Her eyes flicked over my shoulder. “Go ahead. Jump. Make it easier on both of us.”

  I held her gaze steadily. “No.”

  “Fine.” In the time it took for me to blink, she lunged.

  I screamed as Ciara shoved my shoulders and sent me flying. Reacting fast, my hand flashed out and grabbed her before she could pull back. We both fell hard and I cried out when my back hit the ledge.

  Snarling, she pulled away and grabbed the sleeves of my pajamas, readying to shove me over for good.

  “Wait!” I cried. “Ciara, listen—”

  “Shut the fuck up!” She heaved me to my feet. It was terrifying how strong she was. “I’m done with you, Mo—”

  “It’s about Scarlett! I need to tell you something about Scarlett.” Ciara jerked, coming to a standstill.

  “What about Scarlett?” she asked through gritted teeth. “You going to admit you and your boyfriends lied about her?”

  My breaths came out in rapid pants. “I w-will admit something.” I yanked an arm out of her grasp and straightened. She let me, but the other arm was secure in her grip. “You need to know that your sister”—I grabbed the collar of my nightshirt and ripped—“fell for the same damn trick. Say hello to the camera, bitch.”

  Ciara’s eyes popped open. Her grip slackened in the moment of surprise and that split second was all I needed. I swung at her jaw and connected with a blow that knocked her back. Ciara tripped over her feet and crumpled to the floor. I jumped on top of her before she could get up.

  I plucked her phone out of her pocket and flung it with all my might. It smashed against the roof door and splintered into satisfying pieces.

  “That was to get rid of any videos you might be holding on to,” I hissed into her pale face. “But just in case you’ve gotten it saved somewhere else, my handsome, computer genius boyfriend who has been watching the whole thing as it streamed to his laptop, has also sent every single electronic device you own a nice virus.”

  The blood from my nose dripped onto her cheek and ran down, looking eerily like a teardrop. “Try running this place from jail, psycho, because the police are on their way.”

  As if they heard me, the sound of sirens pierced the air.

  Chapter Eleven

  “Are you sure you’re okay?”

  Kiss. Kiss. Kiss, kiss, kiss.

  “I’m fine, Mom,” I wheezed. She was squeezing me hard enough to crack a rib. “The nurse even said I could leave.”

  “How can you be fine?” She kissed my cheek again. “I almost had a heart attack when I saw that video. I agreed to your plan, but you”—Mom promptly dropped me and spun on Maverick—“were not supposed to wait so long to call the police! That girl almost threw her off the roof.”

  Maverick didn’t try to defend himself. “I’m sorry, Miss Moon.”

  “Mom, don’t blame him.” I tugged her arm and pulled her back to me. “I made him promise to wait until Ace— I mean, Ciara said something that would nail her. She admitted to setting my room on fire. She’s going away for a long time.”

  “She admitted to more than that,” said Sofia. She leaned over and took my hand. “I still can’t believe this stuff about the families and the Evergreens thinking they have the right to rule us like this is their kingdom.” She shuddered. “You once called this place a haunted house horror show. You were right.”

  All of us were squeezed into the nurse’s office. It was hard to believe only hours ago I was on that roof with Ace, but dawn brought a swarm of police and all the people I loved. Maverick, Jaxson, Ryder, Ezra, Sofia, Mom, and of course, my Adam. Adam twisted out of Ryder’s hold and reached for me. I took my baby and let him snuggle into my side.

  “The horror show is over,” I said. “I knew once I texted Ace those names that th
e Spades would try to get me alone to threaten me. I’ve been wearing that button cam night and day—which turned out to be smart because I wasn’t really expecting them to kidnap me from bed.” I shook my head. “But it’s okay. The Spades are exposed, we know where Eric is, and Ace is going down hard.” I let my head fall back onto the pillows. “It’s finally over.”

  Ryder came up to me and stroked my cheek. I leaned into his touch. “If the nurse said you could leave, let’s get out of here. I have a feeling classes are canceled today. I want to get you away from this place.”

  Mom patted Ryder’s shoulder. “The best thing I’ve heard all day. Come on, baby. I’m getting you out of here and you’re not coming back until those awful people have been handled.”

  I opened my mouth to argue but the look on Mom’s face made me think better of it. “Okay.” I picked up Adam and climbed out of bed. Ezra took my hand as we headed out of the door and my boys fell in around me.

  Adam put his arms around my neck and rested his head on my shoulder. My heart swelled as I kissed his curls. “It’s over,” I whispered. “Everything is going to be okay.”

  One Week Later

  I SAT ON MY BED, STARING at an unseen spot on the wall. Around me, my room was a chaotic mess of strewn clothes, open suitcases, and upturned textbooks.

  “...down to the car.” I heard his voice before he stepped into the doorway. “Hey, baby. Do you need help?”

  “No, Jaxson. I’m fine.”

  “Are you sure?” He came fully into the room, not worrying about the rules. No one had to worry about the rules now. “Doesn’t look like you started.”

  “No, I...” At that second, I made up my mind. “I have to do something first. I’ll be right back.”

  I stood and made for the door. Jaxson stopped me at the threshold. “Hold on. Where are you going?”

  “I need to talk to someone.”

  “Who? I’ll go with you.”

  I cupped his cheek. “You don’t need to be so protective of me anymore. I’ll be right back. I promise.”

  I sidestepped him and slipped out of the door. The dorm was a mess of noise, shouting, and chaos, but I passed through it and stepped outside. The sun shone fiercely on the academy, heating up my skin as I crossed the lawn and stepped into the courtyard.

  If I thought too hard about it, I might talk myself out of what I was going to do, so I trusted the part of me that spurred me on.

  Mrs. Khan’s desk was empty when I walked inside, but Evergreen’s wasn’t. He looked up at my footsteps. “Miss Moon.” He set down the stack of papers in his hands. “What can I do for you?”

  I walked inside and closed the door behind me. “I thought we could talk.”

  Only the slight wrinkle between his brows gave a hint to his feelings. “What about? As you can see, I’m very busy right now.” He stood and crossed to the bookshelf. He began emptying the shelf and moving the books to a box at his feet.

  “I wanted to talk about Nora Wheatly and Walter McMillian.”

  Evergreen stilled. A book dangled from the tips of his fingers over the box, but he made no move to let it go. He made no move at all.

  “You don’t have to worry,” I continued. “I don’t have any cameras. I’m not recording you. I just want the truth.”

  “The truth about what, Miss Moon?”

  “You know I broke into your office and looked through the yearbooks. I found Scarlett’s yearbook with your last name, and put the pieces together. I realized I was wrong about her age. If you were her father, then she was born when you were seventeen, and there was one other person I know who became a teenage parent at that time: Nora Wheatly.”

  The book finally fell into the box. Evergreen turned to me, his face tight. “If you want me to confirm that Nora is Scarlett’s mother, then the answer is yes.” He gestured to the door. “Now is that all? I am busy—”

  “Why did you mark her?” I demanded. “Ciara said all Evergreens are Ace. You were Ace. You marked the person carrying your child. Why? Was it to punish her for cheating on you?”

  Evergreen’s face crumpled into a scowl. “It was a punishment, but it certainly did not come from me.”

  “What does that—”

  “It was my father.” Evergreen sighed and the exhalation of breath seemed to take his strength with it. He slumped against the bookshelf. “It was bad enough that I had sullied the Evergreen name by getting a girl pregnant, but when she came clean to her other boyfriends about me and the baby, word got back to him. He told me to push her aside and deny the child. It could be Andrew’s or Walter’s or who knew who else. I couldn’t let her ruin my life. I refused him and the next day, a card appeared in her locker.”

  “Your father sounds like a hard man.”

  “Yes, he was.” Evergreen slowly returned to his desk. He sat down, turning his chair a bit away from me. “It was impossible growing up under his shadow. He suffocated me with his expectations, and though I tried to spare Scarlett the same pressure, just bearing my name meant people expected more of her. I thought it would be easier for Ciara if no one knew she was my daughter, but I underestimated my father’s influence.”

  He tossed his head. “No, I cannot blame him. I should have seen what was going on.” His face was turned away, but I read the agony in his stiff jaw and the lines around his eyes. “I’ve failed my daughters in every way.”

  “And Walter?” I pressed when the silence grew unbearable. “What did you do to him?”

  “Nothing.” Evergreen shifted, shrouding his face in shadows. “Not what you’re imagining.”

  “Then tell me what happened.”

  “There is no purpose. Nora passed away five years ago. Walter is long gone, and his killer can never be brought to justice.”

  “Is that because he went missing years ago too?”

  Evergreen’s head jerked up. “What did you say?”

  My hands shook in my lap. I clasped them together to still them. “I had a good look at your yearbook. I never checked the junior class which is where I finally found him: Benjamin Shea.” The name tasted bad on my tongue, but I forced it out and kept going. “I know now that he was a Spade. I also know that he doesn’t take it well when he discovers that he’s been cheated on.” My gaze bore into Evergreen. “Nora had a boyfriend in every grade. Was he one of them?”

  Stricken, Evergreen seemed to age before my eyes. The lines on his face became more pronounced as he paled. “Yes,” he whispered.

  “He was the violent, possessive boyfriend.” It was a statement, not a question. “He gave her the black eye.”

  He nodded without speaking.

  “And he killed Walter when the boy she chose over him took it a step further and tried to turn the school against the Spades.”

  Evergreen sat unmoving for so long, but I waited him out. “He didn’t tell me that was what he wanted to do.” The words came slow, as though they were being pulled out of him. “He said that we had to do something. If I wanted to prove to my father I was worthy of being Ace and not a useless embarrassment, I had to step up.” Evergreen’s eyes were unfocused as he gazed at a spot on his desk. “He was good at that—getting right to your weaknesses and using them against you.”

  I found myself nodding.

  “We went to Walter’s room that night,” he continued. “We were only going to rough him up, scare him a little and tell him to back down, but...”

  “But Shea took it too far,” I finished.

  “Walter had an asthma attack and Ben snatched the inhaler away from him. I told him to stop messing around and give it back, but he wouldn’t. I tried to take it from him, but he turned on me. Benjamin knocked me out and when I woke up... Walter was dead.”

  “And you never told anyone.”

  He shook his head. “Ben made it clear he’d denied it and say it was me. Nora was carrying my child. It would look like I was the one with the real motive to hate her boyfriend, and I couldn’t reveal the Spades. So I... told no one
.”

  I nodded, letting that sink in. “I guess that explains it.”

  “Explains what, Miss Moon?”

  “Why you’ve been so accommodating to Caroline Shea. Why you gave in to her request for late admission for a fifteen-year-old mother, and everything else she has asked you over the years. It wasn’t because of how much money she’s given the school; it’s because of your guilt.” I knew how harsh I sounded, but I could not hold back. “If you had told the truth, she never would have ended up married to that violent brute.”

  Evergreen tried to hold my gaze, but in the end, looked away. “You may be right.”

  “You don’t have to protect the secret of the Spades anymore and Benjamin is not here to throw the blame on you,” I said. “I know you’ll tell the truth now.”

  “Why do you believe that?”

  “Because I saw it in your eyes when I told you what Scarlett had done and you apologized for failing me and the students she assaulted. Your remorse was real, and I realized then that even though you are a terrible headmaster, you’re not a bad person.”

  He pinched the bridge of his nose, squeezing his eyes shut. “How can you say that? You were correct that day. You were marked and I did nothing to help you.”

  “No, you didn’t, but I can understand that you were caught up in what you were raised to believe.” I glanced around. “Plus, I’ve already seen justice done to you and this school. I’m not angry at you anymore, but I hope that you will tell the truth. I couldn’t find anything on Nora, but I did learn Walter has elderly parents that retired to Florida. I’m sure they would like to finally know the truth of what happened to their son.”

  Evergreen shifted around and looked me in the eyes. “I’m sure they would. You are right, Mis— Valentina. It’s time to tell the truth.”

  I nodded and left it at that. I shut Evergreen’s door and walked out of administration. Four boys were standing in the hall when I stepped out.

  A smile tugged at my lips as I looked at Jaxson. “I told you to turn the protectiveness down, playboy.”

  “Not a chance, mama. Why would you speak to Evergreen alone?”