Faithless: A High School Bully Romance (The Privileged of Pembroke High Book 3)

by Ivy Fox

  “That will change,” I assure.

  “Really? How?” My sister adds doubtingly, throwing her hands in the air.

  Ash gives them a dark smirk, one that I’ve missed seeing on his face. It’s full of mischief and rebellion, two things we desperately need right now to bring a smidge of faith to a faithless situation.

  “Once the prosecution rests, and the defense gets their chance, we will discredit everything the DA’s witnesses have testified. Right now, DA Rosenblum believes he’s ticked every check from his list. He gave the jury means, motive, and opportunity. That’s it. No matter how hard he tried to make Reid’s mom and that nurse his pièce de résistance, there was no smoking gun. So now it’s up to the Coen’s to tear Rosenblum’s theories to shreds,” Ash explains, delighted and fully confident that the plan he and Rome’s lawyers worked up, will bear fruit.

  “How, though?” Elle asks, still unconvinced by the success of this plan.

  “First, Joel and Mark will tackle the motive part. You see, while Joel was sparring with Rosenblum, keeping him entertained, his brother, Mark, was looking at every angle of the case, taking close attention to the details that the prosecution failed to do their due diligence.

  “They say that our bastard of a father found this new will, where Mom left him the majority of the Grayson estate. We all know that’s a big pile of bullshit. No way did Mom sign any document giving that rat bastard a dime. So Mark subpoenaed this so-called will, and after being examined by the best handwriting expert, there is no shred of doubt that it’s a fake. Nothing but a good forgery, obtained by a vile man out to steal his own kids’ inheritance.

  “The expert is a key witness, and he’s ready to testify, so the Coen’s will prove that this new will is a fucking worthless piece of paper. Therefore, Rome had no motive to kill our father for his fortune because it was never at risk in the first place.”

  “Are you serious?” Elle sits up with her legs crossed at her ankles, her eyes shining with freshly gained hope.

  “Does he look like he’s kidding?” I wink at her.

  “So, what else have you been hiding? Spill, you dick!” Elle claps with glee, her eyes fixed on Ash like he’s her newfound hero.

  “Well, then comes opportunity, little sis,” he ventures on, poking at the tip of her nose, which gets a girlish giggle out of her. “The Coens already got the documents to perform a second autopsy and confirm the accuracy of the time of death. We already got our hands on video footage showing we left the Manning’s party around two in the morning, and if my guess is right, Snow got him good way before that.”

  “That sounds about right,” Snow mutters uncomfortably, her skin prickling with the cold shiver she must have felt just by remembering that small portion of the night.

  I rub her arms, to get some heat back into her bones, but no matter how hard I try, her skin feels like ice under my fingertips. Even in death, my father will always haunt her.

  “What about means then?” Elle interrupts, anxious to learn every detail on what Ash has been working on with the lawyers.

  Elle’s puppy-like eagerness is enough to bring Snow out of her melancholic state, and focus on every word Ash utters.

  “No one has found the murder weapon. Nor will they. Rome made sure to throw that thing down the Hudson. No way was he going to leave anything that could incriminate Snow lying around the house. When the cops came to the manor, they were shit out of luck and months too late to the party to find anything that could link Snow or Rome to that night. So, if there is no murder weapon, then means is off the table, too.”

  “Wait. Wait. Didn’t their forensic team match our father’s DNA on the bloodstains found in Rome’s leather jacket? How are the Coens going to explain that?” Elle interjects, trying to cover all the loose ends.

  “Easy,” Ash shrugs, looking smug. “Rome tried to resuscitate the asshole, got blood on his hands while doing it, and when he disposed of his jacket, it transferred onto there without him even realizing it. A guilty man would have thrown away the jacket. An innocent man just forgot to have it dry cleaned. Any other questions, little Miss Know-it-All?” my twin retorts, looking unbeatable at whatever question she bombards him with next.

  But while Elle is enthusiastically on board with this plan, Snow still looks weary.

  “What about the nurse? What about Claire Hurst’s testimony?” Our girl asks suspiciously.

  And why shouldn’t she be? All her life, she was taught, if it seems too good to be true, that’s because it probably isn’t. And lately, all her well-groomed plans have bitten her in that gorgeous ass of hers. It’s good that she’s skeptical because while Elle might think we actually have a shot at getting Rome liberated, there are a million other things that could go wrong. And Snow just mentioned one thorn in our paw that still rubs me the wrong way—Claire Hurst.

  The testimony of Senator Hurst’s wife damages Rome’s case more than we are willing to admit. And when Ash begins to give Elle his explanations, I don’t miss how he conveniently leaves Claire out of the equation.

  “Joel will call on Nurse Jenkins to take the stand again. Only this time, her testimony will include an explanation of how one hundred thousand dollars made it to her bank account, hours after she told the world our father incriminated Rome as his would-be killer.

  “We’re still trying to track down who wired her the money, but so far, all we have is an offshore account with a bogus name attached to it. But we’ll find who is responsible, I guarantee it. We’ve got the best detectives looking into the matter as we speak. And if it all pans out, we know exactly who the police should look into next for foul play.”

  “My mother,” she huffs out, slumping her head back onto her pillows.

  “Yes. If Vivienne had anything to do with fabricating evidence, then we’ll make sure it’s her neck on the chopping block, not Rome’s,” I explain softly.

  She turns her head to face me and offers me a weak smile, too feeble for me to take any comfort in. She then straightens back up to give Ash the same frail grin.

  “I’m sorry. I had no idea how much you were doing to help Rome. I feel foolish in thinking you wouldn’t pull out all the stops and do everything in your power. I guess going to the police was a futile attempt on my part. I’m sorry. I really didn’t know.”

  “No, you didn’t. We tried to protect you as much as we could since you were grieving, but we need you to trust us now. Trust that we know what we are doing and that we won’t let you down. Not again, Snow. I’ll never let you down again,” Ash vows, and I witness how much he needs Snow to believe him.

  “I do trust you, Ash.” She tries to smile brightly at him, but I see the skepticism still breathing inside her.

  She might want to trust us, and maybe deep down, she does. She just doesn’t trust the life that was handed out to her. All she’s ever known is heartbreak and pain. How can she expect anything else?

  I guess we have to show her those days are gone. Or at least I hope they will be.

  “What the fuck do you want?” Trevor exclaims, looking down at me.

  I grind my molars to keep me from punching his stupid, arrogant look off his face. Thank God I was able to convince Ash and Elle to stay behind at the hospital today. I have a better chance of doing this on my own than with those two hotheads at my side. If they were here, one of them would have said something by now and set this dick down a peg.

  “Here to see your cougar girlfriend. Is she in?” I ask, waltzing into the foyer without waiting to be officially invited.

  “What do you want with Vee?” he questions suspiciously, and the protective way he utters Vivienne’s nickname has my vomit rising up my throat.

  “Already with cute, little pet names for each other? How quaint. Tell me, Trevor, just when did you start boning my stepmother? Was it before or after my dad kicked the bucket?” I taunt, not hiding my disgust.

  Trevor takes a menacing step toward me, eating the brid
ge between us, and snarls right in my face, “I’d carefully chose my words if I were you, Grayson.”

  “Ollie? What are you doing here?” Lace asks concerned, stepping into the hall and pulling her gorilla of a brother off me.

  Lucky for me, Lace and her BFF, Kim, have always had a soft spot for me. I guess being known as Pembroke High’s celibate hottie made me some sort of challenge for most of the female population on campus. So Lace and Kim’s competitiveness makes me more of a prize than a friend. Whatever the circumstances, I’m just glad she may be more inclined to let me see Vivienne just to win brownie points with me.

  “I need to see your houseguest, Lace. Is Vivienne here?”

  “She’s got company right now, Ollie. Maybe you can come back later when it’s not so… crowded,” she mumbles between her teeth, her blonde brows creating a deep V on her forehead.

  I pull her by the elbow, and give her my best panty-melting smile, right out of my twin’s playbook.

  “I promise, it will only take a minute,” I cajole, and the bite to her lower lip combined with the quick batting of her fake eyelashes, is enough for me to know I’m going to get to see Vivienne like I wanted to.

  “Okay, sure. Why not? Follow me, sugar.” She smiles, hooking her arm in mine.

  “That’s not a good idea, Lace. Vee is busy,” Trevor warns behind us as Lace begins to usher me to the living room.

  She turns her head over her shoulder and gives her brother a stern stare.

  “Trev, I told you a million times, it’s sick you keep calling her that. She’s old enough to be our mom, weirdo,” she quips in her southern twang, making gagging sounds.

  Guess it’s a sister thing to bust a brother’s balls, no matter who’s watching.

  Trevor grunts something under his breath, upset he was one-upped by his sister, before turning around and walking the other way, finally leaving us alone.

  “I can’t wait for this bitch to leave my house. She’s your stepmom, Ollie. Why don’t you take her?” Lace whines, demonstrating how Vivienne has overstayed her welcome.

  “Sorry, Lace. But we hate the bitch as much as you apparently do.”

  “I very much doubt that, but whatever.” She shrugs, moving us along. “Soon, Momma will send her packing. She hasn’t yet because it would be bad form and bad publicity for the company. One of Daddy’s pharmaceutical companies is going public, did you hear?” she beams proudly.

  “I did.” I feign interest since doing otherwise won’t get me to where I need to go.

  “I’m going to own it, you know. I don’t know what my idiot of a brother did, but he messed up big time over the Christmas holidays. Daddy was so angry that he said if he didn’t get his act together, then I’d be the one taking over the reins after I graduate from college. And you and I both know Trevor is going to put his foot in it somehow, so the company is as good as mine. Isn’t that exciting?” she singsongs happily, not one bit bothered about taking her brother’s legacy from him.

  But her lack of loyalty isn’t what piques my interest; it’s what Trevor could have possibly done for his father threatening to disown him.

  “How did Trevor mess up?” I ask curiously, adding fuel to Lace’s desire of gossip, even when said slander is focused on her own family.

  “Honestly, I’m not sure. All I heard was Daddy bitch and moan about something going missing in one of his labs in Brooklyn. I think it was a trial drug or something that the research team was doing for the U.S. military. Whatever it was, he blames Trevor for going missing. And if it ruffled Daddy’s feathers, then you know it must have been worth millions. I don’t know all the details exactly, and frankly, I don’t care. All I care is that Trevor’s in the doghouse, and I’m daddy’s pride and joy. I just hope my brother wises up before Daddy figures out he’s two-stepping the Senator’s daughter with that old skank you have for a stepmother,” she huffs out, irritated her brother could be so stupid to the point of risking his future because of Vivienne’s old ass.

  My features show genuine concern, while inside I’m trying to connect the dots. One thing is for sure, never underestimate the power of a girl who likes to wag her tongue at every opportunity. And maybe Lace is exactly who I need to push, for Vivienne to be out on the cold sidewalk once and for all, even if that means Trevor bites the big one and gets kicked to the curb by his old man, too.

  “Maybe someone should tell him.” I murmur in her ear, conspiringly.

  Lace halts her step and looks me in the eye unimpressed. She then crosses her arms over her chest, and rebukes, “My brother is an asshat, Ollie. But he’s the only one I got.”

  “I get that,” I tell her repentantly, knowing when to back down.

  If all of Lace’s intel is true, then soon enough, her parents will find out about Trevor’s affair with Vivienne, which will set the wheels in motion for both of them to get some bad karma headed their way.

  One can only hope.

  “M’kay, Ollie. Here you go,” she announces, tilting her head to the main room. “Be careful in there, sugar. There is more than one ice-cold bitch having tea right now,” she warns.

  “Thanks, Lace. You’re a sweetheart.” I flatter, giving her a kiss on the cheek for her trouble.

  “Don’t you dare go spilling that vile nonsense at school now, you hear? I got a reputation to uphold.” She giggles, her pale cheeks tingeing with a crimson hue, and continues, “As much as you’re my favorite Grayson, I’m not doing this for you. Whatever the reason that brought you to show up here, I know for a fact it will ruin that snobby bitch’s day. So have at her, Ollie.” She smirks, revealing the real reason behind her willingness to let me in against her brother’s wishes.

  She flips around and heads back to where we came from, with a spring to her step, while I gather my cool before facing the fire-breathing dragon that is Snow’s bitch of a mother.

  I walk into the room, and I’m taken off guard by who I find there—Addison and Claire Hurst. Seems as if this afternoon is filled with surprises, theirs and mine.

  Sitting comfortably on a plush chaise lounge, having her afternoon tea, is the queen-bitch of Park Avenue, Vivienne, laughing her head off at something Addison Hurst just said. Sitting next to her is Addison’s mother, the not-so-pleased, Claire Hurst—the most recent entry to my shitlist. Addison looks right as rain, while Claire looks like she wants to swallow Vivienne whole. An odd trio if I ever saw one.

  “Bad time?” I ask cheerfully, getting all of the three women’s attention.

  “What are you doing here?” Addison asks suspiciously, her upper lip already curling into an ugly snarl.

  “Addy, manners,” Claire chastises, throwing me an apologetic look under her eyelashes.

  “Manners are for people that matter. Ollie doesn’t, Mom,” Addison quips back coolly, eyeing me up and down, disgruntled.

  “A girl after my own heart,” Vivienne announces, throwing an icy smile over to the little bitch in training. “I like a girl who speaks her mind, but Oliver is my stepson, Addison, which means he’s at least entitled to a proper hello.”

  “Spare me such formalities. I’m sure you know why I’m here,” I snap, going right to the heart of the matter.

  I’m sickened by the sideway smirk that instantly appears on Vivienne’s lips as she retorts, “I have an idea, but please, why don’t you enlighten me?”

  “Holland is sick,” I summarize, gaining a certain interest from the Hurst women, but not from Vivienne.

  “Holland has always been sick. That isn’t new.” She fakes a yawn, rolling her eyes at her guest for my tedious visit.

  “I mean, she’s sicker. Her kidney is failing, and the only thing the doctors can do is keep her on dialysis. But that has an expiration date. What your daughter needs is a kidney. The sooner the better.”

  “Come now, Oliver, I’m sure with all your wealth you can buy one for her. I mean, what’s the point of having millions if you can’t buy whatever your lit
tle heart desires,” she mocks, the gleam in her eyes translucent.

  “That’s exactly why I’m here. Name your price, Vivienne. Whatever you want, it’s yours,” I growl through gritted teeth.

  Ash and Elle will hate that I’m here doing this in front of Claire and Addison of all people, but when the life of the woman you love is on the line, pride takes a back seat.

  “Me? You want my kidney?” she counters, placing a hand over her non-existent heart.

  “You are her mother. The doctor says you might be a match.”

  “He can’t be positive of that.”

  “Only one way to find out. Come to the hospital, get tested, and we’ll see,” I hiss out.

  I loathe the fact that the woman is still on the fence about doing the right thing for Snow. But her lack of decency surprises me further when she lets out a blood-curdling laugh, her head falling to her back.

  “And why on earth would I do that?” she coos, once she’s composed herself.

  “Because she’s your daughter!”

  Her ocean eyes turn a darker shade of blue, reminiscent of a foreboding sky when a thunderstorm is due. Vivienne gets up from her seat and slowly makes her way to me until we are face to face. I can clearly see the hate woven in her very fabric.

  “Is she now? She wasn’t my daughter when she chose to stand against me. Nor when she defied everything I taught her. Why would I reward bad behavior?” She tilts her head to the side, relishing my response.

  “This isn’t a tantrum, Vivienne. This is your daughter’s life we’re talking about. If she doesn’t get a kidney, then you are condemning her to die. Don’t you get that?” I howl, clenching my fists, so I don’t do something as stupid as shaking her until she sees some sense.

  “Don’t be dramatic, Oliver. You are far too bright for theatrics. My daughter will get out of the mess she’s made by herself. She’s made friends, has she not? Powerful, wealthy friends. Let her go to them for aid. She’ll get nothing from me.”

  “Fuck. You really are a heartless bitch, aren’t you?” I croak out, feeling my knees about to buckle when confronted with such a grotesque human being.