Page 153 of The Exit Strategy

“But that wasn’t enough,” Natalie says.

“Stop. Just fucking stop, Natalie.” It roars out of me, and I don’t care who hears.

Hudson attempts to pull Junie away, but she digs her heels in. I try to block Natalie, but she threatens to scream. We’re at an impasse. No one moves.

“I knew it wasn’t enough to keep Cole in line. Not when everything he’d ever done for our entire relationship came in second toyou. So I hung around. I paid attention. I collected what I needed.” Even knowing what she’s capable of, the venom in her voice is shocking.

“What did I ever do to you?” There’s still no emotion in Junie’s voice.

“Come on, Junie. We can?—”

Natalie cuts me off. “What did you do?Whatdidn’tyoudo, you selfish little bitch? While I was home dealing with my father’s gambling debts and my brother’s care alone, you had everyone and everything at your fingers, and you never appreciated it.” It’s as though she doesn’t even care who hears her as long as she gets to hurt as many people as she can on her way down.

“That’s enough.” I reach for Junie, but she sidesteps me, curling into Hudson’s side.

My heart stops beating.

“Oh, I see.” Natalie’s voice cuts like glass. “He didn’t even tell you the worst of it. What I found out and why he’s sacrificed himself for you, once again.” She presses a button on her phone, and before I can stop her, she holds it out for Junie.

On her phone screen is a video of her mother in Junie’s very own house.

“Shut it off,” I shout, lunging for Natalie, but Hudson holds me back.

The video begins.

“You realize that when you die and this hasn’t been repaid, Juniper will lose everything?” Junie’s dad says, sliding papers toward her mother.

“Like you care,” her mother says. “You’ve never spent more than a few days with her, and you’re getting half the payout. Just make sure none of it falls back on Nolan’s company.”

Her father laughs mercilessly. “You’re a coldhearted bitch, Anna.”

“Say what you want. I’m going to enjoy the little time I have left. I don’t give a shit if that oxygen thief loses everything, and I definitely don’t care that she’ll be stuck with the repayment. It’s two million dollars—she’ll have a lifetime for remittance. She owes me this.”

“No sympathy for your only daughter?”Tommy Mercer is cut from the same cloth as his ex-wife.

“I don’t care what happens to her once I’m gone. She could jump off a bridge, and it wouldn’t affect my day one bit. I hate that girl with every fiber of my being. She ruined my body, my life, our relationship. I should have aborted her when I had the chance.”

I rip the phone from Natalie’s hand and throw it against the wall.

“Were you hiding in the butler’s pantry to record this?” Hudson growls.

Natalie shrugs. “Not at first, but as soon as I heard Anna saying what I always knew to be true, I hit record. At first, I thought I’d use it against Anna, but by the end, I realized she hated Junie almost as much as I did.”

My right eye twitches. I haven’t hit anyone since I beat the shit out of Junie’s dad after forcing him to help me buy out the loan and get Junie’s home out of foreclosure, but I’m close to losing control now.

I only gain my composure when Junie steps forward. The devastation she tries to hide puts me in a chokehold.

“You came into my home,” Junie says robotically. “And you rifled through my private matters as though you had a right to.”

“Oh, but you haven’t even heard the best part yet.” Natalie’s voice is colder than I’ve ever heard a human before. “Mommy Mercer wasn’t the only villain in our story. Cole and his savior complex couldn’t stop at abandoning me and our plan to live in NYC together.”

“We were never going to live in New York together, Natalie. I’d already broken up with you.” I step forward, but Hudson grabs hold of my elbow.

“Because you needed the money you’d saved to getherhouse out of foreclosure. The same reason you sold all your grandfather’s antique cars.” Natalie turns her hatred back on Junie. “But even that wasn’t enough. Because when your mom got sick, Nolan made sure your name was on the trust for the house. That means your parents needed your signature on the loan. You were complicit, and you know your father has a bad habit of skirting the law to get what he wants.”

Junie shakes her head. “I was a minor.”

“You think someone willing to throw their own daughter under the bus would care about that?” Natalie’s digging her own grave and burying me with her. “So guess who took a play right out of Mommy Mercer’s handbook? Cole sold his soul to save you. Again. Go ahead, ask him. He has all the proof. I ensured it.”