Page 121 of Twisted Temptation

I find Sunny in the living room, standing in front of the television in her T-shirt and sleep shorts, chewing her thumbnail and watching TV.

"...tech mogul Jeremy Parker-Downey is missing..."

My blood stops.

"...San Francisco police have confirmed that Parker-Downey, the CEO and founder of Remy Media Group, was last seen yesterday evening. Authorities say blood was found at the scene along with signs of a struggle, and they are treating his disappearance as foul play..."

I walk toward her.

"Sunny."

She doesn't turn around.

On the screen, a reporter is standing in front of a gated property.

"... Parker-Downey, whose net worth is estimated at over thirty billion dollars, is a prominent figure in the tech and media landscape. He serves on the boards of two major streaming platforms and is a significant political donor in California..."

"You knew," she says when she feels me behind her.

Her voice is flat.

"You knew," she says again. She's still facing the television, chewing her nail. "You knew. What he did.”

"Yes."

She turns around.

Her face is pale. Her eyes hollow.

"Did you do this?" she asks.

"Maybe you should sit⁠—"

"Did you do this? Yes or no."

I hold her gaze. I’m not going to lie to her because she deserves more than that, and because lying to her right now would be the one thing I can't come back from.

"Yes."

The word leaves my mouth. I see the moment that one word blows us apart.

She takes a step backward. I see fear in her eyes, and it guts me.

"That's what last night was about." Her voice cracks. "You coming home. The way you held me. The way you said you needed me. You knew what he did to me, and you went to California and⁠—"

"Everything I said and did last night was true."

"Last night was a lie."

"What I said weren’t lies.”

“Then why didn’t you tell me? Did you think I wouldn’t find out? Jesus Christ, Dante, what have you done?”

“I did what needed to be done.”

“You don’t think the police will put two and two together? You’ll go to jail.”

“I’m not going to jail. Everything was done how it needed to be done to make sure this doesn’t come back to haunt me or you. I know what I’m doing.”