Page 49 of Shattered Sinner
I placed the glass of wine down on the table and grabbed my phone. Calling Nash might be the best option and telling him about it might make me feel better. Then, together, we could figure out what we should do.
A glimmer of hope appeared in my heart as I found my brother’s number in my phone and called it. But it continued to ring and ring, without any signs of him picking it up.
Fuck.
Then it hit me that yesterday Easton had said that he was going to be busy tonight. That was probably related to the Chevaliers… which means that Nash was probably involved as well. I still didn’t have an update on Iris, which I hoped to get now that Easton was likely a Chevalier.
But there was one person I could call who also had a run in with my parents.
I found her number in my phone and put it up to my ear, praying that she’d answer the phone.
“Hey, Bianca?”
The question in Raven’s voice made sense. It was obvious that she was surprised by my call. She and I didn’t talk too often normally and now it was becoming a habit of me calling her whenever I needed to talk to her about something troubling me. In the years that I’d known her and before she disappeared, we only really spoke because of our connection to Nash. I probably should reach out to her more often. She was a voice of reason due to her personality and what she’d been through, and I needed to acknowledge that. I made a mental note that when my life settled down I would do so.
For now though I was comforted by the fact that she was on the end of the line because right now, it was as if she was my only hope in this mess I found myself in.
“I’m sorry for calling you so late.”
An unexpected calmness resonated in her response, one that I’d hoped to hear, but wasn’t sure I would. “It’s not a problem.”
Relief washed over me, but I still felt bad about disturbing her this late. “Are you busy?” My leg jiggled as I waited for her response.
She paused for a moment before she spoke again. “Uh, no. Is everything alright?”
“No, it’s not. I just needed someone to talk to. I tried calling Nash and he didn’t pick up.”
“So, you called me instead.”
I blew out a puff of air and said, “I hope that’s okay.”
“It’s fine. What’s going on?”
“I have a decision to make and I’m really struggling with it. I’m hoping that talking it out with someone will help me decide.”
Raven was silent for a moment, making me slightly nervous. She cleared her throat and then spoke, “Lay it on me.”
“I found out some unsettling information about my father, and I need to decide what I’m going to do with said information.”
“Oh wow. Does Nash know anything about this yet?”
I shook my head although she couldn’t see me. “I haven’t talked to him about it yet. I found it early this evening.”
“Okay and the information that you found out? How bad is it?”
“Pretty bad. Like enough to end this family and his political career.”
“Oh my gosh… what happened?”
I hesitated, debating with myself whether it was worth telling her exactly what my father had done and then I said to hell with it. I was already this deep into it, what was the worst that could happen to me if I admitted to her what I found?
“I found out that my father has been using an escort service. I’m not sure for how long exactly, but it isn’t a new thing.”
Once again Raven was silent, but this silence felt different. I couldn’t quite place why this silent moment felt odd, but the longer it drew on, the more awkward I felt. I assumed it was hard for her to hear, but I needed her to say something, anything. I heard a sniffle on the other line.
“Are you okay?”
“Um,” Raven started and then paused once more. The tension between us was heavy, the weight of it only made me feel awkward. I needed to say something to dispel some of it and fast.
