Sweet Liar (Candy #2)(72)

When we all came together in the living room, Theo and Heather sat near each other on the couch, and Jonah and I each took a separate chair across from them.

“So I talked to my folks,” Heather began, and we all got quiet. She looked at me. “Would you be willing to let me make a video of you talking about the things Victor’s done to you and your father? We’ll make sure to capture the bruises on your neck too.”

I glanced at Jonah, and he was looking hard at Heather. “Why do you have to record her?”

“When I told my parents what happened, they asked me to get her telling her story on video.”

His eyes narrowed. “Did you tell them everything?”

Heather scowled at him. “No, only the parts you said were okay. I left out the existence of Candy’s mother’s medical files. I made it sound like there was no proof.”

My heart sank at the fact that Jonah had revealed that detail too. “Why would you leave that out?” I asked Heather.

“Because I don’t think your father deserves to be punished any more than you do,” Heather replied.

I wanted to believe her. “What about you?” I asked Jonah. “Do you think he should get off the hook completely?”

After a conflicted moment, Jonah leaned toward me. “If we want to get my father off our backs, we have to convince the organization he’s on a personal vendetta against your father. If we’re going to succeed, your father has to look innocent. The fact that he isn’t hardly even matters anymore.”

“We’ll record Jonah’s mother too,” Heather suggested, “talking about what Victor did to her and how Sebastian helped her. No one will mention the files.”

I looked between them, floored that they were willing to do this. Jonah had done a complete reversal, and Heather was someone I hardly knew. I gave her a grateful look. “Is it possible your parents could get my father released?”

“It depends on who the contact is that’s claiming your father gave information to the Chinese,” Heather said. “If this person is credible, then I doubt it, but I need to know more.”

I watched Jonah from the corner of my eye, wondering how he’d react to my next question. “What about Victor? What will happen to him if your parents believe us?”

“I don’t know,” she answered hesitantly. “There could be some kind of punishment.”

When I looked at Jonah to see his reaction, his gaze was on the floor. “Jonah?” I reached over to touch his arm. “Tell me what you’re thinking.”

He sighed and his eyes met mine. “That we have to do this because your father would never hurt you, and we know mine would.”

“But he’s still your father. What might the punishment be?”

“I don’t know,” he said.

We were all watching Jonah, even Theo, who had no jokes to make although he did have a wide-eyed look of disbelief on his face, and I couldn’t blame him. His parents were both schoolteachers, not spies or assassins.

“Are you up to talking about what happened?” Jonah asked me.

My hand fluttered up to my neck as I nodded.

“You sure?”

“Positive,” I said firmly.

After giving me a long look, he turned to Heather. “Make the video.”

She nodded, looking pleased. Then she had me move to the couch, where she recorded me first. I felt awkward, speaking stiffly as I talked about being locked in the freezer at the diner and how scared I was, and then I spoke of that night, and the way Victor looked as if he was trying to kill my father. Lastly, I described his hand wrapping around my neck, and I heard the tremor creep into my voice as my eyes filled.

Lorraine’s tears joined mine as Jonah put his arm around me.

When it was Lorraine’s turn, she asked that we all leave the room. Only Heather stayed, and the shocked look on her face when we came back in the room probably said more than Lorraine wanted us to know. Jonah appeared stricken as he looked between Heather and the tears his mother was wiping from her cheeks. It was the first sign that he felt something strong for her. Something he kept trying to hide and deny.

It was nearly dusk by the time Theo and Heather decided to leave. Heather planned to drive back to Glenn Valley tonight. Like when she first walked in, she pulled me aside before she left.

“Would you trust me to take your mother’s medical files with me?”

At my surprised look, she lowered her voice even further. “I would never show them directly to my parents or anyone in the organization. I want to try to find those doctors for Theo. That’s all I want them for. I just need a lead, and then you can have them back.”

I bit my lip, unsure. Those files were dangerous.

“This is for Theo. I know I just met him, but it feels like I’ve known him a lot longer. I want to help him. I want to do something just as much as you do.”

I knew exactly how she felt. So had my father. History was repeating. After several warnings about keeping them safe, I agreed to let her take the files against my better judgment. If she could possibly help Theo, I couldn’t tell her no.

“Thank you.” She smiled widely and gave me a hug. “You can tell Jonah if you want, but don’t tell Theo. I don’t want to give him false hope.”

Sighing, I nodded. “Okay, but he knows about it already. I told him, and he doesn’t want to try any more treatments. He wants us all to believe that he’s accepted his fate.”