Bound by the Past, Locked by the Heart novel Chapter 179

By the time Willa returned home, the sky had already plunged into darkness.

She assumed Randal wasn't back yet, but as she swapped her shoes and stepped into the living room, she found him sitting motionless on the sofa.

There wasn't a single sound in the room.

He was gripping his phone, the screen dark, his eyes fixed on some invisible point in the distance. His gaze was entirely vacant.

A knot formed in Willa's stomach. She walked over and sat down next to him. "Why are you home so early today?"

Randal finally snapped out of his trance. He turned and slowly dragged his eyes over her from head to toe.

His scrutiny made her skin crawl. "What is it?"

"Where did you go?"

Willa picked up a glass of water from the coffee table and took a sip. "I just went out to talk to a friend."

"What friend?"

"Just a normal friend. You don't know him."

Remembering Randal's previous bizarre reactions regarding Sean, she thought it best to brush past the details.

"A normal friend?" Randal repeated. The corners of his lips tipped upward, but his eyes were entirely devoid of warmth.

"What kind of normal friend? A guy or a girl? What did you talk about?"

That painfully familiar sensation rushed back.

Willa set her glass down, her brow furrowing. "Randal, are you seriously doing this again?"

Randal held out an open palm. "Give me your phone."

He paused, then added, "I'm not confiscating it. I just need to make a call."

Hesitantly, Willa placed her phone in his palm.

Randal punched in her passcode, swiped the screen a few times, and dropped it onto the coffee table.

She glanced down and froze.

Why was he calling Sophie?

"Hah. Stop pretending." Randal scoffed softly. All warmth vanished from his eyes, and the smirk twisting his lips grew incredibly dangerous.

"I had someone look into it this afternoon. That recent deposit of nearly half a million dollars? The sender was Sean Thorne. Don't tell me you didn't know."

Willa's intended explanation lodged sideways in her throat.

She honestly had no idea. She didn't have SMS alerts set up for her bank account. When the money came in, she had only glanced at the total balance and hadn't checked the sender details.

Never in her wildest dreams could she have guessed that the person buying her father's house was Sean.

No wonder the offer was so much higher than market value. No wonder Sophie had mentioned the buyer was incredibly straightforward and in no rush to transfer the deed.

"Lost for words?" Randal stood up and tossed his phone onto the sofa, his fingers trembling uncontrollably.

Willa stood up too. An instinctual urge to flee made her take a step back, her calves knocking into the edge of the coffee table.

"Sophie handled the sale for me. I swear I didn't know who the buyer was."

"Wow, came up with a new excuse that fast? Willa, do you want me to have someone pull the property records for that house in Sycamore Grove right now and see whose name is on the deed?"