The Weight Of Leaving by Riven Kade novel Chapter 21

I charged down the hallway, a small army of relatives behind me. The eyes of customers and servers followed us like we were the evening’s entertainment.

“There! That’s the room,” I shouted, pointing at the number on the door: Suite 3601.

Without a word, my dad stepped forward and kicked the door open.

What we saw inside brought everything–and everyone–to a complete standstill.

Ethan and Rachel were tangled up on the couch, completely naked. When they realized we were there, their faces twisted from bliss to full–blown panic.

Rachel screamed and scrambled to grab a sheet to cover herself.

“Mom? Dad? What are you doing here?” she cried, voice high with panic.

Ethan leapt up, looking frantically for his clothes–only to realize they were scattered near the entrance, out of reach.

“What the hell is going on here?” my father shouted, veins bulging in his neck.

Rachel’s eyes filled with tears that fell instantly, like someone had flipped a switch.

“Charlie invited me here for drinks,” she said, sobbing. “I thought she just wanted to blow off steam from work. I never imagined… she arranged for me to be assaulted.”

Ethan didn’t even try to put on pants before dropping to his knees.

“Mr. and Mrs. Evans, I’m sorry. I had no choice. I didn’t want to do it.”

He looked up, trembling. “Charlie kept telling me that ever since you got married, Michael didn’t love her the

same way anymore. She was jealous of Rachel getting all his attention.”

“She said if Rachel got ‘ruined, Michael would divorce her–and if I didn’t go along with it, she’d jump off a building.”

“Bullshit!”

I slapped Ethan across the face, hard.

My dad reflexively pushed me away.

“Charlotte Evans, are you out of your goddamn mind? That’s your brother!”

His hand shot up, ready to strike me.

My mother’s eyes were red from crying, her voice barely a whisper.

“How could I have raised a daughter like you?”

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My uncle stepped in and grabbed my father’s wrist before he could hit me. “Richard, stop it. Calm down!”

“Calm down? You’re still defending her after this?” my dad yelled, his voice shaking. “Look at what she’s done!”

His hand pointed at me like it weighed a thousand pounds.

Outside the room, a crowd had already gathered. Their whispers grew louder and louder, drowning out everything else.

“That girl tried to have her own sister–in–law assaulted?”

“What kind of twisted monster does that?”

“She’s young and already this vicious? God help her future husband.”

Rachel, seeing the tide of public opinion clearly on her side, cried harder.

“Mom, Dad, Michael’s coming home tomorrow. After what happened tonight, how am I supposed to face

him?”

Ethan jumped in quickly, backing her up.

“Mr. and Mrs. Evans… Charlie told me Michael was coming back tomorrow. She said if I didn’t do it tonight,

we’d lose the chance. She threatened to kill herself if I didn’t.”

I stared at Ethan, my voice ice–cold. “So you’re saying I forced you to do this?”

He nodded without hesitation, zero guilt on his face.

“Yes. I even have the messages she sent me on my phone.”

“Oh? What messages?”

Suddenly, a deep voice spoke from the doorway.

Michael.

What the hell? He was supposed to be out of town. Did he actually fly back?

All six feet three inches of him stood towering over Ethan’s trembling five–foot–seven frame.

Ethan shakily held out his phone.

“These are the texts. I swear, they prove everything. If I’m lying, may lightning strike me dead.”

Michael’s expression darkened as he scrolled through the phone.

“It’s not what it looks like. Just let me explain-” I began, but he didn’t let me finish.

He kicked me so hard I slammed into the wall.

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“Charlie, since when did you become someone so… vile?”

Rachel ran straight into his arms.

“Michael, I can’t face you after this. Just divorce me.”

Michael held her protectively, glaring at me like he wished I were dead.

He raised his fist again–just as two police officers rushed into the room.

“We received a report of a sexual assault. Where’s the victim?”

Rachel immediately threw herself at their feet.

“Officers, please, you have to help me. My sister–in–law set this up–she wanted to force me to divorce her brother by having me assaulted.”

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