Anastasia was more than a sister to me, and the only one I could turn to. The very light in my life for years.
What could have driven her to try to kill me? Why did she hold in so much rage? Why did she go so far?
I kept my eyes on the diary.
A diary held a person’s deepest secrets, and the one place where you could pour your private thoughts.
My memories of Annabeth were nothing but my sweet, kind sister, and I knew the moment I opened this diary that it would forever change that, and perhaps trigger me to remember.
I gripped the pink diary tightly. I should have told Zade I had this in my possession and questioned why he had it in the first place.
But the moment I do that, Caleb will be in trouble. He took a risk for me.
Despite my hesitation, he made sure to deliver this to me. The least I could do was stop bitching like a spoiled little girl and read the damn thing.
I’m prepared to face whatever is in here.
I curled my fingers around the clasp and opened it, a sharp exhale fleeing from my lips.
I flipped through the pages, my brows furrowing deeper with each turn. By the time I reached the last page, my chest felt unbearably tight.
"It’s blank..." I murmured.
"Did you hear about Clara?"
"Yeah, I did. She died in a house fire with her family a week ago."
"So tragic."
"It was all over the news!"
"I was so shocked. I just saw her at the Gala. Though she didn’t engage much."
"Can you blame her? She has always wanted to be trained by Mrs. Valmont until Ana stole that dream."
"Sheeeesh! Ana’s here!"
I glanced over to the chattering girls. Talks like this have been swirling about the Reid family’s incident.
Zade wiped out her whole family in that fire. His actions were fueled by the intel he got about them supporting Shane’s attempts to bring him down.
Shane’s company was sold, and guess who the buyer was?
Zade.
I have heard stories and experienced how ruthless Zade can be, yet something like this still shook me to the core.
This was a reminder that he was the Serpent of Hightower City and no one messed with him. His actions were a pretty big statement to the undercity.
I turned my attention back to the diary, still overwhelmed by this.
Why is Annabeth’s diary blank? And why did Zade hide it?
I flipped through the pages once more just to be sure if there was anything I missed, but I was met with the same results.
There was only one person I could ask about this.
I packed up my things and left the studio.
~☆~
When I got to the manor, I headed straight for the library. I opened the door and stepped inside, taking a slow look around, but Caleb was nowhere to be seen.
My eyes swept over the shelves lining both sides before my gaze settled on the tables and chairs in the center. One table, in particular, caught my attention.
It was cluttered with items that looked like it was used recently. There was a chess set there, left as though the game was stopped midway.
I played chess, but I wouldn’t call myself an expert. However, seeing where the game was left off, something told me the person was a master.
The king was trapped by two knights, and any square he could move to was within their L-shaped attack.
My eyes travelled to the rest of the things on the table: the notes, pen, and open books. This made me wonder if Caleb spent all his time here just reading books. It seemed like it.
I couldn’t imagine just being here all the time; I knew he didn’t like his family’s ways but still...!
"Anastasia?"
I turned my head toward the entrance and found him wheeling in.
He looked at the door then at me, face contoured in surprise. "I wasn’t expecting you."
"I didn’t expect I’d be here either."
He wheeled close. "Is something wrong?"
I dipped my hand into my bag and pulled out the diary. "It’s about Annabeth’s diary."
He rounded the table and halted. "What about it? Have you had the chance to read it?"
"To be honest, there isn’t much to read."
He narrowed his eyes in question. "What do you mean by that?"
"I’ll take it you didn’t get a peek inside."
He frowned. "Why would I do that? I have no business going through something so private. I promised I’d get the diary for you and I did."
"So you didn’t look at all?"
"No, Anastasia, I didn’t."
He was telling the truth, and the frown on his face that I accused him of sure made me regret my actions.
"I just needed to be sure. Have a look," I said, placing the diary in front of him, and when he hesitated, I added. "I insist."
He sighed, reaching for a case for his reading glasses, and when he wore them, I saw a younger version of Zade before my eyes.
He does look familiar, but not the way that spelled he was Zade’s brother. It was just a feeling.
Maybe when Zade and I were together, we crossed paths. That explained why he was so familiar with me.
"It’s blank?" he said, puzzled, flipping through the pages. "It’s like it’s been wiped clean or something."
"Or maybe this isn’t really her diary."
"But I got it from Zade’s office. It took days before I could, and it was really secured."
I crossed my arms. "I don’t think that’s her diary, Caleb."
"Then do you think that maybe Zade took the diary without realizing it was actually hers?"
"I-I don’t know."
I could ask Zade directly, but that would implicate Caleb.
The only other person I could think to confront about this was... Jacob.