Chapter 69: Epilogue

^Eight years later…^

ANTHONY

Marcelo and I have been working for our father since we graduated high school. We’ve taken over Jace’s old office, while my sister Autumn and Kassie occupy the office next door. We’ve trained hard, and now we’re as muscular as any of the Maxwells. If you’d told us ten years ago where we’d be today, we would’ve laughed in disbelief. We don’t take shit from anyone and we handle family business with ease.

We’ve kept an eye on our goddesses over the years. Recently, we discovered they’ve moved back home, but they’re being homeschooled. We thought it was strange, especially when we noticed their parents leaving them alone every weekend. It’s Friday today, and in a few hours, they’ll be on their own again. Marcelo and I have a plan. We’re going to do what the Maxwells do best—offer them a way out.

We’re in the middle of paperwork when Cami walks in and takes a seat. She’s pregnant with their fourth child. Despite Jace’s best efforts, she always ends up pregnant.

“Finally made it over here. Nate sent these papers for you.”

“Great, thanks Cami!”

“No problem! I’ll need a minute to gather my strength before I can get up, so don’t mind me.”

We can’t help but smile. Poor Cami can’t catch a break. We watch the clock, waiting for the time to pass as we work. When I get elbowed, I see it’s five o’clock. Time to go. We pile into an SUV, going over our plan one last time. We’ll leave our numbers and wait for them to call. We’ve rehearsed this a hundred times. It should go smoothly, right? We couldn’t have been more wrong.

We decided to bring Jessie and Nate along, just in case things go sideways. As we drive, we wonder how the girls have been. We’ve heard things are getting bad, which is why our father suggested we intervene now.

Rumors are swirling that both parents are drinking and possibly abusing our girls. There’s even talk of the father paying them unwanted attention, but since they’re homeschooled, no one can confirm it.

We pull up to their street and see both cars are gone. Perfect. That means the girls are home alone. Our contact told us the mother left this morning and the father left this afternoon. Both parents left with suitcases, so we’re not sure when they’ll be back.

We park out front and knock on the door. No answer. We knock again, still nothing. I watch Jessie circle around to the back while Nate calls our lookout to confirm the girls are home. We wait.

Suddenly, Jessie screams from the back of the house, telling us to break down the door. We hear glass shattering from the back. Marcelo and I kick the door in, sending wood shards flying. When the door swings open, our hearts sink.

The girls are lying there, bound, unconscious, and naked. As we get closer, we see what looks like blood and a clear fluid between their legs. We quickly untie them and try to wake them up. Angela stirs, but Angelia remains unresponsive.

“Why would our father do this? We were good girls! He said if we were good, we wouldn’t be punished.”

She glances at her sister, trying to hug her but too weak to do so. We all exchange horrified looks. Jessie and Nate search the house for blankets to cover the girls. I sit with Angela, holding her as she clings to her sister. Angelia finally starts to come around.

“Angela, I don’t understand. We were always good for him. We never told Mom anything.”

“I know! I don’t know why he would do this.”

End of Book 3