I wince. “Yes.”
“Elyssa?”
“Yes?”
“Theo… Who is his father?” he asks bluntly.
Nausea swells inside my gut. But I already know I have nothing left inside me to come out.
“Phoenix…”
“Answer the question, Elyssa. Answer the f*****g question.”
“I don’t know,” I sob, looking down. “I’m sorry. But I honestly don’t know.” I can’t bear to look at his face.
“Get up.”
I listen. I obey.
“Look at me.”
I do. His face is terrifying. He looks gaunt and sinister. A wild animal who’s just been set free. My wildest fantasy disguised as my worst nightmare.
“Get out,” he tells me in a slow, creeping drawl. “You are never to return to this house again.”
“Phoenix…”
“You heard me,” he says coldly. “Get out now. Stay any longer and I’ll do what I should have done a long time ago. I’ll kill you.”
“Th
