chapter 70

Everly “She always watched; you just didn't know. She watched you your entire life. Don't let her down by having to watch you destroy yourself,” I tell him before thrusting the letter at him. He takes it, reading his name on the front. “What's this?” “From Valarie; it arrived in the mail a couple of weeks after her funeral along with a few others,” I say, watching him turn it over between his fingers. After shaking my head, I grab my bag from the counter and head for the door. “She's dead, Everly. He kept her from me, and now she's dead,” he says, and I stop. Tears burn my eyes as I turn to face him. “She is only dead if you believe she is. That hotel is her legacy—hers. All those women and the rogues? She helped build that. I hated your father for so long for what he did to her; I may never forgive him for that, but if he hadn't, none of that would exist. All those people, she gave them their lives back—that hotel gave them their lives back. She isn't dead, Valen. Everything I am, Zoe