I’d nned and plotted to get into Matthew’s car, but in the end, it was way easier than I
expected.
Now, finding the address I needed? That was gonna take some work.
“Hey, Edward, can you pull over? My stomach’s feeling kinda off. I think I’m gonna puke,” I
said, putting on my best I’m-about-to-die’ face as we passed a pharmacy.
He nced at me in the rearview mirror, instantly looking freaked out. “Yeah, sure, sure,” he
said, pulling over fast.
Once the car stopped, Edward turned around, full-on worried now. “Rea, you okay? Do you
need to go to the hospital?”
“Nah, it’s probably just the tea Matthew made. Messed with my stomach or something.” I
said casually, dropping Matthew’s name so Edward wouldn’t brush it off.
I clutched my stomach for extra drama. “Could you grab me some omeprazole from the
pharmacy? One
pill should do the trick.”
Edward nodded, but still looked unsure. “You sure you don’t need a doctor?”
I didn’t respond, just gave him a look that said, drop it.
Edward didn’t push it. He’d been working for the Johnston family long enough to know
better. Even though I wasn’t with Jace anymore, he understood how things worked. No one
in that house ever said no
to me.
He hurried out of the car, but before he crossed the street, I called out, “Oh, and grab me a
bottle of water
too?”
He turned back and shook his head. “There’s water in the car. I’ll pour some when I get
back.” He sounded worried, still checking on me as he rushed off.
The second he disappeared into the pharmacy, I leaned forward, heart racing, and reached
for the navigation system.
‘This is so bad,’ I thought, my pulse pounding so hard it felt like it was echoing in my ears.
I kept ncing out the window, scanning for Edward. Thankfully, there was some barrier he
would have to cross, buying me a little more time.
I scrolled through the nav history as fast as I could, but nothing looked unusual. Panic
started creeping in after a few minutes. I’d gone back a whole month and still… nothing.
Did I screw this up?
I wasn’t ready to back down. I kept digging, even though my heart dropped when I spotted
Edward leaving the pharmacy, medicine in hand, heading back toward the car.
My pulse shot up. He was almost back, and I still hadn’t found anything. But then-there it
was. A route Mabeled private.
Why would someone mark a regr driving route as private unless they were hiding
something?
A rush of adrenaline hit me-this had to be it. But of course, the route was locked behind a
password.
I froze for a second. Who’d set this up? Edward was just the driver, he wouldn’t do
something like this. No, this was Matthew’s car. It had to be him. Matthew controlled
everything. Edward just followed orders.
I only had three chances to guess the password. If I messed up, the system would lock me
out, and Matthew would know someone was snooping. I couldn’t risk that.
So, what would Matthew use?
I nced out the window. Edward was getting closer, almost back across the barrier. I had
maybe two minutes, tops. My mind raced.
Matthew was deeply in love with Lindey. It had to be something connected to her. I quickly
typed in her birthday.
[Incorrect password.]
I sucked in a breath. Time was running out. Edward was now less than a hundred feet away.
My fingers hovered over the screen, panic crawling up my spine. If it wasn’t her birthday,
maybe it their anniversary? I typed it in, my hands shaking.
[Incorrect password.]
N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive ? material.
I nearly screamed. My heart was pounding so hard it felt like it might burst, I had one try left.
Two choices: risk locking the system, or walk away and lose everything.
was
Edward was less than fifty meters away now, and even though the windows were tinted, it
felt like he could see me, like he knew something was up.
Then, out of nowhere, a memory hit me. Something Jace had casually mentioned once-his
parents never showed favoritism between him and his brother. They used both their
birthdays for important passwords.