Page 38 of Deadly Sins: Envy

“Yes,” I said. “Do you know him?”

“I did a long time ago. Alfred and Willow always treated me with respect. Everyone else in that house treated me like a worthless nobody.”

I turned toward Coop, and he nodded, indicating he thought I was doing fine.

“I’m sure it was hard for you when you found out you wouldn’t be able to see Willow anymore,” I said.

“It was a long time ago. It doesn’t matter now.”

“I think it does.”

“Yeah? Well, you don’t know me.”

“You want to know what I think?” I said. “I think you didn’t kidnap Willow because you wanted money.”

“Why did I do it, then?”

“Revenge. Dale showed up at your mother’s funeral. He didn’t tell you how much he cared for your mother. He didn’t ask you how you were doing or what he could do for you during such a hard time. Instead, the man you’d despised for years who is worth millions disgraced her memory by handing you a check for a meager ten thousand dollars.”

“I spent my life watching my mother scrape pennies together so we could afford to live. When I was a kid, I wished I had the kind of life Willow did—the house, the expensive clothes, one maid to pick up after me and another to cook me whatever I wanted whenever I wanted it. It doesn’t seem fair for one family to be born into wealth while the other is born into poverty. All I ever wanted was to have a small piece of what she had, to know what it felt like to make any dream come true if I threw enough money at it.”

Taking Willow had been about revenge, and hurt, and anger. It had also been about something more—envy—and the life he’d always wanted but knew he could never have.

“It must have been hard when you found out Willow’s father paid for her tour,” I said. “You know she wasn’t aware of what he did, right?”

“I do now.”

“Willow doesn’t deserve to be punished for her father’s decisions, Alex. I don’t think you want to hurt her. You want to hurthim, her father. You achieved that when you kidnapped Willow.”

“Not just him. All smug, rich assholes who believe they’re better than everyone else. People like Dale should be forced to spend one week of their lives in poverty and be forced to watch people like me become rich.”

“You’re right,” I said. “People like him don’t deserve what they’ve been given. But Willowisn’thim. She’s a good person, Alex. I think you know that.”

Seconds passed, feeling like minutes. I hoped it was a sign he was contemplating what I’d just said, and he would agree to let Willow go. Or maybe he’d grown tired of the conversation and had decided to end her life. He knew what he was up against. He knew there was no way out of his predicament.

“Alex, is everything all right?” I asked.

“Dale told my mother I couldn’t see Willow anymore because he thought I was a pervert. But I think he just couldn’t stomach seeing his daughter with anyone he considered to be low class.”

“I know, and he was wrong for what he did. I didn’t come from money either. I know how it feels to be treated the way you were.”

“Do you? Has anyone ever convinced your mother you were a pervert, thatyoulaid a hand on their child when you didn’t? No matter what I said, she didn’t believe me. She believedhim, and for the rest of my life, she never looked at me the same again.”

“I’m sorry,” I said.

“Save your sorry,” he said.

The sound of gunfire cracked through the still night air. A woman screamed. The door to the house opened, and Willow raced out, collapsing to her knees and yelling, “Help! Somebody help him!”

CHAPTER 19

Two Days Later

It was my last night in New Orleans. Dale was hosting a barbecue in his back yard to celebrate his daughter’s safe return, and while we were all relieved Willow had been found, I didn’t feel much like celebrating. Alex was dead. In the final moment before he turned the gun on himself and fired, we’d learned he looked at Willow and said, “I’m sorry. I would have never hurt you.”

And hehadn’thurt her.

In the time he’d held her captive, they’d managed to reform the bond that had been broken long ago. Willow believed Alex suffered from a mental disorder and that he was close to letting her go when we discovered their whereabouts. It was impossible to know if she was right or not, but I saw no harm in her choosing to see the best side of him in the end.