Page 102 of How to Kill Your Rival

‘Maggie. What’s happened?’

‘Dad—’ Maggie starts.

‘Don’t “Dad” me. Someone tell me what’s going on right now.’

‘Fraser was taken by the Stewarts. We got him back. He’s fine. We handled it.’

Silence.

‘We’re all okay, Dad,’ she adds.

‘How long did they have him?’ Evan says.

‘A few days,’ Eliza says.

‘And it didn’t occur to any of you to tell me this?’

‘You’re recovering,’ Eliza says. ‘You need to⁠—’

‘I’m sick, Eliza. Not inept. There is a difference between keeping things calm and keeping things from me. I have been sitting in this house watching horse racing and eating soup, and the whole time, my son⁠—’

‘Dad. I’m all right.’ Fraser rubs his eyes.

‘I can hear that you’re all right. That isn’t the point.’

‘Evan,’ Priscilla sighs.

‘Don’t you “Evan” me either. You are my family. All of you. I am still a part of things. I don’t care what the doctors say or what any of you think you’re protecting me from. Do this again, and I’m not past taking the slipper to tan your arses.’

We sit in admonished silence in the car.

‘Do you understand me?’ Evan’s voice drops low.

‘Yes,’ we all say in unison.

‘Good.’ A long breath. ‘Come home. Now. All of you.’

Eliza exhales through her nose as the line cuts off.

Fraser takes another bite of his burger. ‘Well…’

‘We’re fucked,’ I say.

‘He took it better than I expected. Could have been worse.’ Fraser extracts a gherkin from the burger and drops it in the paper bag.

‘How,’ I say, ‘could that have been worse?’

Fraser laughs. ‘He could have found out about you two as well.’

‘Fraser,’ Eliza says.

‘The man’s already annoyed. Might as well get it all out at once. Rip it off like a plaster.’

And suddenly, I wish I were back on the hunt for Fraser, rather than heading straight for Evan Hamilton’s house.

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ELIZA