Beyond the Pack’s Law: My stepsister or nobody else

Hayley’s POV

I held on to the pain I was feeling and constantly pleaded for Alessa’s life. She moved closer, practically shoving Alessa along with her, until she stood directly beside the folder.

“The next time you rascals try to pull something like this, I won’t consider the fact that you’re family. I’ll mail you piece by piece back to Rachel.”

Damn, the threat sent shivers down my spine because I could tell she meant every word.

She let go of Alessa, who came running to my side and picked up the folder. She flipped open the first page and looked up at me with a smile.

“Nice trading lives with you.”

And with just that, she strode off and merged with the darkness.

“Are you okay?” I asked Alessa, and she shook her head.

“No.” Her hand is on her neck.

“Let’s get out of here.”

“Why the hell did you give it to her? It means we did it for nothing.” Alessa asked when we had gotten far enough.

“Would you rather I let her kill you and then probably decapitate me as well?” I rolled my eyes at the idea; at least a ‘thank you for saving my life’ wouldn’t have been too much to get from her.

“No, I understand why you did it. Thank you.” Her tone went soft and defeated, to the point that she actually thought she could take Jada down. Even I felt sorry for her now.

We walked the whole way back to Kieran’s place, and I was frankly surprised at how Alessa could still find the path back even though we were so lost. My legs were on the brink of giving out when I finally spotted the familiar silhouette of the building.

My dad, Aiden, and Kieran were all waiting for us at the doorstep of the house.

“We’re here.” I called out as we staggered closer.

They all rushed. Kieran helped Alessa while Dad guided me inside. Aiden wouldn’t stop asking me if I was alright, and it brought some comfort.

I was too tired to pay attention, but I noticed how Kieran shouted when Alessa told him I handed the files over to Jada to save her life.

“So what now? We just got beat up for absolutely nothing.” Dad said that and sighed.

“It was the right call; they would have died otherwise.” Aiden said, defending my decision.

I chuckled, and that made everyone’s head viciously snap in my direction. They were probably wondering if I had completely lost my marbles.

“Are you okay?” Aiden asked and put a hand over my forehead.

“Was it just me, or did she just laugh?” Kieran asked, a bit surprised.

I couldn’t help it. I let out another laugh, and this time everyone went completely silent, exchanging glances with each other and then with me.

“What’s so funny?” Alessa eventually asked.

“Well…” I forced myself into the bag that had been discharged after the news of my surrendering the files to Jada and reached inside it.

Their eyes followed me as I returned to where I was seated and slid the bag over to Kieran.

“What?” He looked at the bag and then looked at me.

Aiden took the initiative and searched the contents of the bag.

“Shit.” He said before pouring out the papers onto the floor, the actual files.

I smiled to myself; the plan B I had made worked perfectly. I swapped the papers and blueprint for old ones I found scattered in boxes in the warehouse, then I left one real paper at the front just in case she checked, which she did.

So, basically, tonight was a success.

“How did you?” I looked at the files on the floor and then back to Hayley’s proud smile.

“If the evidence we need is here, what did you give to Jada?” Alessa chimed in; she looked equally as perplexed as I felt.

“Some old shipping documents I found while I was hiding.” Hayley answered, and you could see from her face that she was feeling very accomplished with how her plan worked out.

“Still how?” Jada was many things, but she wasn’t exactly an idiot; she would know which files she was looking for and instantly spot that they had been switched.

“Mostly luck; when she saw the cover of the folder, I could tell she instantly thought it was it, and she felt like she had so much power in the situation she didn’t even think to be skeptical.”

“Hayley, you are a genius.” I packed the pieces of paper and sorted them out. Kieran, who was beside me, scanned each document with focused eyes.

“Honestly, I thought it wouldn’t work, but then I guess ego is more blinding than love.” She joked and suddenly winced in pain.

“What’s wrong?” Alessa asked so fast that I didn’t even have time to think about it.

That was weird; she rushed to Hayley’s side and helped her lie down.

“We should probably get you some medical help.” She said this to Hayley, who smiled and nodded.

“I told you I’d live.”

“Ha ha, very funny. Think animal, the pain you’re in next time you decide to jump out of a widow that’s like twice your height.”

They both burst into laughter, and I felt like I had accidentally swapped universes. Since when did Hayley and Alessa laugh at jokes together? Since when did Alessa actually care about Hayley?

“Did I miss something?” I had to ask when they started to giggle at each other.

“Huh?” They both turned their heads in my direction.

“What did I miss?”

“What do you mean?” Hayley asked, looking confused.

“I’m going to go find something to keep these claw marks from getting infected.” Alessa said that and walked off.

I moved closer to Hayley, sitting beside her.

“When did you and Alessa become close?”

She turned to me, and a sad smile formed on her lips.

“She tried to save my life. I won’t say we’re close, but I don’t have her the way I used to.”

“She doesn’t seem to hate you either.”

She chuckled. “I saved her life too, you know. The look in her eyes when Aunt Jada had her pinned-she was really scared, and I could see it.

“I’m just happy you two are okay.” I was about to hug her when I noticed Dad’s eyes staring at me like he was looking into my soul, so I just stepped back and went back to Kieran.

“This is good; it’s going to take a while to get this to actually work, and it would be better if you had a little bit more evidence that actually tied Jada to this; then it would be rock solid; nevertheless, we’ll make the best out of what we have.”Nôvel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner.

I nodded in response. For someone who was a neutral party, he seemed very willing to help bring Jada down, which was something I was very happy about.

“You should get her to a hospital.”

“Who?” I looked between Alessa, who looked like she was good, if not for the few marks on her face and neck, and Hayley, who was already asleep from all the stress.

“Your sister, I’m pretty sure she broke a rib or two.”

I looked back at her; he was right.

I split the papers with Kieran; some I planned on looking into myself, and some he said he could handle.

Dad took the rest of us to the nearest hospital to get Hayley checked in.

The doctor said she didn’t really suffer a lot of damage, and she seemed to be recovering really fast, so there wasn’t much to worry about.

Dad slept in the waiting room while Alessa and I watched over Hayley as she slept.

“About what happened with Jada.” I said I was trying to start a conversation.

“Yeah.” Alessa looked up from the book she had been holding and asked, “What about it?”

“You must have been scared, sorry.”

She smiled softly.

“Thanks; truth be told, I was scared that she would rip my throat out and just toss me aside like a rag, then kill Hayley too, but I think a part of me wanted her to get over with it; just kill me there and then.” Her voice trailed off as she stared at nothing in particular.

“Alessa?”