Espionage? Teenage spy? Sounds bonkers. That kind of thing only happens in movies.
Normal teenagers wake up every morning and go to school, come home, do homework, do their chores, go to sleep - then wake up and do it all over again.
Ariella Alder...
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𝚝𝚠𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚢-𝚏𝚘𝚞𝚛 | 𝚒𝚗 𝚞𝚗𝚒𝚝𝚢 𝚠𝚎 𝚜𝚙𝚢
"That's why you're so skinny," a male voice muttered. "Too much coffee."
I turned around to see Archer standing in the kitchen.
"Grab me six coffee mugs from that cabinet," I said, pointing to the cabinet behind him. "Make sure you get the black London designed mug for Grayson. It helps him focus when he drinks from that mug."
Archer helped me set everything down on a tray to carry into my bedroom. We needed two trays to help make everything fit. It was perfect timing that he came into the kitchen, because I'd need to make two trips to bring it all to my room.
I didn't look in Archer's direction as we silently set up the trays.
Six empty mugs, an extra large pot of piping hot coffee, cream, and sugar were on set on the trays. If anyone wants anything else, then they can get up and get it themselves. I'm not a hostess. They're lucky I'm even getting them all this.
"Can I ask you something?" Archer asked.
"You can," I answered, ready to be brutally honest with Archer. My feelings can get bitch slapped out of the way. He's still my subject. "Doesn't mean I'm going to give you the answer you want."
"Right ... more lies," Archer sighed, taking a side-step away from me. "You think of every possible scenario when you're trying to solve a mission. You go through every scenario and track down whether it's plausible."
I inhaled deep through my nose and turned to face Archer. "Is there an actual question you want to ask me?"
"Do you think it's possible that Donovan Halstead was talking about my mother when he said that I 'look just like her'?" Archer asked.
Shit.
Maybe Archer Hawthorne isn't as stupid and unobservant as I originally thought.
It took me a while before thinking of that theory. Archer took less than a few hours to come to the same conclusion.
Does he not trust his own mother? Could he believe that his mother would be involved with something so horrible? What has the relationship between Archer and his mother really been like? Why would his parents leave him these clues, if one of them was involved with the murders? Unless ... Unless Archer's father only left him that message. Maybe William Hawthorne didn't trust his wife either.
"Archer ... you said that you went through their offices and found that note. Whose office did you find it in?" I asked.
Archer took a second to remember. "My dad's," he confirmed, looking terrified that his thoughts could be true. "Does this mean my mother is involved in this?"
"Let's find out," I stated, grabbing one of the trays.
🂧
Celia was passed out when we came back into the room. Grayson searched my face for any giveaways as to why Archer and I were gone at the same time, and are now both returning with the coffee trays.
