"That doesn't matter right now," Elise cuts me off impatiently. "We matter right now, Raphael. You and me."
"There is no you and me."
"But there should be," she insists, that note of desperation in her voice growing more and more prominent. "We belong together. I had a baby for you."
"A baby I didn't want."
"How can you say that?"
"You tricked me, Elise."
"Because it was what we needed."
"What we need is for this to be over," I grunt. "I'll set up an appointment with a lawyer to discuss alimony and child support."
"You can't do this to me!"
"What the fuck did you expect, Elise?" I growl. "You forced me into this situation and I can't take it for another second. I'll do what's right by my son, but I don't owe you a damn thing."
I touch the doorhandle when she screams, "You need to do what I want!"
"Or else what? Are you threatening me?" I approach her, eyes burning with hate. "No matter what you do, Elise, you'll never make me want you, or love you. You need to accept that now."
"Fuck you," she spits out. "You only stayed for Austin."
"Of course I did," I reply firmly. "He's my blood, my son."
"No, he isn't."
"What?"
She smiles triumphantly. "He isn't your son. I went to the clinic and went through with the procedure just to fool you. I was already pregnant before you broke up with me."
The impact of everything she's just told me hits me like a ton of fucking bricks.
I've lost everything before.
Once with Dove, once with Willa. And now my life is breaking into pieces in front of my eyes again.
"You lied to me?"
She grins. "You believed everything. And I know you won't walk away now. You love Austin."
I shudder from the impact of her admission. I feel numb, fucking numb.
"By the time I return from New York, I want you out of this place."
Her mouth falls open as she says, "You can't be fucking serious. Where the hell am I supposed to go, Raphael?"
"I don't fucking know," I smile coldly. "How about paying Austin's real father a visit?"
With those words, I walk out and slam the door behind me.
The plane ride to New York is fucking excruciating. My thoughts are racing with today's events, everything from Willa's cryptic message to Elise's horrible confession.
I took care of her and the baby for a year, convinced he was my child. I turned my entire life around to accommodate a new life, a baby I didn't want, but was determined to raise right.
My heart fucking hurts at the thought of Austin alone with Elise. Another loss, another hit I've taken, and there's absolutely nothing I can fucking do about it now.
I've been a fool. A fucking fool who got caught in Elise's trap, blindly trusting everything she told me.
My hands form fists as I take the lift up into the building.
I tracked down Willa's address by alerting the app to a possible danger. It's actually fucking frightening how fast they gave away her IP location when I offered them some money. And now I'm here.
I stand in front of a door with a crooked apartment number on it, knocking on it firmly as my heart races at the thought of seeing Willa once again.
Everything else is forgotten. My heart beats only for her.
But when the doors open, there's no Willa on the other side, and it takes me several moments to recognize the waif-like creature with hazy eyes.
"Mercy?"
"Yeah?" She cocks her head to the side. Her eyes are weird, almost black, and I realize she must be high as fuck on something.
"Do you remember me?" I ask urgently. "I'm Raphael Santino."
"Oh, fuck," she mutters, running her skinny hands through a messy mop of dark hair. "Did she tell you?"
"Tell me what?" I shake my head impatiently. "It doesn't matter. Is Willa here?"
"N-No," she admits. "She... she left."
"Where?"
"I don't know."
"When is she coming back?"
"I don't know."
"What the fuck do you mean?" I hiss, making her take a terrified step back. "I'm sorry, Mercy, I just really fucking need to find her. I think she might be in danger."
"We had a f-fight," Mercy manages, her eyes seemingly far away.
I need to snap her out of this but I don't even know if that's fucking possible. When I take a better look at the dark-haired girl, I noticed the little bruises littering her arms, the veins visible, angry and blue.
Jesus fuck. What have these girls gotten themselves into?
"Please, Mercy." I take her hands in mine, turning my pleading eyes to hers. "I know something's wrong. I flew in from LA, I came straight from the airport. Where would Willa go?"
"There's a hotel," Mercy mutters. "Two blocks away. It's the nearest one. It's fancy though, she probably couldn't go there... We're broke."
I nod, ignoring what she's saying but filing it away to worry about later. They can't be fucking broke – I've been giving Willa money. Where has it all gone?