BEHIND HER SMILE

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

The weight of everything was starting to crush me, but I knew I couldn't stop now. Not when there was so much Luke didn't know, so much I had kept hidden. I took a deep breath, feeling the sting of my chest tightening as I prepared to open up a part of myself I hadn't even wanted to face. I needed him to understand everything—not just Beatrice, but the choices I'd made, the things I had done in the shadows.

"There's more, Luke," I said quietly, my voice barely a whisper in the stillness of the room. I could feel his eyes on me, the worry already deepening in his expression. I couldn't bear to look at him just yet. "I didn't just find Beatrice by chance."

Luke's brow furrowed, confusion and concern flickering across his face. "What do you mean?"

"I had help. I've been working with someone... Knox, and Walker" I continued, my voice trembling slightly. "He's a hacker—Walker. He goes by that name. I... I trust him, Luke. I had no choice but to rely on him. He's the reason I was able to find Beatrice."

Luke's posture stiffened immediately. He didn't say anything at first, but I could see the tension rippling through his body, the protective big brother mode kicking in. He had always been suspicious of anyone I let into my life, especially after everything I'd been through. He'd spent years guarding me, trying to keep me from falling into darker paths, and here I was, telling him I had brought someone from that world even closer.

I forced myself to look at him, to face the silent storm brewing in his eyes. "He's good at what he does, Luke. Better than good. I've been using him to trace the movements within the trafficking system. That's how I found out about Beatrice, how I was able to track her."

Luke rubbed his hand across his jaw, trying to process everything. "Ally... you've been working with a hacker? And you trust this guy?"

"I didn't have a choice!" I snapped, the desperation leaking into my voice. "No one was going to give me the answers I needed. Not legally, anyway. Walker... he knows things, he sees things I couldn't reach on my own. Without him, I would've never known where Beatrice was."

His silence crushed me. He didn't understand, not yet.

"And that's not all," I added, feeling my throat tighten. "I'm not just working with him to track Beatrice. I've been... infiltrating. Manipulating."

Luke's eyes darkened, but he still didn't interrupt. He just watched me, his gaze sharp, and it made me feel raw, exposed. "What do you mean?"

"I'm at the school, Luke," I said, my voice shaking. "I enrolled because I need to get close to Dallin Harrison. He's key to taking down Victoria, but the only way to get the information I need is through his grandson, George. So I've made myself a part of George's life. I've become his friend... manipulated my way into his world. I've played everyone in that group, every relationship, just to get close enough to his grandfather's files."

Luke's face went slack, stunned. He didn't say anything for a moment, and I could see the heartbreak start to etch into his features.

"I've made them trust me, Luke," I said, barely able to keep my voice steady now. "George, the others... they're good people. I can see it. But I've been lying to all of them, using them. And once I get what I need, I'll have to betray them. I'll have to make them hate me, to push them away. It has to look like I don't care about them, so they won't be targets later. So they won't get dragged into this... into my mess."

Luke shook his head, his hands clenching into fists. "Ally... you can't..."

"I don't have a choice!" I shouted, the words tearing out of me. "You think I want this? I didn't want to care about them! I didn't want to feel anything, but I do. And now I have to destroy all of it, ruin any chance I had at something real because it's too dangerous for them. Esther Monique will target them if I don't burn every bridge and leave them behind."