Eighteen.

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That's it, I'm going to hell. The walls were closing in on me. I felt lightheaded. Olivia couldn't have possibly said what she said, right? I felt nasty, disgusting. I was honestly going through an out of body experience, and it wasn't in a good way. I never thought I could leave a building so fast, but from the moment I realized that Olivia wasn't fucking around, I was through the door.

My head was giddy, my whole body felt weak. I wanted to throw up, but nothing was coming out. I wanted to scream, but nothing was coming out either. I felt a complete and total mess. This was a huge blow for me. This  instance topped all the times I've been at my lowest points.

Having never met my father, Olivia's claims seemed pretty damn accurate. I wanted to believe that my mother was pulling my leg, that she took a new route for her deceit. But nothing could ever erase the memory of the look on her face when she spewed all of this. Olivia looked completely mortified. And from there I knew she was telling the truth.

My chest felt so fucking tight, I was literally gasping for air. I couldn't believe something like this happened to me. To me, of all people. I was always on top of my game, always one step ahead. Stanley Orchesto is my father? My fucking father?! How the fuck did I miss that? How could this fucking happen to me?

My phone almost slipped through my hands as I tried to phone Renzo. Once, twice, thrice...all gone to voicemail. This motherfucker chose a bad time to be unavailable. It's a good thing I had my own transportation or else I would have really lost it.

Tossing my phone in the passenger seat, I revved up the engine of my Audi R8. I hardly took this bad boy out of the garage, but after Renzo suggested it, it's a good thing I did today. I huffed at the thought of my brother. Renzo was such a fucking flake. The minute I laid my eyes on him, I was going to let it all loose.

I thought I distinctively heard my name being called from behind me, but I paid that no mind. Now was not the time for any sort of rational conversation. I needed to get away from these people and clear my head. My confused, embarrassed head.

I had to keep my breathing under control as I digested everything that transpired. Man, this was some bullshit. I felt tears swelling up in my eyes, but quickly talked myself out of being an emotional bitch. That definitely wasn't happening today. Instead, I put focus on why the fuck traffic was so bad at 11 a.m.

I sighed restlessly and breathed out. Be patient with yourself, Raja. Be patient. You aren't the problem, the rest of them are. How dare your mother drop such a bombshell on you like that? How dare you be the daughter of the most corrupted man you've ever met? How dare Renzo not answer the phone in your time of need? Yeah, they were all the fucking issue. There's nothing wrong with you.

I just wanted to take a nice long bath, and forget this day ever happened. I was great at that. Pushing things to the back of my head was my specialty. But for some reason, this bullshit was all I could think about. Images of Olivia's mortified face and Stanley's colorless face clouded my mind. And we can't forget about the doctor. The fine, fine doctor. Man, he was looking completely perplexed.

I honked my horn aggressively as I drew closer to my place. I just wanted to take these clothes off and run me a hot bath. I needed some me time. I had to unwind from this hectic and stressful ass morning. I could already hear my bed calling me and was already envisioning my dimly lit room, filled with the aroma of scented candles and the songs of The Internet playing in the background.

But unfortunately, my building superintendent had other plans. From the time I walked through the apartment complex, the elderly man was on my ass, ratting me about some shit Astra did that was severely bothering him. I didn't hear much of it, for my problems were busy taking over my brain. So much for forgetting this day ever happened, because now I was scrutinizing everything in my very overworked mind. From my interaction with Stanley, to my mother's reappearance in my life. This was all so fucked up.

I had to shake this feeling of defeat. I had to regroup, regather, and come again. A glass of wine was much needed, and I couldn't help but feel some form of relief when I finally reached my humble abode. My place was just as I left it, clean and next to perfection. At least this was one thing that still felt normal.

There was pounding on the door as I wrapped up my first glass of Coche-Dury Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru. It was a birthday gift from Ravi, and I promised never to open the wine until it was absolutely necessary. But judging from the morning I had, fuck it. This wasn't just necessary, it was mandatory.

Rolling my eyes as the pounding on my door increased, I walked slowly to answer. It was probably Renzo or Astra, and I wasn't in the mood for their conversations. Astra's been working my nerves lately, being sloppy and clumsy with not only her clients but with her life in general. I wouldn't be surprised if she forgot her key or something. And Renzo, tuh. Man I was through with him. My intuition was tingling like crazy, I felt like all of this was his fault. How the fuck could he not know that the person he referred to me was my own fucking father? After analyzing my situation with the help of some expensive white wine, my suspicions were up on my brother once again.

I swung the door open, ready to cuss out whoever was on the receiving end. However, as I was about to formulate any type of vulgar language, I quickly clasped my mouth shut. Police officers were before me. Three of them to be exact. I recognized one of them to be Dean, Renzo and I's police friend who was supposed to be helping us with the Stanley situation. Dean and I were pretty cool, and we even had a little fling going on while I was in college. But judging from his stern, irritated demeanor, I already knew this wasn't going to be good. I shook my head slightly, leaning on the door with annoyance. What the fuck was this fresh bullshit?

Dean cleared his throat and held out handcuffs. "La'Raja Harper, please turn around and put your hands behind your back. You're arrested for the murder of Damon Peter. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can be used against you in court. You have the right to talk to a lawyer for advice before we ask you any questions. You have the right to have a lawyer with you during questioning. If you cannot afford a lawyer, one will be appointed for you before any questioning if you wish."

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