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“Amelia, do you trust me?” he asked softly

“Always” I didn’t even have to think about that

Taking my hand, he kissed the back of it “Then know that I trust Austin Both him and my brother”

“Your brother? Noah, how many people—”

“Just Austin and Bo,” he replied, sitting up and resting against the headboard “Do you reot emancipated froer”

I would never forget He had never been so happy in all the ti

“You toldall of your money” Which didn’t surprise me at all

“He was,” he replied, frowning as he opened the bedside drawer and pulled out a packet of cigarettes I didn’t bother fighting hi from me all my life I could have left earlier, but I never did because of my half brother, Bo I didn’t want to abandon him, not after his mother did She just left him, but we couldn’t blas froone, he tried to beat on Bo, but each tis like breaking ”

“Noah…” Back then, he had toldto do stunts

“Don’t look atit out of depression or anything I did it to teach Frank a lesson After those two tiain I was his ATM, and each ti Frank hated et emancipated and we’d leave But since I was child star, and those accidents didn’t line up with ot involved The person working ure it out, but he knew everything about Frank—what he did to us, what he was involved in, and what he had done Austin covered up as much of it as he could He told me that the only way to survive in this world is to be important He wanted me as far away from Frank as possible and actually made it happen He even set up Bo, but he told us to keep our distance from each other”

“Why?” He’d never toldbeyond that, he always toldout of him like he was in confession

“Because Austin knew so of his cigarette and blew the smoke out from his nose “Bo is a failure He is a second-rate version of Frank, and if it weren’t forIf ere together, he’d just be another anchor around my neck”

It was harsh, and he looked so heartbroken to admit it

“You knoas worse?” he whispered, dropping his head “The moment I rateful For the first time, my family wasn’t my burden”

“But because of me … of Esther … you still have to deal with Frank” He was only free for a year After that, our parents’ sins had ruined us