24. Chapter 24

Unknown: Odette. My sweet Odette. Our time will come, mark my word.

Unknown: There isn't any point in ignoring me. I see you around campus, and if I wanted to, I could take you away whenever I wanted to. You think those boyfriends of yours would stop me? Think again.

Unknown: Stop the bullshit. Odette. Answer your phone before something happens to you.

The text messages won't stop. I had to turn my phone off. It was getting to be way too much stress for me to handle. It's bad enough that I'm heading into a board member meeting full of douche canoes that hate me. Let alone know that I'm the new owner of this lovely establishment.

I haven't cried in two days, and that's a win in my books. Dad wouldn't want me going into this meeting looking like a puffy bag of shit. Adjusting my pantsuit, I push open the doors to the boardroom. My heels click along the stone floor.

Barnaby, Archer, and Roan straighten in their seats as I walk further into the room.

Archer rises from his seat as I reach the table. "And what do we owe the pleasure, Odette? We have a meeting with the new owner soon."

I hate that man. I pull out the seat that Dad always occupied, trying to find the strength to continue.

"As most of you know, Prescott passed away, leaving the school to a new owner."

Barnaby hums.

"Yes, we get that. Such shame," Archer retorted testily.

I grit my teeth together, trying to keep my anger at bay. The last thing I need is going off on this old asshole.

"Archer, let the girl speak," Roan tells him.

I'm sure he knows where this is headed since he's already sleeping with Serena.

"Since I'm his daughter, I'm the new owner." I cut to the chase.

Archer slams his hands on the table. "Fuck this shit."

Burnaby leans back in his seat, staying quiet.

And Roan stares at me, his eyes darkening, sending shivers down my spine.

"And as the new owner, Archer. I would be watching that mouth of yours because I can and will kick you off the board. I'm not my father, and I don't care what you say. And your grandson will never step back in this school."

His nostrils flared in anger. "This won't last, Odette. A woman cannot run a school."

I lean further over the table. "Tell that to the person who murdered my father. They should've thought about that in the first place. Sit the fuck down so we can talk about this shit. I have a class to get to."

I'm going to say this is the anger stage of grief because I can't handle this shit today. I should've known this would happen when I walked in here, but this much? Why Dad kept Archer on the board still bothers me. He isn't helpful. All he does is bitch and complain. If it's the money, that's not a good reason to keep someone around. Legacy or not, he's a useless douche.

I swear if Archer steps out of line one more time, he's gone. I don't need him anymore.

Dad's office is the one place I haven't been able to go back into. Considering I need to hire a new dean, I need things inside that office. The caution tape hanging from his doors turns my stomach. His heart is missing, the one thing that held the most love someone stole from him. I buried him without it.

"Odette?"

"Florence, can you go in there for me?" I swing around, coming face to face with Florence.

She shakes her head. "No, dear."

My heart pounds in my throat. I can't go in there; she can't force me.

"Dear, we'll do this together," she said, clutching my arm.

We both inhale and push the door open. The room has a stale smell and nothing like how I used to remember it. Nothing in this office will ever be the same. I hate it already.

"Find what you need, and I'll do the rest. We can't go too long without a dean. Not to rush you or anything."

"No, I know. It's weird, that's all."

"The files you need are in the desk drawer; he never kept anything like that in his computer. He was old school like that."

Swallowing hard, I move around the desk and make the mistake of glancing at the floor. The dark stain glares back at me. Why didn't anyone clean it up? Isn't that a part of their job? Bracing myself on the desk, I slide open the top drawer. A picture of Dad, Mom, and me as a newborn sits in a gold frame. I've never seen this picture before. Why has he never shown this to me? I look like my mom; her dark hair and green eyes are like mine.

"Dear? Are you all right?"

"Yeah," I swallow the lump. "I—Dad never showed me this before." I hold up the frame showing Florence.

She steps forward, gently taking it from me. "A precious moment, frozen in time," she smiled sweetly as she said it.

"What am I gonna do now? I have no one." Pain gripped my chest, taking my breath away.

Florence clutches my shoulder. "You are going to push on, be the strong woman your father raised. There isn't anything you can't do, Odette." She places her hand on my chest. "He lives here." Then, she moves her hand to my head. "And here. He will never leave you."

I pull her close. "Thank you, Florence. I don't know what I would do without you."

"I love you, Odette."

"Love you too."

Unknown: Odette. This is starting to get on my nerves. The more you ignore me every day, the more you push me to the extreme. Answer me!

Unknown: I'm afraid I will have to move forward with my plan. I'll see you soon love.

I can't keep this up. I haven't told the guys that Unknown has been getting more aggressive with his messages. I don't want to leave my dorm, fearing that he will do something to me. The guys think I'm going through depression, and if that's what I have to agree to, I will. They can't know what is going on.

"Jinx, we need to get going. You can't miss any more classes." Ashton stands in the doorway of my bedroom, eating an apple.

"Why? What's gonna happen?" I raise a questioning eyebrow.

He points his apple at me and grins. "You being the owner has its advantages, but you still need to get that little ass of yours into class."

"Fine, only because it'll do me good and not because you want me to go."

He chuckles. "Whatever you need to tell yourself. Oh, and you have a little visitor."

A little visitor?

"Edgar came back?"

He shrugs. That fucker. I race out of the room and see Atticus holding a black raven.

"Edgar, you finally came back. Where were you, buddy?" I reach out for him, and he turns his head, looking for a treat. "Hold on." Go figure the first thing he wants from me is food. Nothing has changed. I missed this little asshole.

"Kraa."

"Hold your fuckin' horses." I give Atticus the treat and watch Edgar swallow it whole. "Such a pig."

He flies over to me, landing at my feet. Kneeling in front of him, I pet under his beak. I missed my friend so much, and I wondered what adventures he went on; hopefully, he went someplace lovely. He nuzzles his head into my hand.

"I missed you."

"Kraa."

"One more treat, and then you can go."

"Kraa." He hops away, flying to the counter. He's like a dog getting excited over the word treat. Once he eats his last treat, he doesn't waste any time leaving. I watch him fly away, going wherever he goes. Lucky bastard.

"Baby, we should get going." Maddox says, holding up my bag.

I know it's time, but going out there where Unknown is doesn't sit well with me. What plan does he have for me? Maybe I should've written back to him and told him to leave the school and that I knew who he was.

Maddox digs in my bag, taking my phone out. "Your phone buzzed. It's probably Spence. Do you want me to read it to you?"

Before I could answer, he checked my phone.

His head whipped around unnaturally fast. "The fuck is this shit, Jinx?"

I went to answer, and Ashton snatched the phone from Maddox.

Ashton's mouth twitched in a snarl. "Jesus Christ, Jinx."

"Read it out loud, Ash," Atticus's voice turned dark.

I'm praying it's from Spencer. Please let it be from Spence.

Unknown: I know where your father's heart is.

TO BE CONTINUED…