Max is at his side in moments. “What do you need?”
“We need to move as fast as possible to find everything that could disprove any claims that Cyra’s parents make.” He looks up at me, his eyes softening. “We’re going to be diving into some real private areas, are you up for it?”
I shrug. “I don’t have a choice, do I?” It’s not like I can just run off and hide away for the rest of my life, that way my parents get to control what’s going on, and I’m done with that. I’m done letting them control me.
He shakes his head slowly. “All of this will come out at some point. We just need to be ahead of your parents, make sure they can’t ‘alter’ anything, that they can’t change your story with their own ‘proof’.”
I know that my parents will try to create their own ‘truth’, they’ve got enough money, but even with everything going on, it’s hard to think of my parents stooping that low. Especially after all they’ve let me do for these last years. But I also didn’t expect them to play the victims once they spotted me on the news, claiming that I’m ‘missing’ or whatever, just to get more people on their side, to control the story.
I glare at Max, for good measure. “I could have brought everything with me, had I known that I needed to pack them.”
Zack stands up from the couch, holding up his hands in a sign of defence. “Don’t kill the messenger, but I might know someone who can retrieve the items you need from your apartment.”
I shoot him a look. “You call that being the messenger? Pretty sure you’re the culprit and enabler in this situation.”
He gives me a quick smirk. “Messenger sounded better in my head. But the offer still stands. We sometimes have to find information about clients or potential clients, things they might try to hide from us. Or, in some cases, there might be a dispute about a building and we need to get inside to make sure that we don’t lose our property. We’ve got people who can do things like that. I can get someone into your apartment to retrieve things. Just let me know.”
I open my mouth. It feels wrong to have a random person go through my stuff, for someone to break into my apartment, even when I’m the one giving the okay to do so.
Zack lets out a slow breath. “I might not have agreed with you hiding who you are. And I’ve said some... harsh... things to you because of it. But what your parents are trying to pull is not okay. It’s wrong. What you do is your thing, but they should not be allowed to drag you through the mud because it fits some egotistic plan they have. Simple as that.”
I stare at him, that’s probably as much of an apology as I’m going to get from him. “I don’t...” I sigh. “Some things will be online, I can get to those from here, but others...” I eye Liam. “You said you need everything?”
Liam nods. “As much as possible. Anything you have. We need to make sure we have proof. Hard copies are the best, signed and full of crusty bits, just to show it’s the real deal. Digital is too easy to fake. We need to have the facts of your life on our side, and we can work from that, plan our own attack.”
“Liam...” An attack on my parents doesn’t sound like it’s a good idea, but the rest of his plan sounds sensible enough. “Zack, you have my consent. I don’t like it. I don’t want to agree to it. But I don’t think I’ve got a real choice here.” I lean against the back of a couch. “What do you need?”
Zack appears in front of me, his eyes serious, as he holds out his phone. “I just need your address. The rest will be taken care of. I will also need to know where the files or folders are stored. But you seem like someone who keeps those in a sensible place.”
I nod, putting my address into his phone. “Everything’s in a folder located on the middle shelf of my bookcase. It’s easy to spot. I don’t... I don’t think I’ve got anything else than what’s in there.” He’s kind of right, I do keep all of it together, since it’s not much anyway and I’ll always know where things are. “Do you... Do you also need stuff like bills or something? Like, the ones I get in the mail?”
He pulls up a shoulder, eyeing Liam, before nodding. “Worth a try?”
“Those are in folders in a box under my bed.” Sorted by year, yes... Anything to have a trail of proof that I’m able to handle my own finances and that I’m responsible at taking care of myself.
Zack carefully takes the phone back, his voice soft. “I’ll take care of it. These people are dependable. They won’t go snooping. In and out, that’s it.” He turns around. “I’m going to make that call now.”
He walks out the back door, closing it behind him, as he puts his phone to his ear. Suddenly I’m looking at Zack-the-businessman, not Zack-the-player, and he’s a totally different person. If he’s serious, he might actually be responsible, instead of the silly character he always puts on.
“And now?” I look at the other three men. “What are we going to do now?”
Liam sighs. “We’re going to have to go
