Victor gestures. “You four should be okay and us, of course.”
I know he and Olivia will not be joining us. I know my mother and Rex are behind us still. This almost seems too easy. We walk into the room and Victor shuts the door. Dick glances around, knowing something is off. Ava, the UC he thinks he purchased, is sitting in a chair in the corner ready to offer assistance if needed.
“What’s going on?” He turns toward her. “Get on the bed.”
I take my mask off. “I don’t think she will.”
Dick’s eyes widen, his neck and face becoming a bright shade of red. He looks over my shoulder toward my mother, probably hoping she’ll do something, but she doesn’t say a word.
“Sit,” I demand. He swallows, but does as I say. Rex walks over and stands next to him, putting his hand on Dick’s shoulder.Ava smirks and waves her fingers at him. He swallows again, but doesn’t move. He’s already accepted his fate. I know Rex and Ava will handle him if he decides to try something.
I turn, face my mother, and tilt my head. She removes her mask and offers me a snake-like smile, but I don’t return it.
“Mother. It’s been years,” I greet her. Kenz is still squeezing my hand, so I pull her close and wrap my arm around her waist.
My mother clicks her tongue as she stares us down. “What exactly do you think you’re doing, son?”
Kenz brings her other hand up and grips my bicep gently. I know she’s offering me support. How she ever thought I wouldn’t choose her, I don’t know. It wasn’t a difficult choice. This woman will stand beside me through anything, while the one in front of me is nothing but a narcissistic manipulator.
My gut still clinches at the look in her eyes. She’s never loved anyone but herself, let alone me. I force one side of my mouth to tip into a smile. “I’m changing the rules, mother.”
She narrows her eyes, causing the creases in her forehead to be more evident. I wonder what she’d do if I pointed it out. Try to stop this conversation to go get botox immediately?
“So, you’ve made your choice?” she asks. I know she’s trying to bait me.
“You made your choice the day you set your sights on my wife.”
She snorts and rolls her eyes. “At least one of us gets a Knight.” I tilt my head and McKenzie stiffens next to me.
“What do you mean?” McKenzie asks, and I know my mother wanted that question to be asked. She walks over to another chair and sits, adjusting her black dress around her as she gets ready for her performance.
“You see, years ago, in high school, I was promised to a man. A man I wanted more than anyone else.” She glances over at Dick, who has kept quiet this entire time, and smirks. “In fact, Richardwas friends with this man, gained his trust. Of course, back then Richard was quite the looker.”
She sighs dramatically as she stares at him. “You really have let yourself go.” Dick doesn’t say anything, obviously used to this sort of abuse. “Anyway, my future was laid out before me. I was promised to the most eligible bachelor of Brighton Academy.” Her eyes harden and she glares at McKenzie. I pull her closer to me. I want to step in front of her, but I know that will show a weakness and we don’t need that. Not now.
“But halfway through our senior year, we had someone transfer in. It was highly unusual for a student to be accepted so far into the school year, especially a senior, but exceptions were made for this particular student.” She scoffs and runs her hands down her silk dress. “Her parents had passed away, and she moved in with another family whose children went to Brighton.” She rolls her eyes.
“The man I was promised to took one look at her and fell head over heels. I was all but forgotten. My family’s empire and his were going to be joined and we would have ruled the majority of the southern states, but he went and ruined it all.” She stands and takes a step toward us, but her eyes are glued to McKenzie. This time I do take a step in front of her, but she continues to stare at her.
“All because of your mother. She ruined everything.” I spare a glance at McKenzie. She’s staring at my mother with tears in her eyes, but she doesn’t speak. My mother walks toward Dick, Rex standing behind him, waiting for his opportunity to kill the man that dared touch Anna. She doesn’t spare a glance toward Ava, who has almost faded into the background. She does her job well. “So, I started scheming. Richard and I tried to find ways to get rid of Isabel, but we could never get to her.”
She turns back around and puts her hands on her hips. “Your father was prepared for what he called my temper tantrum. Heprotected her. She was fragile, your mother. I thought he’d get bored with her eventually. My father got tired of waiting, so he found your father.” She finally looks at me.
“He said I had to marry him or get sold at the next auction. I chose to get married.” She runs her hands through her red hair, so different from the blonde hair I remember, and clutches it like she’s trying to pull it out by the roots. “I had plans for the auction. I wanted to change things, but I couldn’t do that since I was a woman. I had to have a husband.” She glances at her red nails. “So barbaric, but I knew my place and did as I was told. I never loved your father. I tried. I really did, but for the majority of my life, Marcus Knight was supposed to be the man I married.” She shrugs. “But your father believed I loved him and that’s all I needed to begin slowly changing things.”
McKenzie steps forward. “You killed my mother.” The first thing my brain wants to do is reject this, but I know she’s right. I knew where this story was headed the moment mother began talking about the man she was promised to and the girl he fell in love with instead.
“I did.” She admits it like she’s talking about the weather. McKenzie sinks into me and I hold her tight so she doesn’t fall to the ground. “And your father tried to find me. He started coming to auctions. Tried to find evidence, but I was very careful.”
“We have a situation out here,” Victor says in my ear. I share a look with Rex.
“Handle it,” Rex replies.
My mother glances between us and arches an eyebrow. “Issues, boys?”
“Your father is here,” Jason says.
I glare at the woman who gave birth to me, but that’s all she is to me, I’m realizing. “Dad is here,” I tell her.
