A look of disgust washes over Peter’s face. “You stupid bitch, get off of him. You can’t have him! He’s your cousin.”
“What?” I can’t believe what I just heard. My cousin!? I had a relationship with my cousin? Shaking my body the best I can, I try to dislodge her. “Fucking get off me. Did you know this?” I ask her, nausea curdling my stomach when I think about the things we did.
“No, of course not.” She’s staring at her dad with as much disgust as I am.
“Relax,” Cecelia drawls as she steps forward. “You’re not blood cousins. Peter is our step-dad. He came into our lives just after Raquel was born.”
Oh thank fuck for that.
Peter smirks like he enjoyed inflicting that mental torture on me. “But Iamyour relative. The count was my uncle. My father was his younger brother, and I’m here to collect my dues. I lost everything when he disappeared. You owe me!” He points between me and my sister while Jacinta and I look at each other in shock. I can't believe this asshole is a blood relative. Sounds like all the men in our family were assholes. Maybe Dad was too, but he hid it better.Holy shit, that means that Harlow’s stalker was our cousin, too. Everything she’s gone through is our fucking fault in one way or another.
“What do you want?” Jacinta asks. “There’s gold in the vault. Take that and let us go.”
Peter scoffs, turning his attention to my sister. “I wanted my product, the guns and the drugs, but you fucked that up by getting the authorities involved. The gold is useless to me, so no, I want something way more important than that.”
He breaks off as the door to the top of the stairs opens again. Turning, he waits for whoever is about to join us. “Ah, here comes the rest of the family reunion. This is going to be so much fun.” He sounds slightly unhinged, and I know I shouldn’t look away from him, but my attention can’t help but be drawn to the slow tap of new footsteps on the stairs. They’ve certainly got a flair for the dramatic. When they get to the bottom, they hover in the shadows for a moment, then I hear Harlow gasp again.
“Mom?” She sounds confused, and there are tears streaming down her face. I guess Harlow somehow still loved her even though the woman was a bitch. But when the woman steps out of the shadows, the tears slow. “Wait, you’re not my mom.”
“Of course I’m not that junkie whore. Peter’s idiot son killed her, and you identified her body. I thought you were supposed to be smart, Harlow. Maybe your mom’s drug use while pregnant with you did actually do some damage.” The woman’s voice is harsh, and she sneers at Harlow.
“What the fuck is going on? Can one of you please explain who you are and what the fuck you want?” My sister sounds terrified and exasperated, but the four people not tied to a chair just look smug.
“I guess we could start at the beginning. I mean, we have nothing but time, don’t we? No one is expecting you back for a couple more days, and we’ll be long gone by then,” the woman says.
Cecelia groans. “Fine, but I’m sitting down if I have to listen to it all again.” She plonks herself down on one of the bottom steps and examines her fingernails in boredom.
“Just to clarify, Jaxon and I definitely are not blood related?” Raquel asks the woman, and she scrunches her face up.
“No, who told you that shit? I wouldn't have asked you to seduce him if you were. I might not have a lot of morals, but I draw the line at incest.”
Raquel points to Peter. “He did.”
The woman rolls her eyes. “Jesus, Peter. For a fifty-seven year-old man, you’re a fucking idiot.”
“It’s fun fucking with them. You should have seen Jaxon’s face.”
“Well, I want what you promised me. You said I could have Jaxon,” Raquel simpers before she plants herself back on my lap. I hide the revulsion I feel since the woman is closely watching me.
“You can have him long enough to create an heir. Once you’re carrying the heir to the Bucataru fortune, we won’t need him anymore.”
“No! I want to keep him.” Raquel’s voice takes on a stubborn tone. I can’t see her face, but I’m assuming she’s pouting. The woman waves her off.
“We can discuss it later, but for now I want to tell my niece here a story.” My head swings to look at Harlow, and her mouth has dropped open in shock.
“You’re my aunt! Why did my mom never say anything about you?”
Harlow’s aunt rolls her eyes. “Diane never forgave me for chasing off Brad. How was I to know he was a billionaire? I just thought he was some beach bum college grad who had no prospects.” She sighs, a faraway look in her eyes like she’s lost in memories.
“Where shall I start? I guess I could go back a little further to really set the story since you’re such acaptiveaudience. Diane and I grew up in Hartford, in that very trailer she used to live in. Our mom was a waitress, and our dad had died when Diane was small. Mom worked hard to feed and clothe us, but by the time I was ten, I was often left alone to look after Diane even though I was only three years older than her. As I got older, I swore I wouldn't live like my mom did, struggling day to day, sometimes bringing a man home so that she could pay the rent and keep food on the table for us. Eventually, she decided that earning money on her back was easier than waitressing. Thankfully, she didn't bring her customers home most of the time.”
Raquel, on my lap, pulls out her phone and starts playing a game. She’s obviously heard all this before. I desperately want to shove her off, but I don't want to draw any extra attention to us while this woman is telling her story.
Peter’s phone rings, and he brushes past Cecelia and goes upstairs to talk uninterrupted.
“Anyway, I decided I wanted to be an actress and left home as soon as I turned eighteen. I’d been working a job for a couple of years and saved as many tips as I could, so as soon as I had enough for a plane ticket, I was gone. My mother disowned me and told me never to return. She might not have been the best mother, but I guess she cared in some way. She said some things that I brushed off then, but I admit now that I was naive and deluded. I had no special skills, and although I was pretty, I had no talent. Eventually, I had to make a decision. Come home and grovel to my mother or earn some money on my back. I refused to grovel to that woman, so I got a job with an escort agency. That’s when I came across Count Bucataru for the first time. I was hired to work at one of his parties. He liked the look of me, and I became one of his ‘girls.’”
She’s been walking back and forth across the room, occasionally looking us over, but it’s almost like she’s telling the story to herself. Both Harlow and Jacinta are riveted, but even though I’m listening, my eyes gaze around the room, looking for a way out. But then she stops, and a strange look comes upon her face. It’s almost like fear, but it’s quickly replaced by anger as her fists clench.
