My name before Victor.Before I sold my soul to a devil in an expensive suit.It sounded foreign.Like seeing my reflection for the first time in years.I had to resist the urge to correct her out of habit.
I didn’t want to be Mrs.Kane anymore.
But I wasn’t sure I knew how to be Ariana Summers, either.Wasn’t sure who that person was.
Wasn’t sure whoIwas.
“A little sore,” I managed.
“I’d like to do an exam, if that’s okay with you.Check your injuries, especially your head.”
I glanced at Henry, uncertain who this woman was.
“This is Krystal,” he explained.“She’s a nurse I hired.”He shifted his attention to her.“Can we hold off on the exam until later?Ms.Summers would like to see her mother.”
“Of course, sir.”Krystal nodded without hesitation.“Mrs.Summers is out in the garden.”
The words barely left her mouth before my pulse spiked, and I snapped my gaze back to Henry.
“She’s here?”
“I told you I’d show you she was okay.”He gave a small, knowing smile as he stepped outside.
Fresh air wrapped around me, cloaking me in the comforting aroma of freshly cut grass and jasmine.It had been ages since I’d been outside.Since I’d felt the sun’s rays.The breeze blowing through my hair.
But that was second to learning my mother washere.
When he said he’d take me to see she was okay, I assumed he’d arrange for me to call her at the care facility.I never expected this.
“How?”I asked through the emotion welling in my throat.
“I can be very persuasive.”A mischievous smirk curved his lips before his expression turned serious.“Plus, I found some questionable bank transactions between Victor and the head of Serenity Grove…or whatever that place was called.”
“He was paying for her care,” I explained.
Henry shook his head.“These payments were in addition to what Victor paid the facility.”
“Why?”
“I have my suspicions, but I need to do a bit more…digging.”
“What do you?—”
“Don’t worry about it.I promise to tell you everything I uncover.For now, all I want you to focus on is spending time with your mother.After everything you’ve been through, you deserve that.”
The sincerity in his voice unsettled me more than any threat could have.Because it sounded real.Tooreal.
We followed a cobblestone path framed by winter jasmine and the occasional bird chirping.The rhythm of his steps quickened with my heart.I braced myself for disappointment, for illusion.This was the sort of trick Victor would play on me.He reveled in getting my hopes up, then cruelly dashing them, all to remind me who was in control.
But when Henry rounded the corner, I learned this wasn’t a trick or a mind game.This was real.My mother was here.And not sitting on a bench, lost in some faraway place only she could see, as was always the case whenever I visited her at the care facility.
She was kneeling in a patch of dirt, sunlight woven through her white hair, planting bursts of marigolds and pansies like it was the most natural thing in the world.
Like the last several years never happened.
Her eyes met mine as she stood.I almost called out for her to be careful, insist Henry put me down and help her.
To my surprise, she didn’t waver, her footsteps steadier than I’d seen them in quite a while.
