“It sounds like you’re ticked off because you thought you’d receive the money and the house and Xavier cut you out of both.” That would explain the perfect timing of her return.
“Actually, I was too busy hoping Isabel and Stella didn’t get anything to worry about my haul. They deserve to be buried in that garden with my father.” HerI’m above all thiscomposure slipped a bit. A burst of anger seeped through.
That made me want to poke around. “You mean the garden where you put your father’s body.”
“Oh, Hanna.” Aubrey let out a dramatic sigh. “You’re better than this.”
Over-the-top gestures ran in the Tanner family. Her mother used to whip out those theatrical sounds, too. “I’m honored you think so.”
“I didn’t kill my parents.” She said the words with all the emotion of someone reciting a grocery list.
“Totally believable. Anyone can see you’re in mourning.”
A tiny smile came and went. “Gramps worried that I killed his precious boy. He sent me away, paid for tutors, shipped me off to that hideous prison of a boarding school. Let me live but he liked to remind me that his position could change.”
A steady refrain ran through my mind:Fake it. Don’t let her see your shock.
Xavier knew the whole time. Xavier hid her. The conclusionmade sense. She’d been a kid. A savvy one but still a kid. Someone had to pay her bills, keep her safe and away from the speculation swirling around Sleepy Hollow. The only question was if he did it to protect his precious reputation or to actually save her.
He begged me for time with Jeremy to make up for missing Aubrey and Noah.
I’ve lost everything, Hanna. You no longer need to fear me.
The lying asshole.
“Did he keep that juicy bit from you? Honestly, what did you two talk about in bed?” Aubrey acted as if she actually expected an answer. “Maybe you didn’t need to talk. Was it an all-sex-and-no-words thing? Lights off. Music on.”
Who would have guessed teen Aubrey would be the most tolerable and likable version of Aubrey. “I know you get off on being shocking.”
She snorted. “Who doesn’t?”
“Most of the civilized world.”
“Is this the same world where college girls sleep around to get paid?”
She was a one-note insult machine. She needed to try harder. I’d heard already every accusation she could dream up and hurl at me. “Your bitchy little girl act is getting tiresome.”
“You have to forgive me. I haven’t spent much time around other people.”
“Nice try. You’ve been gone for fifteen years. You didn’t spend all of them in a boarding school by yourself.”
“True. He changed my name. Paid people off. Sent me away to hide for as long as he could. Unfortunately for him, I grew up and got out.” She walked around the chair and over to the wall ofwindows. It was too dark to see much outside the circle of light cast on the flagstone patio, which probably explained why her gaze didn’t linger there.
“Why did he do all of that?” That part didn’t make any sense. This whole farce sounded nonsensical.
“Fair question. You’d think he’d want his sweet granddaughter victim by his side to sway public opinion, but no. He seemed determined to blame me. Hang the whole mess—”
“Meaning what, exactly?”
Aubrey shook her head. “Don’t interrupt, Hanna. No one likes that.”
“You’re stalling.”
“You talk too much. You should watch that.” She hesitated before continuing. “I had something on Gramps. Not a secret baby, of course. That was your thing, but he needed me to stay quiet. So, we made a deal. He financially supported me and guaranteed my financial future. I stayed lost until Gramps kicked it. Then I could switch back to my real name and rise from the dead and collect my parents’ estate.”
Her disregard for the loss of her family sent a panicked shiver racing through me. “You don’t strike me as the compliant type. Why wait? You could have forced the issue.”
She gave me full eye contact. “He made it clear what he would do if I showed up.”
