“My brother handled the situation with the cops, but Chad was still mouthing off and causing trouble,” Mom explains. “I was worried the order would be given to kill him, so we found a way to silence him.”
“So you what? Made him sick?” I ask because this is what they seem to be implying.
“We have had teams working on creating a virus for years. Weeding out the ineffective, weak, and lazy elements within the modern world is a tedious task growing more insurmountable by the day,” Julia says, extracting a couple of vials and a long needle from the medical bag. “So, Daddy’s plan has been to create a virus we can use to wipe those people out in one fell swoop. Of course, we can’t make it obvious.” She giggles. “So our scientists also created an antidote, and they are working on a vaccine. That way we can pick those elements we want to save and those we want to die.”
My mouth slackens as she explains, and bile swims up my throat. I don’t even have words to describe how ethically reprehensible that is.
“It will be some time before we’re ready to roll it out, but it’s just entered the testing phase.” She attaches one vial to the needle before handing it to Mom. “Your mom and I decided Chad would make an excellent guinea pig.”
The smug grin is wiped off her face when my punch lands squarely in her mouth. “You could have killed him!”
She teeters on her high heels, falling to the ground on her ass. Her dress rides up, exposing her bare pussy because she isn’t wearing underwear.
So classy.
“You will pay for that,” she yells, mopping up blood from her lip.
“Ashley.” Mom grabs my elbow and pulls me back. “You cannot go around punching other luminaries. Especially not an heir.”
“Fuck you, Mom.” I wrangle out of her embrace. “I would highly recommend you leave before my fist finds your face next.”
“You are overreacting again.”
Jase wraps his arms around me, lifting me away before I can swing at my mother. “We need to pick our battles, remember?” he whispers in my ear. “As much as this disgusts me, we need your mother on our side.”
Those are the only words he could say to get me to back down. I nod, signaling he can let me down, as Mom helps Julia to her feet.
“I think it’s best you leave, Julia. I can administer the antidote,” Mom says.
“Fine,” she clips out, smoothing a hand down her dress. “It’s no skin off my back if the jock dies.” She jabs her finger in the air at me. “You’re going to get what’s coming to you.”
“I said that’s enough, Julia!” Mom shouts, shoving her up against the wall in an unexpected move. “I might have helped to raise you, but you’re still only my niece. Ashley is my daughter. Threaten her again, and you won’t like what I do next.”
Julia thrusts Mom away. “Watch who you push around, Auntie Pam. My father won’t always be in charge.” She smooths a hand over her hair. “You’d all do well to remember who will.”
“It sure as fuck won’t be you, you delusional bitch,” Bree says. “You couldn’t organize an orgy in a brothel without someone holding your hand.”
Julia flips us the bird, in what I assume is very unLuminary-like behavior, before flouncing out of the house.
“I’m going to see Chad,” I announce, striding toward the door.
“Wait!” Mom races after me. “You can’t tell him where you’ve been.”
“I am not an imbecile, Mother!” I hiss over my shoulder as I take the stairs with Jase and Bree hot on Mom’s heels. “I know he can’t know anything. Jase and I will tell him we were together this past week repairing our relationship. Jase arranged to kidnap me as he was desperate.”
“I can send some backdated messages to his cell,” Jase adds. “He won’t dispute it. He’ll be too happy to see us back together.”
“That aligns with what we have told him the few times he’s been lucid.”
I spin around on the top step with my fist raised, ready to level my mom, but Jase shakes his head, reminding me of our convo in the kitchen. “You will give him the antidote and then get the fuck out of our house.”
“I’m on your side, Ash,” she pleads, trailing behind me as I stomp up the next set of stairs.
“Try telling that to my sick boyfriend!” I whirl around again. “You are fucking with his health and his life, and that’s not okay! What about football and his family?”
“I visited his mother and sister and ensured they were looked after.”
I know what that means. She gave them money. Probably paid their rent in advance and stocked up on groceries. The motives weren’t entirely pure, but I like she thought to look after them. Still, it will cause issues between me and Chad when he realizes. But that’s not my mother’s fault. The chip is on my boyfriend’s shoulder. I force myself to calm down. “Thank you for that. What about Coach?”
