They’ve followed a long line of others just like them. The upper levels of our state’s population are riddled with them.Protected by their supreme status and whatever blood oath they took in university, allowing them to cover up their past crimes.
You’d never hear about it though, because it’s never gone far enough to reach the ears of the public, every victim we’ve traced silenced one way or another.
No one knows what they were a part of.
No one except Regina and me.
“When are your sister and I going to get an invite to one of these lavish events? I’ve got an old ballgown gathering dust at the back of the wardrobe.”
Mom’s been dying to get to one of Barry’s events for years. Mostly because she has a thing for collecting the free bottles of his liquor.
I used to as well; my friends and I’s whole university nights out were funded by the premium liquid he brought round to the house.
I was underage for the most part, so I had to dilute Mom’s stash with water for whatever we stole—it’s probably why she thinks it tastes so smooth.
Louisa finishes off with a gulp of water before answering, “You’d be bored to tears, Mom, trust me, I am. It’s nothing like what you think, all business talk.” She waves her fork in the air. “Besides, you know Indie doesn’t like those kinda things.”
Mom presses her lips into a thin line, the real reason completely different to what Louisa thinks it is. I had Mom promise not to tell her when she got back from her year out.
My sister thinks I’m anti-social due to heartbreak, which is a blurred version of the truth.
Mom then shifts her focus to me, her eyes and voice softening. “What about you, Indie? How are you and Regina getting on?”
“Work’s steady, can’t complain. We’re busy with month end stuff, hoping to get in a few more employees due to our growth by the end of the year.”
I make sure to answer through a mouthful; it helps ease the tone of my partial lies.
We’re faceless behind the real company; the legitimate work my family knows about is the front. Even then, we’re mostly in the background, and we pull substantial figures from the marks.
Regina’s able to work some magic behind the screens to launder the funds together. It’s all too much for me to wrap my technical novice head around.
A phone ringing slices through the steady conversation, and my sister excuses herself from the table whilst I help Mom clear the empty plates.
“How’s things with you and Morgan?” I ask her, drying the dishes as she hands them to me.
“We’re still just friends, Indie. But… we’re headed for a few days’ break in a couple of weeks. So, anything could happen really, maybe it’ll progress.”
The faintest smile edges on her lips, along with a subtle and undeniable blush.
“Oh, so you’re heading intothatkind of friendship,” I tease, earning me a swat with a soapy hand.
My dad passed away just before I headed into the middle of my last year of university. He’s the reason I have the foundations to handle myself. He was in the military, killed during an overseas deployment.
He was adamant that his daughters knew how to defend themselves with their hands and a gun, much to our mom’s dismay.
With the horrors he saw throughout his career, he wanted us to be able to fight back. Taught us as soon as we were old enough to swing a right hook.
It’s a skill I never knew just how much I would need in my adult years. One I wish I had mastered much, much sooner.
Maybe things would have turned out differently.
Justice isn’t a word some of us would use around here, especially if your name wields no power against theirs.
“I’m just glad you’re happy, Mom,” I admit with a smile. It’s hard seeing your mom with another man.
Morgan’s a nice regular guy and he’s been hanging around for years, though she’ll never truly move on from my dad; he was her first and only love.
I can imagine she’s been lonely, so if this brings her some joy in life, I’m happy for her, even envy her ability to try.
