“Do you think she killed him?”
Simeon asks and Mom shrugs. “I’m not sure. I have no dealings with them, and knowing Alice was alive was all that concerned me. She probably made sure she was named as his beneficiary and had no further use for him. I wouldn’t put it past her.”
“Annie!”
A loud voice comes from the front door, and we note a huge man racing into the room, concern swamping his face, followed by three huge men who could well be his sons.
“Jason.”
Mom smiles in relief. “It’s okay, this is, um, Alice. My daughter.”
The man stops short, his shock apparent, and he glances between us, apparently at a loss for words.
“I don’t know what to say.”
He peers at me, and then his features tighten when he registers Simeon and Sarah says quickly, “It’s okay, honey, they are here for answers, nothing more.”
She explains. “Jason is my husband of twenty years.”
My heart drops.
Three years after she left me.
“Your sons?”
I point to them and her face softens. “Yes, Will, Gus, and Scott.”
I have no words; they are sticking in my throat as I witness Mom’s new life without me.
She carried on.
She lived a happy life with an apparently good man, and they raised a family. All this time when I was persecuted, punished, and living in a nightmare and she tells me it was to keep me safe.
“Boys, this is Alice. Your, um, sister.”
Sarah’s eyes fill with tears, and I have never felt more desolate in my life. I don’t belong here. She moved on and I was the sacrifice, no matter how she dresses it up.
If anything, I feel like an intruder and heave a huge breath, and smile.
“We should go. Thank you for telling us what happened. It helps a lot.”
“But–” She makes to speak, but I didn’t miss the relief on her face when I said we were going.
“I’ll be in touch when the dust settles.”
I smile at Simeon, whose eyes are as dark as a starless sky.
“Ready?”
He nods, standing and gripping my hand as Sarah follows us out, her anxiety apparent as she says urgently, “I did this for you, Alice. I love you, always remember that.”
“I know. It’s fine. We’ll talk later.”
She makes to speak, and Simeon’s glare causes her to falter, and before I catch my breath, he clicks his fingers, and his guards form around us, keeping the world away, and me inside. Yet another locked cage, but this time I’m assured I will always have access to the key.
CHAPTER 39
SIMEON
