Emily giggles, and Aron pales even more. I can almost see the sick realization come to light in his eyes, see the devastation, the betrayal. God, I wish I could go to him. I wish I could take him away from here, away from this fucked-up family reunion.
“Stop playing, Mom. You know how old I am.”
“Mom”… Emily said it. She really said it.
Aron backs away from Emily, gagging. He bends at the waist and hurls, dry heaving.
My heart goes out to him. This is some next-level soap opera bullshit. It’s completely unbelievable.
Except … if it’s so fucking crazy, why aren’t the guards with them acting surprised? I would think that Mom’s resurrection, combined with the revelation that Emily is Aron and my half-sister, would be enough to confuse and disgust even the most jaded of guards. Why are they just standing there like it’s no big deal? That makes no sense, unless—
—Unless the Empire knew all along.
How deep did Javier’s treachery go? He only killed my dad, his former don, a month ago. That’s not enough time to explainthis tangled mess to his new Empire associates, and definitely not enough time for them toacceptthis as normal. That means the Syndicate defectors knew before they left to join the Empire.
Fuck.
Dad’s assassination was planned long before it happened. It wasn’t some spontaneous rebellion by Javier; it was orchestrated.
How many of the Syndicate guards and officers that I trusted were in on this? Are there more still working in the Syndicate, like Jules was? Do we have more spies, more moles in our organization?
If I ever get out of this, I’m going to have to rethink everything.
God, poor Aron. This will kill him. Even his marriage is suspect now. Emily knew. With the way she acts, shehadto know. I doubt she was even really adopted; that was probably another farce. Her supposed parents at the wedding must’ve been paid actors. Unless it was an open adoption? Mom and Javier could have raised Emily behind the scenes, molding her for this convoluted plot. Maybe they convinced Emily that marrying her half-brother was a normal thing.
This still doesn’t make sense. Javier seemed even more religious than Dad, so I wouldn’t think he’d agree to this. How, then …?
“Mom?”
I look up at her again, and she glances down at me. “Yes, Matty?”
Fuck. No one’s ever called me that but her. My heart aches despite all this new information. She’s still my mother, for fuck’s sake.
“Did Javier know?” I have to find out how deep this went. “About Emily. Did Aron’s—did their father know?”
Mom chuckles. “Goodness, no! He would have had me killed. I had to hide her.”
Javier hid Mom. Mom hid Emily. Emily hid the fact that she was Aron’s sister. So many fucking lies.
“Why didn’t you come back sooner?”
She shrugs. “I needed all my children together for this. Can you imagine if you’d heard it secondhand, or if Aron had? No. This was something that required both of you with us, so everything could come to light at once.”
Jesus Christ! Mom’s as fucked up as Emily. Is this what I have to look forward to, or is this insanity only passed down to the women in the family?
Off to the side, Aron finally straightens after emptying what little he had in his stomach. He pulls his gun with a shaky hand, turning it first on Mom, then Emily. His wife doesn’t even flinch. She just holds Maria’s hand and waves at Aron with it, like this is all a game.
That little motion does something to Aron. I watch as his face crumples, and my heart goes out to him. He loves that little girl more than anything, more maybe even than me. With his head in his hands, Aron falls to his knees, sobbing quietly. His guards exchange awkward glances, unsure what to make of this show of weakness.
What they can’t see from their angle, though, is another change in Aron. Darkness consumes his handsome features, a rage that signals a coming storm.
“I’m sorry, Matt.”
His apology is quiet and deceptively calm. I give him the barest of nods. Whatever he has planned, I forgive him for it. He could slaughter everyone in this barn, myself included, and I would still forgive him.
Aron straightens. Takes aim.
He shoots my mother in the stomach.
