“Why did you send me all those things, the doll, the book, Beau?” She looked down at the puppy that was snuggled on his cushion in front of the fire.
“Beau?” he repeated, realizing she meant the dog. “It suits him.”
“Why?” she repeated, her eyes filled with pain.
“I never wanted to hurt you, Olivia.” He shook his head. “But I needed you to remember that night. You were there, you saw everything.”
“But I don’t remember.” She frowned. “I’ve tried and I just can’t.”
He sighed. “Then this is going to be hard for you to hear.”
“Just start talking.” Her mouth tightened.
“I loved your mother very much,” Charles began with a sigh. “We shared everything. Including her family’s secrets. I knew about Nathaniel, and I knew where and how he had been trapped. When the murders started back then, we knew someone was trying to raise the demon. I’d discussed it with both Evie and Alice, but we couldn’t figure out who was responsible for the killings. I noticed your mother behaving strangely, pulling away from me. Then Jimmy was killed, and your mother became quieter and more withdrawn. The night of the fire, I came home earlier than expected. I wanted to surprise her. I brought her favorite flowers to try and cheer her up, but when I walked into the kitchen, she was in there with Alice. They were fighting. I saw her kill your grandmother and I couldn’t believe what was happening. It was then that I realized it was your mother all along. She was trying to raise the demon. I dropped the flowers and wrestled with her for the knife. In the struggle, she was stabbed in the chest. When I looked up, the house was on fire. I grabbed you and ran as far and as fast as I could. I just knew I had to get you as far away from Mercy as possible. I was trying to protect you.”
“She was the killer all along?” She shook her head, blinking back the tears she wouldn’t allow to fall. “She did all those terrible things to those men?”
“Yes,” he replied flatly.
“Why? I don’t understand. I’ve seen the spell Hester used, and she didn’t need to kill those men.”
“She did,” Theo told her. “We already know that if you raise a demon in its true form, it can’t be controlled. It will just spread death and destruction because that’s its nature. If your mother hoped to have any control over it, she needed to exchange one prison for another, only this time a prison of living flesh. By creating a body for him and forcing him into it, he would be bound to her by magic.”
Charles looked at Theo, grudgingly impressed. “He’s right. Isabel isn’t stupid enough to raise a demon in its true form.”
“Why didn’t you come to me?” She turned to her father.
“I wanted to, Jellybean.” His voice softened. “I wanted to tell you the truth, but you wouldn’t have believed me. You had to find out for yourself.”
“That’s such bullshit,” she snapped bitterly. “So, it was alright for me to get blindsided again because you didn’t want to take a chance I would reject you?” Her eyes flashed dangerously. “You should’ve come to me. You should’ve told me the truth from the beginning. I might not have believed you, but then again, you’ll never know, will you? Because you didn’t give me that chance. We could’ve tried to rebuild the trust that was lost between us, but now you’re just another person who’s lied to me my whole life.”
“Olivia…” he began.
“Get out.” Her voice was barely above a whisper now. She could feel the tears rising in her throat, burning to get out, but she wouldn’t fall apart in front of everyone. “Just... all of you, go.”
She turned to Theo. “Get them out of the house,” she breathed heavily.
He watched helplessly from the library door as she slowly climbed the stairs, disappearing from view.
“I’ll go clean up the medical supplies.” Louisa headed back to the kitchen. Her gaze filled with sympathy.
“God, I need a cigarette.” Mac blew out a breath, heading out of the room.
“I’ll come with you.” Jake followed him.
Charles turned to Theo and handed him a card. It was a plain white business card with nothing but a phone number on it.
“Take this. If she needs me, call the number on the card. Let it ring twice and hang up, then wait for me to contact you.”
“I don’t think I’ll be calling you,” Theo replied coolly.
“Don’t be so quick to judge, Theodore. This is only the beginning. Once the shock has worn off, Olivia and I need to talk. There are many things she needs to know.”
“Why did Isabel set Nathaniel free? What is it she wants?” Theo frowned.
“What she’s always wanted,” Charles replied. “Infernum.”
“Infernum?” Theo jolted at the reference, his eyes snapping back from the card in his hand to Charles, his gaze narrowing in suspicion. “You know what it is, don’t you?”
