She sits straighter in Hudson’s lap. “I’m going to tell you everything. I don’t want to, but I need to. I’m tired of secrets. I’m exhausted by all of it. I’ll tell you everything and then it’s up to you what you want to do.”
I rise to join them. I lower myself to the floor in front of Pippa and take her hands in mine. The three of us connected. I know whatever she’s about to say is going to be hard to hear, but I need her to know she’s not alone.
A small tear leaves her eye and I wipe it away. She inhales a sharp breath, closing her eyes, and whispers a quiet thank you.
“Sophie hated that we existed. What Jules said is true—we don’t know anything about our mothers except that Sophie hated them and us. She made sure we knew it every single day. I never understood Jared’s relationship with her. He always referred to her as his girlfriend and they said they loved each other, but Jared…he was still always with girls. It wasn’t a secret. Sophie would bring him girls. It was…sofucked up. Everything that happened was so, truly fucked up.”
She takes a deep breath. “Sophie was cruel to us, and she and Jared were a package deal. When I was about fifteen, I startedasking questions. I was angry all the time. I’d try to push their buttons because I wanted off the island. I wanted to attend their dumb parties, but we were never allowed to attend. I wanted to talk to literallyanyoneother than them, my sisters, and the Volkovs. I was going stir-crazy.”
Hudson rubs her arms slowly. I caress her hands. We are hanging on every word.
“Jared would come and go from the island. I mean everyone did, except the three of us. One night, he was away and Sophie said she wanted to talk to me. She was so nice that night.” Pippa laughs. “That should have been my first clue, but she played the friend, you know? Like she understood why I had been rebelling and she pretended to agree with me; I was ‘becoming a woman,’ she said. I needed ‘to meet more people.’ She told me one of dad’s friends was coming over later in the week. She asked if I’d like to join them for dinner. I was so excited, I accepted right away. I was so stupid.
“The next night, she asked if I wanted to dye my hair. She acted like we were two teenage friends pulling one over on my dad. Ilovedthe idea. I’d hated my red hair—it made me feel so different and she knew it. So, we bleached it blonde.” She chuckles. “Dad was so mad when he got back, but by then, it was too late.”
I feel my blood pressure rising. I’m working hard not to react, not to say anything. I can tell Hudson is restraining himself, too. I feel irrationally angry that someone else killed Jared before I had the chance. I want to tear the world down—hurt everyone who ever hurt her.
“I remember getting all dressed up, feeling beautiful. Jules begged me not to go. I told her she was just jealous. She’s always been the leader of our group, even though I’m older. I should have listened to her, but I didn’t want to hear it. I was expecting someone fun at dinner, someone close to my age, or maybeanother girl, one in college. I remember thinking it was definitely going to be a girl, since so many were always coming and going from Maribel.”
Her eyes flick between ours. “It didn’t even occur to me… You have to understand, this was about two years before Jared was arrested. At this point, we didn’t know what the parties were. We just knew there were these fun-looking parties every few weeks and that we weren’t allowed to go. There were so many people we weren’t allowed to talk to, and my sisters and I wanted desperately to talk to more people. When I got to the dining room, I was shocked.
“I knew who Magnus Troy was. I’d seen him on the island many times before. Jared and Sophie talked about him often. There were pictures of them together in the house, but I wasn’t expecting to see him there that night. I knew right away Sophie had done this on purpose. I almost ran away. I wish I would have.”
I squeeze her hands tighter. “I’m so sorry, Pippa.”
“It happened a few times after that. She wouldn’t let me dye my hair back because he preferred blondes. She told me I had to keep seeing him or she’d make Jules go instead.”
“Fucking bitch,” Hudson curses under his breath.
“I got pregnant,” she blurts suddenly.
Hudson and I try not to overreact, but it’s hard. I swallow, eyes wide, unsure what to say to such abuse and trauma.
“I just need to tell all of it, okay?” A tear slowly slides down her cheek.
Hudson wipes it away this time. We wait silently for her to continue.
“My sisters and I had never even been to a doctor. I barely understood periods, only that women got them. We hadsomehomeschooling from Mrs. Volkov—” Pippa looks at me, eyes wide, realizing what she said.
I stiffen a bit.
“She was really lovely, Enzo. We were children and she was theonlykind adult in our lives, like a mom to us three. She died when Junior was, like, ten. I think I was eleven or twelve. It was devastating.”
I close my eyes. “Jesus. Didn’t Konstantin have her killed?”
“We didn’t know that at the time, but yes, that’s the assumption. I’m not surprised—he was the worst. I’m glad he’s dead,” she admits.
I offer a small smile.
“And Enzo, I am not sure if I should say this, but the Junior we knew as kids… When she was alive, we were close. He was like family to us—like a cousin or a brother—he was a normal, sweet little boy. I have no idea who he became, but I can only imagine the control his dad had over him.”
“I didn’t know much about him before everything happened, either, but yeah, his dad was a piece of work.”
She squeezes my hand.
What a complicated web this is. Christ.
“So, I got pregnant, but I didn’t know that. I didn’t know anything about pregnancy or missed periods. I was experiencing sharp pains and heavier-than-normal bleeding. I came down with a fever, and I guess it got really bad. My memories of that time are foggy, but I got so sick they had to get a doctor to the island on a helicopter. It turned out I had a miscarriage.”
