Page 53 of The Tower

“Okay,” I say. “I’m listening.”

“What did Liam tell you? About why he whisked you away from the gala and why he’s helping you now?”

“Because Father’s been manipulating me. He’s using me to test drugs that fuck with my memory and make me docile so the bastard can keep me in line. Probably testing on others, too, but I’m high-profile. If Grimm can get proof from my blood, he can shut my father down.”

“And that’s it?”

“Isn’t that enough? My own father’s pumping me full of drugs. He made me believe Elias Grimm pushed my mother off the roof, when really it was him.”

“Oh, god,” she says. “That’s horrible.”

I swallow. “It is,” I say. “Not that I’m thrilled to be Satan’s daughter, but at least I know the truth.”

“Did Liam tell you about his mother?” she asks.

“Rebecca? No. We haven’t really talked about her. He was just a baby when she died.”

“Victor had her killed.”

I go stone cold. “My father had Liam Grimm’s mother killed?” I say the words slowly, as if that will help me understand.

It doesn’t.

“That’s what Leo told me. Victor had Liam’s mother killed. Rebecca Towne was your dad’s mistress. But she left him to have a thing with Elias, and she got pregnant.”

My head spins as Ruby lays out the rest of the tale. With so much twisting, turning, and betrayal, it’s practically a soap opera—which would be amusing if the drama weren’t leaking into my life.

Apparently, Elias wanted to keep the baby, but Rebecca knew that Marge would make her life miserable and that Elias wouldn’t stand up for her. So she ran to my father, and he agreed to take her back so long as she gave up the baby—not to Elias, but to an orphanage—and that she would never try to track the kid down.

“Let me guess,” I say. “She pretended to agree, then somehow got back with Elias despite Marge.”

“Yup. She faked pain and spotting, then bolted when your dad had someone take her to a hospital.”

“And Elias took her in?”

“According to Leo, yeah. And he made Marge agree, which pissed her off.”

“And that’s why she hates Liam so much now,” I guess.

“Pretty much,” Ruby says.

“Poor Liam,” I say. “Can you imagine growing up like that? A stepmother who hates you. A father who probably thought of him more like a chess piece than a kid.”

“No wonder he’s fucked up,” Ruby says.

“All things considered, he’s remarkably sane. And strong,” I add, because I know a bit about being a chess piece disguised as a child.

There’s silence for so long that I begin to think I lost the connection.

“Ruby?”

“You like him.” It’s a statement, not a question. And maybe it’s my imagination, but there’s something dark in her tone.

“He saved me from an engagement to Desmond Bane. Remember? And got me away from my father. What’s not to like?” I don’t mention the part where he owns my ass. Literally. Or the part about the way he touches me.

Or about how I like it.

“No, no, no,” she says, her voice thick with urgency. “Sasha, you have to be careful. Liam Grimm is dangerous. Everyone knows that.”