Page 25 of Slayer

“I mean, it happens, but…”

“But a Sinclair? Would a legacy really allow their data to be corrupted? They’re obsessed with genealogy,” Celia pushed.

Jane chewed her lip, eyes darting back to the screen. She deleted Molly’s first name and then typed Kitty. Kitty Sinclair.

RESTRICTED.

Jane’s hands shook as she typed Robert Sinclair.

RESTRICTED.

Jane quickly closed all the windows frantically and spun in her chair, facing Celia and I, her face pale. “I’m sorry, ladies. This is as far as I can go with this, or I’ll lose my job.”

I glanced at Celia to see absolute rage on her face, her jaw set tight.

“Thank you, Jane.” She flicked her head to me and nodded to the door.

I followed her, feeling numb and confused inside, my thoughts lagging behind my feet.

When we stepped outside and moved far enough away from the building, I stopped Celia.

“What’s going on? Who is Kitty? What’s a legacy?”

Celia rested a hand on her sword hilt, glaring at a building in the distance. “A vile narcissist who loves no one but herself, a.k.a. Molly’s mother, and if the entire Sinclair DNA line has been corrupted or restricted, it means someone is trying to keep you from finding out the truth about your real mother and father.”

“Someone or Kitty?” I asked.

“Oh, it’s Kitty,” Celia shot. “The woman loves one thing in this world besides herself and that’s money. If she heard of a possible heir about to take her inheritance, she’d do anything to make sure it doesn’t happen.”

Anything.

My stomach dropped, and my heart beat frantically in my chest. “And Kitty’s a legacy?”

Celia sighed. “By marriage. The Sinclairs were one of the founding families of Veil Haven several hundred years ago.”

Ah, that was what a legacy was.

“So what do we do?”

She sighed. “We have to go see the witch herself and steal some of her hair or something.”

My eyes nearly bugged out of my head. “What? Can’t we just find something of Molly’s to get a sample, like her hairbrush or something?”

Celia’s face dropped.

“Oh, Stella, I’m sorry. I thought you understood. Molly is…gone. She died almost two decades ago. Other than her jacket and a few mementos, I don’t have anything of hers left.”

I wasn’t sure I could feel any worse or more overwhelmed, but I did. The hopes that I’d have a mother to welcome me into her home and tell me how she’d been searching for me all these years were dashed.

“Oh. You said she went missing… But I thought maybe… I didn’t know she was dead.”

I rubbed my arms, looking at a few students sparring in the distance, blades flashing briefly in the sunlight.

Celia stepped into view. “No, unfortunately, she has been dead for eighteen years. But I only have twenty-four hours to prove she’s your mother, so why don’t you spend the weekend at my house? I have a daughter your age. You guys can hang out for the weekend, and then school starts Monday.”

My head swam. “School?”

She nodded. “Here. You’re going to go to Nightguard, right?”