Page 41 of Cruel Games

Next was a front-page image of the Richley Gazette that said:

LOCAL BUSINESSMAN ARRESTED ON BIGGEST EVER DRUGS BUST.

Gasps filled the room, making my flesh crawl. I stared ahead, keeping my features expressionless. In the corner of my eye, I could see Gideon gaping at me with wide eyes.

Elizabeth’s face split into an inhumanly wide grin. “Templar Academy is one of the foremost institutions of Scotland, one which prides itself on the highest moral codes. Hundreds of students from respectable families apply for places here, and hundreds are rejected.”

Murmurs of agreement filled the air. I gripped the edge of the table, wondering what the hell she would say next.

A lump formed in my throat. All this time, I thought Mother had bought my place here. With all the money Billy Hancock made from his various business operations, he wouldn’t notice a few grand missing. I swallowed hard, waiting to hear what she would say next.

“Right now, I wager you’re asking why such an individual was permitted to study here.” After a pause, a birth certificate appeared on the screen. “The answer is in Delilah’s parentage.”

“Father unknown!” someone shrieked.

My gaze dropped to the section that said, FATHER, NAME AND SURNAME, and I clenched my teeth. Mother never spoke about my birth father and explained that Billy was the only dad she would acknowledge. What the hell could Elizabeth shed on my parentage that I couldn’t find out for myself?

Elizabeth waved a dismissive hand. “Let’s not dwell on Delilah’s illegitimate birth. Instead, cast your eyes on the mother’s details.”

The next slide showed a close-up of the MOTHER, NAME AND SURNAME section. It wasn’t anything unexpected: Abigail Rebecca Hancock. I skimmed over the PLACE OF BIRTH section to OCCUPATION.

Prison Inmate.

My stomach dropped. Mother had never told me about spending time inside. I skipped to the next section, MAIDEN SURNAME.

Burgh.

“No!” howled the same person from before.

In the blink of an eye, the projector displayed a color photo of a girl who looked just like me but with mousy brown hair. She wrapped both arms around a dark-haired man with the same startling, sapphire eyes as Mr. Burgh.

Every ounce of moisture in my throat evaporated, leaving me feeling scorched and desolate. The headmaster and Mother? Seeing younger versions of them together blanked out my mind. Mother had always been beautiful but in a hard-faced sort of way. But I’d never seen her as light and as unencumbered as the girl in the photo.

“Oh my goodness!” shouted the heckler. “Mr. Burgh is Delilah Handjob’s father!”

Gasps filled the air. I shook my head. That couldn’t be right. Even if what Elizabeth had pieced together was true, she wasn’t suggesting that Mother and the headmaster—

“Silence!” Elizabeth stamped her foot. “Mr. Burgh is nothing of the sort, and please don’t slander a respectable man. The headmaster’s daughter, Abigail Burgh, was a student here who fell from grace. At the age of fifteen, she got herself pregnant and stole an heirloom from the castle to pay for an abortion.”

The next slide was a newspaper clipping with the headline:

TEMPLAR ACADEMY SCHOOLGIRL SENTENCED TO SIX MONTHS FOR THEFT.

Tears stung the backs of my eyes. What the hell did Elizabeth have to gain from telling everyone this?

“She tried to…” Elizabeth pressed a hand over her mouth to stifle a giggle. “She ran to London with the Templar ring and gave it to a man who tried to sell it to an undercover police officer. After pleading guilty to theft, she gave birth to her illegitimate daughter in the prison infirmary.”

“What about the cocaine dealer?” someone shouted.

Elizabeth shrugged. “According to the court transcript, he was the one who set up the sale of the ring. I suppose he married her to make up for his mistake.” She turned to me, eyes shining with malice. “Can you shed light on this?”

I glowered at Elizabeth, pouring every ounce of hatred into my stare. What had I ever done to warrant digging up skeletons I didn’t even know had been buried? My hands shook. The edges of my vision turned black. Right now, I wanted to pound her into the wood grain with my fists.

She stuck her nose in the air. “Never mind. I’m sharing this information with you because Delilah Eden Hancock did not manually stimulate two boys in a storage cupboard on her first day at Templar Academy. I cannot vouch for any lewd conduct she may or may not have conducted since.”

The final slide appeared on the screen.

I’M SORRY FOR LYING