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“I’ve worked here for two years and I’ve never heard Ellie was into that stuff.”
That’s right. My mother never did drugs. She had more than her fair share of wine, but never drugs.
“That’s because Ellie isn’t Max’s real mother.”
The words hit me like I’d just walked into a brick wall.
I felt a slight squeeze to my hand. Everly offered her comfort when I didn’t even know I needed it.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.” Tara disputed her claim. I was going to have to remember to indulge her flirting a little more as a thank you.
“I’ve been around a long time,” Aida said. “I know things no one else does.”
I took a step closer, but Everly pulled me back, our eyes met and she pleaded with me not to get any closer. But I needed to know more. I needed to know what the hell this woman was talking about. I whipped my hand from hers to get myself free. I stood with my back against the wall right outside the bathroom.
“Max’s real mother was Ellie’s best friend. She got knocked up. She stayed clean long enough to have Max, but went right back to drugs after he was born. She did it one too many times. With her gone, Ellie and Hirsh took him in as their own.”
It couldn’t be. How could Aida know more about my life than I did? This was the best-kept secret, because I had no idea, not even an inkling or a gut feeling. Nothing. I had spent the last twenty-three years trying to figure out who I was. Walking into this party today, I was as confused as ever, but now…Confused didn’t even begin to cover my feelings. If I wasn’t a Levin, then who was I?
A gasp knocked me out of my thoughts. I turned to see Aida and Tara in the hallway.
“Max…” Aida reached out to touch me, but I jerked away. “You shouldn’t have found out like this.”
Maybe I shouldn’t have found out at all. Or maybe it should have been my parents—the people who raised me—to tell me that my own mother was a drug addict who overdosed when I was a baby.
“You’re not supposed to be down here,” was all I could say.
“Max, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to gossip.” Tara rambled on about her part in the matter.
I looked over at Everly; she was just as shocked as I was. I saw the sympathy in her eyes—the hurt. I should be feeling the same way, but I was numb.
“I need to find my father.”
I pushed between Aida and Tara, making my way to the stairs.
I heard Everly call after me, but I didn’t stop. I wouldn’t stop until I found out the truth. This was just the rambling of an old lady who’d seen one too many porn films. Her mind was permanently thinking u
p dramatic scenarios.
I pushed past a group of people in the kitchen and headed right for the bar. I knew where he’d be.
Everly called out for me again, but she wasn’t going to stop me. I needed answers. My entire life flashed before my eyes on my way to my father. I wasn’t Hirsh and Ellie’s son. I wasn’t the true heir to White Lace.
I found my father leaning against the bar in the hut, a glass of scotch in his hands.
When he noticed me, he called out, “Maxy—”
“How long ago did my mother die?” I blurted out the question. I didn’t have time to beat around the bush.
“Max.” My father cleared his throat and sadness washed over his face. “You know this. Five years ago now.”
“No.” I fisted my hands at my sides. I wanted to punch something, and if my father lied to me again, so help me, I’d be connecting with his face. “I’ll ask one more time. How long ago did my real mother die?”
For the first time, an expression crossed my father’s face that I had never seen before. Not in twenty-three years. But I had managed, with a single word, to garner the one emotion I thought he was immune to. Fear.
“Max.” His eyes darted around the hut, surveying the witnesses. “I can—”
“How long?” I whispered.
