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Mom’s arms wrap around me and she cries silent tears. “You’re so big now,” she murmurs against my chest. “Nothing at all like the little boy I remember.”
“I’m so sorry, mom,” I tell her, hating the gut-wrenching grief that comes over me knowing I was the one who did this to her. How could she ever forgive me? How can she bear to have my arms wrapped around her? Surely, she must hate me.
“You have nothing to be sorry for, son,” she tells me, pulling back and roaming her eyes over me. “Now let me get a good look at you. I’ve missed you like you could never know.”
I look at her in shock, ignoring the second half of what she just said. We can come back to that later. “How can you say that? I did this to you. I went to the police and told them what you were involved with when I had no business talking about something I didn’t understand. How could you ever forgive me?”
Her lips press into a tight line and she indicates down to the seat I’d just vacated as she gets herself comfortable in the one opposite mine. “Sit down, Samuel. Clearly, we have a lot to discuss.”
I couldn’t agree more.
I get myself comfortable before her and prepare myself for the ultimate smackdown. Whatever she’s got for me, I’m ready to take it. I deserve whatever’s coming for me after the shit I’ve put her through.
“Henley told me you joined the Military. You were deployed?”
I gape at her. “Really? It’s been eleven years and you want to talk about the Military? How about the fact that I have a sister who just happens to be my best friend’s wife?”
“Oh, the wedding,” she gushes. “Henley was telling me all about it. I can’t wait to see the pictures. I bet she would have been a beautiful bride. I’m so sorry I couldn’t be there. We thought I’d be out by now. That Noah though, he sure is a lot to handle.”
I gape at her again. Is she for real?
“Mom,” I say, not wanting to set her off. “Henley’s my sister. Why did you never tell me that?”
A seriousness comes over her. “I wish I could have,” she tells me with a sigh. “You would have been an incredible big brother to her. You would have been protective and adored her just as a brother should.”
“I am protective of her and I do adore her. She was family to me before any of this came out.”
Mom nods with pride shining through her eyes. “You’re a good kid, Samuel. I’m glad to see that after all the suffering you went through that you turned out so well.”
My heart swells, but I don’t want to dwell on it. “Why didn’t you say anything about Henley being my sister?”
“I don’t know how much Henley has told you, but I had to protect my little girl. Your fate was sealed with Anton as I gave birth to you, but Henley had a chance of escaping it. I had no choice, I had to give her up. Not a day went by that I hated myself for that decision, but she had a much better life than the one she would have had with us. Surely, you must know that.”
“I do,” I tell her. “As much of a shock that it was to find out she was my baby sister, I wouldn’t change it. It feels right and I’m glad that she had a happy upbringing. I wouldn’t be able to bear the thought of her having to go through the same kind of shit that I did.”
Mom reaches out and takes my hand. “I’m so sorry, Samuel. I tried to get you away from it, but he found us. Every move I made, he would counter and I would be condemned for it.”
“If I knew how evil he was, I never would have gone with him.”
“You were just a child and you had no reason to doubt him. He loved you fiercely and the second you were born, he had stars in his eyes and when he looked at you, he saw an heir, not a son. Anton is a very charming man and he could convince even the purest of men to do something despicable. You cannot blame yourself. Do you hear me? He corrupted your poor soul before you even knew the difference between right and wrong and I should have tried harder to save you from that.”
“You did. You moved us away. He’s Anton Mathers. No one can escape him.”
She lets out a sigh and gives a slight shrug. “It’s all in the past now. He’s been put away where he belongs and now we can all move forward. I’ll be out soon and I can close the book on all of this.”
