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“The day we met?”
Another nod.
“Now I understand,” I muttered, still in shock. “It makes sense why you’ve been so…” I swiped at the tears leaking from my eyes. “I didn’t know… Why didn’t anyone tell me?”
“I hated you at first sight,” Luca admitted, his arms crossed over his chest, a dress shoe propped up on his knee. “I knew you weren’t your bitch mother. But I still didn’t like you. I merely tolerated your existence.”
I looked at Marcello, who stared back at me with his sad, lonely eyes. Everyone in the room knew but me.
“Why would she do that?” I asked Pops.
He sipped from the snifter of scotch in his hand. “She regretted leaving Arlo after I took away her trust fund. Your mother has no life skills. Neither does your loser father. Between the two of them, they couldn’t even pay the cable bill.”
I knew that story all too well.
When we actually had food, my parents never gave it to Aiden and me. I was lucky to get the crust from my mother’s sandwich. That was on a good day. We always had used and dirty clothes that were disgusting and an embarrassment to wear to school. After my grandfather had given us his last name, I realized most people didn’t live like us. But most people didn’t live like the Founders either. I went from one extreme to the other overnight, a real life Cinderella story.
My top lip trembled as I thought about my mother and the past. She didn’t just steal my childhood, she took a mother from her children. A legend and her art from the world.
“But why did she do it?”
“Your mother was jealous of Eva,” Arlo confessed.
Pops sat back in the leather chair and drank from his glass. “Your mother doesn’t have enough talent to accomplish what Eva did in her short life. She believed Eva was in her way. Savanna saw her as competition, though anyone with any vision could see that was not true.” He shifted in his chair to set the glass on the table in front of him. “Your mother hated you for the same reason.”
“What?” I shook my head. “No. I didn’t start painting until I was in high school. It was my doctor’s idea to deal with the stress.”
“That’s not true,” Pops said with a sincere look in his eyes. “You started sketching when you were only two years old.”
“No, I don’t remember that.”
“It’s true,” Arlo interjected. “Your mother sent the sketches to Carl, thinking he would see your talent and want to be part of your life. She tried to use you and Aiden to bribe him.”
“Why didn’t you come for us sooner?” I whispered the words as tears stained my cheeks. “Did you know how she treated us?”
“No, I didn’t know she was abusing you and your brother.” He removed the silk handkerchief from his jacket pocket and handed it to me. It probably cost a fortune, but I didn’t give a shit and wiped my eyes with it. “If I had known, I would have adopted you sooner.” He swiped at my cheek and smiled. “Listen, Alex, I know this is hard to hear, but it’s the truth. You needed to understand why this marriage is so important.”
“I feel ridiculous!” I threw the handkerchief at him. “You let me think the Salvatores were the bad guys for years when it’s us. We’re killers!”
“I’m not,” Pops said in his defense. “Neither are you.”
“She’s my mother,” I snapped. “Your daughter! Don’t tell me our blood isn’t tainted. I’m not stupid. You can pretend your secret society is nothing more than rich men making deals behind closed doors, but you’re a liar. You didn’t get rich from selling pharmaceuticals. Aiden was right to want out of this family.”
“Alex, please control your emotions.” He held out of his palm as a peace offering. “You’re getting upset. And you know what happens when you can’t control yourself.”
“Fuck off!” I hopped up from the chair so fast my head spun. “I should have run away with Aiden. He asked me so many times, begged me to leave and never come back. But I always felt like I owed you for saving me from my mother.” I tipped my head back and laughed like a fucking lunatic, feeling like I was completely losing my mind. “Except you didn’t save me. You’re no better than her. Another liar. Manipulative. I’m only here because you have something to lose.”
“I’m sorry, Alex,” Pops said as I turned to walk away. “But this is the least we owe them.”
He was right.
I stopped dead in my tracks, my back to him. We owed them for what my mother did to theirs. She stole years of happiness from them. Luca and Marcello’s attitudes toward me now made sense. Their horrible, abusive life with their father resulted from my mother’s actions. No amount of money would ever satisfy Arlo Salvatore. Nothing could repay him for taking the life of his wife.
Marcello rose from the couch and crossed the room, holding me in his strong arms. “Just hear him out, princess.” He kissed the top of my head, the delicious scent of his cologne wafting off him. “Just breathe.” His hands glided over my arms as he bent down and looked into my eyes. “It’s going to be okay.”
“How can you stand to look at me?” I muttered, now crying again, tears sliding down my face.
He wiped them away with the pad of his thumb. “Because I can’t imagine a life that doesn’t include you. What happened in the past is over. You are not your mother. I don’t blame you for what she did.”
