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“Yes, please.” I felt oddly fulfilled knowing I inherited something so prominent from my father. “I would love to read them.”
Mother pulled out a stack of parchment-bound letters that were carefully preserved. “These are letters he wrote to you when he found out Désirée was pregnant. I believe there are eighteen letters. One for each birthday. I wanted to give you these but that meant telling you everything that happened and I just…”
“I understand,” I assured her. “I have them now and that’s what matters.”
The sadness roaming in my core was slowly replaced by giddiness as I learned about my parents. I wished they were alive. It hurt to know my life could have taken a different course. Yet gazing at Dacia and Mother, I realized everything happened for a reason. I liked who I was in this life and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
“Here is a picture of Apollo.” She flipped to the next page.
Tall, tan, and dark-haired with a smile that bordered mischief and arrogance. He looked to be in his late twenties, wearing a tux, with Désirée glued to his side in a pink gown. They were beautiful in a classical way. “I believe she was one month pregnant with you.”
“Can I please keep these pictures?”
Dacia leaned over my shoulder to look at my parents. “Now I know where you get your Hollywood movie star looks from.”
I blushed a little and chuckled. Together, we went through the photo album and Diane watched us with an odd look of peace in her eyes.
When we finished, I closed the album and put it back in the crate.
Mother seemed to be holding her breath in anticipation, waiting for me to give the verdict like I was the judge, jury, and executioner.
“I can see that you’ve seen the wrong in your ways. I appreciate you being honest and sharing the truth about my parents. Do I wish things happened differently? Yes. But I don’t want to dwell on the past. Moving forward, I will give you the chance you’ve asked for. I want you to show me that you can be the best version of yourself and rectify your past mistakes. Especially with Dacia and me.”
“Yes, thank you.” She pressed a hand to her chest in gratitude. “Please, allow me to make amends.”
I glanced at Dacia and she tilted her head, silently agreeing.
“Good, now that we’ve resolved this discord, it’s time to talk about our game plan.” I arched an eyebrow at Mother. “Your PR team must be working overtime until this blows over. Tell us what happens next.”
Mayor Hill was back and she sat up straighter, schooling her features. “We lay low for the time being. Avoid going outside unless it’s absolutely necessary. Darla, we’ll need to find you a substitute principal for the next three weeks as the school year comes to an end. Dacia, I’m assuming you still have some dealings to conclude at the office? No matter what happens next, we’ll need to pose as a united front. We can never let these motherfuckers see us at our weakest.”
Dacia blinked. “Did you just cuss?”
Mother blinked too. “Yes, I thought it was fitting for the moment.”
I grinned and raised my empty teacup in the air. “Well, here’s to posing as a united front and showing these ‘motherfuckers’ what the Hill women are made of.”
My mother and sister raised their respective glasses in solidarity.
And for the first time in years, there was a truce in Hill residence.
CHAPTER 41
Seigneur Zeno Gianni De la Croix
Zeno
As I once said, we were all sinners on this earth.
My dead brother was no different and while I knew my hard limits, it seemed that Benjamin was never able to establish right from wrong.
Or perhaps he’d never cared.
Vengeance drew a blind curtain over his eyes until he was consumed with his rage. He left destruction in his wake without an ounce of guilt for all the innocent people he hurt along the way.
And as the punisher, it was my job to lay these people to rest.
The afternoon marking Benjamin’s funeral was a grey overcast with the signs of rain lurking in the outskirts of the sky. We stood inside the crypt on the estate’s grounds where Benjamin’s burnt body was buried like a closed curse.
