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Natalia frowns, her lips pressed into a thin line. “You said Liana Allegra was your mother? Do you have any proof?”
Her question surprises me. “I wasn’t aware I needed my birth certificate.”
“I can’t very well go around believing everyone who says they’re Liana’s daughter, now can I? Only an idiot would do such a thing.”
“Or someone who’s telling the truth,” I argue.
Zane takes a single step forward, placing himself just slightly in front of me. “Joseph Marrones showed up on her doorstep,” he says. “He was shot dead.”
This breaks the woman’s hard, cold exterior, her eyes widening slightly in surprise. “My brother’s dead?” She and her guards draw their weapons at the same time, pointing the barrels of their guns at the two of us. “Who the hell are you?”
“I already told you,” I hiss, frustration boiling in the pit of my stomach. “My name is Willow Allegra. My mother was Liana Allegra. She married my father, Arturo Allegra.”
“Arturo,” Natalia grumbles. “That fucker’s still alive? There was never any mention of a daughter.”
I shrug. “Surprise? I really don’t know what else to tell you.”
“A will,” Zane says quickly, moving slowly to pull out his phone. “We have a copy of Liana Allegra’s will. Will that convince you?”
Something dark flashes behind Natalia’s eyes. “Show it to me.”
Zane steps forward, handing his phone to one of Natalia’s guards. Once she has it in hand, she scrolls through all the images we took of the pages. I wish I could tell what she was thinking because her steep frown has me feeling all types of anxious.
What happens if she doesn’t believe me?
What happens if shedoesbelieve me?
Natalia tosses Zane his phone back. He catches it like it’s nothing.
“Is Joseph really dead?” she asks.
I nod slowly. “I think he was confused. He kept calling me by my mother’s name. Said something about how he’d been trying to get a hold of her for years. My father was away on a trip, but he came back early. Saw the whole thing. He shot Joseph right in front of us.”
Natalia pinches the bridge of her nose with a sigh. “That fucking idiot. And my sister. Where is she?”
Cold swells in my belly. “My mother’s been dead for years. Car accident. I think.”
“You don’t know? How is that possible?”
“Arturo kept me locked away,” I mumble, unsure why I feel so embarrassed. “I only recently managed to escape. I’m desperate for help.”
“And that’s why you thought it was a good idea to announce your presence on a tabletop?” Natalia asks me, judgment dripping from her words.
“It got you here, didn’t it?”
We’re suddenly at an impasse, staring at each other like spooked animals seeing their reflection for the first time. The longer I stare at her, the more I realize how much she looks like my mother. What I remember of my mother, at least. They have the same scowl, the same refined air. There’s no question about it, though—Natalia Marrones is one hundred percent my aunt.
“Come with me,” she says after a long while. “We’ll take you somewhere safe.”
“Where?” Zane asks.
“If you are who you say you are, Renata will want to speak to you.”
I frown in confusion. “Who’s that?”
“Renata Marrones is your grandmother. Now hurry up. I don’t like being out here in the open.” Natalia turns to one of her guards. “Tell my mother we officially have a leg up in our war with the Becerras. Oh, and don’t forget to put bags over their heads.”
Zane growls. “What?”
