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Tina parked the van in front of the chalet. Showtime. Because everything with my mom was a show.
“Do you still want us to hit publish on the story?” Bibi asked. To totally pull this off, we’d have to beat Suzanne to the scoop. Plan A was her tapping the button to make the press release go live, explaining what we’d discovered about my past.
As of right now, the release simply stated that Suzanne Marlowe was unavailable for comment. The goal was to take the story, the control, and the manipulation entirely away from her.
A little piece of me thought there could be the possibility of a reasonable explanation for what she had done.
But what would my mom tell me to do? Act first, and ask for forgiveness later.
That advice always felt so gross.
“Wait,” I said.
Bibi’s lips parted in surprise. “Are you sure?”
“No.” I wasn’t sure of anything. “But I want to make sure this gets done the right way.”
My body was numb as I entered the lobby. I’d been watching Mom’s segments lately. She’d claimed the chalet as her headquarters, refusing to leave even after the alphas told her not to let the door hit her ass on the way out. Usually, the place was packed. But today, there were only a few reporters and some of the crew from the earlier incarnation ofThe Scoop. I waved to them. Just because they’d been caught in my mom’s web didn’t make them bad people.
Bibi looked back at me and gave me one of those smiles that made me believe anything was possible before she knocked on the door of Mom’s office. Bjorn felt it too, and he squeezed my hand.
Mom came to the door, smiling graciously, welcoming us in. Courtney was there too, with her baby, if he was even her baby. She smiled sheepishly at us, and I felt bad for her. Mom had probably promised her a starring role on whatever reality show she’d cooked up in return for doing this with her.
After today, it would never happen.
But if we had to fill in for Hannah—no. I would talk Hannah into having her episode. She deserved to have the fullMating Gameexperience. She was one of us now.
We got situated on the couch, and Mom smiled at me from behind the desk.
I thought I was gonna puke.
Mom opened her laptop. “Well, these results were certainly interesting.”
“Not as interesting as these.” I couldn’t go through with the façade. Hearing whatever bullshit claims she planned to spout would only make me resent her more. I hoped that someday our relationship could be salvaged.
She might not be my mother, but she was my mom. Despite everything, I loved her. I would never give up the ridiculous hope that someday, she would finally choose good over complete chaos.
“There can only be one correct result, Marissa.” She smirked and then narrowed her brow as I rose from my seat.
“I know.” I placed the documents down on the desk in front of her. They were copies, of course, because I wouldn’t trust her with the originals. “Are these correct?”
The shock was plain on her face as she read them. She looked up and narrowed her eyes, her gaze landing squarely on Bibi. “You put her up to this, didn’t you?”
“I did no such thing,” Bibi said. How she remained so calm was truly a superpower. “All I did was give Marissa a chance to shine. The truth revealed itself.”
“You’re not answering the question, Mom.” My body was trembling, and I was so close to passing out. “No one in this room faked these documents except maybe you. I’m not mad that I was adopted. But I do want to know why you let me think I was human all these years. Why you sent me to those terrible tutoring lessons to train me to be something I wasn’t.”
Mom brought her hand to her forehead. It was true. Every bit of it was true. Even if she denied it, my newly found supernatural bullshit detector was going off the charts with the vibration of her utter defeat.
I could feel bad for her. Because she was my mom, and even if she made the world’s most questionable decisions, I never doubted she loved me.
She looked at Stephanie. “Shut that thing off.”
Wow. Mom lived on camera. I braced myself for whatever came next as Stephanie powered the camera down because it would be sure to knock me on my ass.
Mom took a deep breath. “I was desperate to have a baby. We did all the treatments. I went to hypnosis, mystics, and every fertility doctor that would take my money. None of them could help me. I practiced the most ridiculous old wives’ tales, hoping one month, I’d finally have a reason to take a pregnancy test. Nothing worked. Adoption wasn’t an easy path, either. The agencies go through your life with a fine-tooth comb, and I’m sure no one in this room will be surprised to learn that we got a lot of doors slammed in our faces. A friend turned me on to a place that adopted shifter babies born to unmated mothers. Was that agency completely above board? Of course not. But were they willing to provide me with a daughter when no one else was? Yes, and that was all I cared about. Your birth mother was very well compensated, and I kept my promise to her. I loved you like you were my own. Because you are mine, even if I didn’t give birth to you. Still do, obviously.”
Tears were streaming down my face. “I know you do.”
