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“I think he just needs some time to process,” I reassure her. “He’ll reach out when he’s ready. He’s got a lot to process. It has to be tough for him to take in.”
“You’re telling me,” Ellie mutters.
“This is so fucked up.”
There’s a knock on the door, and Mum opens the door before either of us can say anything. “Ellie, have you seen…” Her eyes lock onto me. “Conrad!” She looks over her shoulder before quickly stepping into the room and closing the door. “I saw your car in the driveway. How are you, baby?”
Ellie shoots our mother a look that could kill. “How do you think he is, Mum? You’ve been lying to him his whole life and letting Dad treat him like shit.” Mum’s face drops, but Ellie isn’t quite finished. “How could you do this to us? How could you do this to him?”
“It’s not just me,” I cut in. “Harley and Tom know, too.”
Mum’s eyes widen. “What? How?”
“Seems yourhusbandis more than happy to be sharing your secret and using it against people when it suits him.”
“I don’t underst–”
“He’s the one who told Tom. Back when we were in high school. The day he was arrested. That was probably your husband, too. It makes sense.” I shake my head. “Why’d you do it, Mum? I mean, Lily would have been pregnant for crying out loud.”
Mum’s eyes fill with tears. “It was only one night. It was reckless. We never meant for things to turn out the way they did. Sam and I, we… had history back in high school. Your fath–Bill and I were having problems in our marriage. The twins were a handful, and–”
“Those are just excuses, Mum,” Ellie snaps. “What you and Sam did was reprehensible.”
“If it was only one night,” I ask slowly, my brain ticking over. “Then how do you know I’m–”
“The timing, baby. Bill and I weren’t… You’re Sam’s son.”
“And Sam knew?”
Mum presses her lips together and nods.
“Huh.” It didn’t hit me until this moment that Sam knew about me this whole time, and he never said anything. He never tried to get to know me. He didn’t want me.
“You’ve got to understand, Connie: Sam loved Lily. Like you said, she was pregnant with Tom. We never should have… By the time I knew I was pregnant, Bill and I had worked through our problems. We agreed, Sam and I, that the best thing for everyone would be if Sam relinquished all parental rights. We had contracts drawn up, and I named Bill as your father on your birth certificate. He never knew.”
“You’re dancing dangerously close to breaching the contract…”
“But you didn’t factor in my appendix.”
“No,” she says. “I didn’t. Nathanial telling your fath–Bill was unethical. But I spoke to him and we agreed that it was better for everyone if we went to counselling and moved past it. We didn’t want to break up the family.”
“But it wasn’t the best thing foreveryonethough, was it?” Ellie interrupts. “It wasn’t the best thing for Conrad. Look at how Dad’s treated him all these years. And you never did anything to stop him.”
“Your dad has his faults, Ellie. No one is perfect. But we were trying to save all of you unnecessary heartbreak. Especially after Lily died. And Sam…” Mum chokes up again. “That family went through so much. We didn’t want to make things worse.”
“Maybeyoudidn’t,” I spit. “But Bill was quite happy to do it. He sure as hell got quite the kick out of telling me the other day.” I shake my head. “I can’t do this anymore. I’m moving out.”
“Where are you going to live?”
“Anywhere is better than here.”
Mum puts her hand on her forehead. “How are you going to afford–”
“My inheritance. I think after everything I’ve earned that, don’t you?”
She hesitates. “Do you really think having access to your inheritance is a good idea–”
I hold up my hand to stop her. “I’m clean, Mum. I went and saw Coach and had a blood test. There were no drugs in my system. I’m cleared to play.”
