AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She laughs; it’s a beautiful Hollywood laugh. “Well, I have seen my fair share of the backs of police cars.”
You and me both.
I frown at her words, my hands playing with the fraying ends of my scarf. Officer Liu compares me to her all the time when it comes to our supposed shared criminal history.
“Actually, it’s funny you say that,” Florence says, her eyes brimming with excitement. “Jim is good friends with Lincoln Archer. You know him, right? He did that documentary on Isadora that made her famous again. She was nothing but a washed-up model before him. And he did the same for Allegra Prescott. She was a child star back when I was growing up who faded into obscurity until Lincoln did his documentary on her, and now she’s the face of four designer brands and her new movie has been a box office hit for twelve weeks and counting.”
My hands freeze. Where’s she going with this?
“Lincoln saw you in the tabloids and approached me to do a documentary! Isn’t that great? This could be the comeback I’ve been waiting for! I’ll be known for more than just a few cult classics and whatever narrative the tabloids push. I’ll be an A-lister, Siena!”
I feel my face blanch as I try to keep my expression neutral. If Florence becomes even more famous, then I’llreallynever see her again. Trying to keep my voice even, I say, “That’s great, Mom. I’m happy for you.”
“You mean happy forus.” She smiles, and my heart thumps heavily in my chest. Does she mean she’s going to take us back now that she’s going to get her big break?
Florence clasps her hands together. “You’re going to love being on the big screen! I mean, a documentary is different than being an actress, but you were always so good at running lines with me when you were little, so you’ll pick it up in no time. Especially since after our documentary comes out, agents will come crawling out of the woodwork to sign you and—”
“Wait, wait, wait.” I interrupt her excited rambling. “What are you talking about? Did you sayourdocumentary?”
Florence purses her lips. “Well, yes. Lincoln wants to frame the documentary around me and you. Florence and her daughter. How Hollywood corrupts and history repeats itself, and mothers and daughters, and so on. You should hear Lincoln talk about it. It’s beautiful and raw and all that other bullshit that tugs on people’s heart-strings. He’s a genius. The audience will eat it up, and we’re going to shoot to stardom.”
“Whoa, Mom, I’mnotdoing a documentary.”
She’s taken aback, genuinely confused. “What? Why not?”
There is absolutely nothing in the world that could convince me to let some director dig into my personal life and expose every nitty-gritty thing that’s happened just to entertain a bunch of nosy people. Plus, there’s the fact that I didn’tactuallykill anyone, I just said I did to protect Gia, and I don’t want anyone digging into that.
“I don’t want to.”
Florence’s eyebrows draw together. “But you have to.”
“I don’t have to do anything, and I’m not going to.
Do it without me.”
“There is no documentary without you. It’s about you and me. Mother and daughter. We needSienafor it to be Siena and Florence!”
My jaw clenches. Even though she didn’t come right out and say it, I know she needs me because they want the story of what happened to Stan. Despite wanting to keep Gia out of any potential media circus, to test my theory, I say, “You have another daughter. Ask her instead.”
Florence is quiet for a moment. Oh shit. Did I just give her an idea? I want to stuff the words back in my mouth, but it’s too late.
“Lincoln doesn’t want Gia,” Florence says, and my panic subsides. “He wantsyou, the daughter who’s like me.”
That confirms it. They want the Stan story. They want to compare me to Florence, as if everyone doesn’t already do that every single day of my life. I’m not going anywhere near any type of documentary, especially not one that gives the world more ammunition to see me as Florence 2.0. But besides confirming my suspicions about why she wantsmefor this stupid project, it also confirms why she’s here, sitting in a coffee shop in a town she hates, kissing my butt, and not asking about Gia. Sheneedsme. Gia currently provides nothing for her to use to get famous, and that’s why she couldn’t care less about seeing and reconnecting with both daughters. I’m only a means to an end, and the moment I stop being useful to her, she’ll ditch me again without a backward glance.
Dario once told me Florence’s selfishness causes her to hurt everyone around her, and now I’m being reminded of it firsthand. She doesn’t care about us; she’ll never care about us.
I let out an unamused laugh and shake my head. “I’m so stupid.”
“Siena?”
“You know, I keep telling myself not to get my hopes up when it comes to you and Dario, but I keep doing it anyway. I keep thinking that maybe you guys actually, I don’t know, love your kids? Or at least care about them, even a little bit.”
Florence’s eyes widen in shock, and she brings a hand to her chest like she’s offended. “How could you say that?
Of course I care about you!”
“I haven’t heard from you in years, and now that some dude wants to make money off me you suddenly pop up again? You don’t care about me. You don’t care about Gia. You care about yourself and getting famous, like you always have.”
