AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Samara rolled her eyes. “Sure. Whatever you say. My mother wouldn’t lie about that.”
“She didn’t lie. She simply did not know.” I leaned forward so she could better see my face, to read the truth. “It was only recently that I looked into what happened. None of what I had been told my entire life made sense after I began watching you after Budapest.” The metal of her cuff rattled, her displeasure at the mention of the place where I’d shot her stirring up her crazy.
If she hadn’t been restrained, she would have ripped me apart when I’d let that little piece of information slide into our conversation before Abi joined us. My sister’s slower reflexes were obvious with her not already releasing herself from the handcuffs, but it was only a matter of time. Taking her from the hospital hadn’t been easy, especially with Anya and Ryan having arrived before I could get to her.
Security had been overflowing from the floor she was on. My gut had been in knots while I’d left Abi in my car with the excuse that it would be quicker if I went in alone. Not a lie. I wouldn’t have been able to do anything with her at my side. My car might look nondescript, but it was built to withstand an IEP, and as long as it was locked, it was the safest place for her while I was picking up my displeased package. Drugging Samara was the only way I could get her off the ward without causing an all-out war.
The drug had been enough to get us through most of the flight, but now, she was even more riled up than before. As long as I had eyes on her, Samara was harmless. For the moment. There were no weapons within easy reach. But she could so easily create her own.
“I believed their lies, because I had no reason not to.”
I hadn’t believed anything Daria had ever told me, but I had believed Polina for the longest time. At least about my biological mother.
“Then what’s the truth?” Samara asked with a skeptical twist of her lips. I would have questioned the fable-sounding story as well, if I hadn’t lived the nightmares that went with it.
“When Anya found out she was pregnant, she was already being watched. They killed the doctor’s wife in front of him and then threatened to do the same to his daughter if he didn’t cooperate. He had no choice but to lie. When Anya found out she was pregnant, she was much further along than she was led to believe.”
Samara tapped her fingers on the armrest, impatient but still listening, always too curious for her own good. “Go on.”
“When Anya was around seven and a half months pregnant, they drugged her. Made her think the baby stopped moving. The doctor was the same man who had been taking care of Anya throughout her pregnancy. As soon as the baby was born, they rushed him out of the delivery room and told her I was dead. I spent three months in the NICU.”
“Do you have proof of any of this?”
Stubborn little brat.
“Look at me, Samara. Tell me you don’t think I am their son.” I slapped my hand against my face, the same one that was almost an identical copy of our father’s when he was younger. I couldn’t have looked more like Ryan unless we were twins. Impossible since we had different mothers.
Abi’s cry made me regret the action. She took my other hand in hers, pressing it to her trembling lips. “Please don’t do that.”
Swallowing a pained groan at causing her distress, I caressed her cheek with my thumb, wiping away a stray tear. Damn it. Samara made me get too caught up in emotions I had no experience holding in check. Gentling my tone, I couldn’t bring myself to look away from her sweet blue eyes as I assured Samara, “I have the DNA results. I’ll show them to you if you wish.”
“Let’s say I believe you. What does it matter, though?”
Maybe it never would have mattered. Maybe I would have eventually just said “Fuck it all” and killed Anya, but I would have taken Daria out too. Maybe wasn’t an option any longer, however.
Abi changed everything.
Ripping my gaze from her beloved face, I looked straight at my sister, letting her see every last ounce of the insanity that now clawed at me. The torture of feeling emotions I’d never experienced before. My fear that, now that I had something to live for, she would be ripped away before I could set all my wrongs right and spend what was left of my life dedicated to making her happy.
“Three months ago, it wouldn’t have. But my life changed the moment I saw Abi. You know what that’s like, don’t you, little sister? Ryan understands it just as much as we do. Your Elias. His Nova. My Abi.”
“It’s a sickness,” she agreed quietly, almost regretfully. “A twisted obsession that turns everything upside down.”
“No,” I denied with a snarl. “No, it turns it right side up. Everything else in the world can crash and burn. I’ll light the match to set it all on fire. And I’m going to. For her.”
“By destroying Papa?” She tugged hard on the cuff, the metal cutting into her wrist. Her skin was scraped raw, but she kept struggling against the restraint. “Please don’t hurt him. Or Mom. They don’t deserve that.”
“Will you stop trying to break your fucking hand?” I roared, my vision going dark around the edges when I saw how badly she was hurting herself. Did she even feel it? Had she switched her mind off to the pain? Fuck, I hated our mother as much as I hated Daria and Polina. She’d done this to my sister. She’d warped Samara’s mind. Turned her into a killer.
Just as Daria had done to me.
Abi jerked at the loudness. Knowing I was the reason she’d flinched was like being stabbed in the gut. My chest felt like it was going to cave in until I wrapped my arm around her, tucking her head to my chest. Kissing her damp hair, not sure if I was soothing her or myself, I choked out an apology in English. “I’m sorry, wildfire. I didn’t mean to frighten you.”
“Why are you so angry?” she whispered, her fingers digging into my side. “Whatever you two are discussing, can’t you just put the past behind you? Start fresh.”
“For you, I will do anything.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
