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“So…what? You think Cyrus wanted your mom to himself? How? By just hoping your dad would commit suicide? He could’ve just as easily killed your mom, too. Cyrus was better off taking your dad out—” His face turns murderous. “He wanted you.”
I nod once. Whether Cyrus wanted me by myself or me and my mom together, I’ll probably never know for certain, but yes, his sights were set my way.
“Jesus Christ, Lex. Then why thefuckdid you go to him for help?”
“I didn’t know him as Cyrus Andeno, Fox Hollow’s tyrant. I only knew how he treated me and my mom.” I never could’ve guessed what my life would become being indebted to Cyrus. Every time he’d come over, he’d pull out two candy bars from his pocket, one for me and one for my mom. He’d tell us the cost was a smile, then wait patiently until we each gave him one before handing them over.
And now I can’t stomach either.
“I’m not talking about then. I’m talking about now. A PI could’ve trailed Kordin and gotten you proof of his affairs. You should’ve never gone back to Cyrus for anything.”
He turns to pace while I eye him carefully. This isn’t going the way I expected. He’s not reacting the way he’s supposed to.
“Both times I went to Cyrus for help were for the same reason…”
Reece stops, his hair glistening with delicate dots of snow on the verge of disappearing.
“Her.”
“Your mom?”
“The prenup I signed gives Kordin everything he started out with before we were married, my mom’s house included,” I say before telling Reece about Kordin gifting me the house, as well as my mom’s reluctance to ever leave it and why.
“Kordin gave you a fucking houseanda duffel bag full of cash the first week he knew you?”
Dozens of tiny pinpricks break out on the back of my skull as “Yes” leaves my lips. Whoever told Reece about Tommy didn’t leave anything out of the story.Thestory, because that’s notmystory. Nobody knows my story but me. That bag was full ofmymoney, earned bymyhands before I ever even met Kordin. During my two years working at The Playground, I managed to save enough to get a place for me and my mom.
Unfortunately, Cyrus didn’t just put me on lockdown on my eighteenth birthday, he also handed me a detailed list of every single expense he’d covered for my mom’s care. If I wanted out, I’d have to reimburse him for the full amount. I didn’t have enough for both, which he knew.
My mom didn’t even know who Cyrus was anymore, but he wanted her to come live with us, at the warehouse, and become some kind of fucked-up family. I wasn’t going to let him into her life, her bed, or her heart again, so I snapped and tried to kill him myself.
Then when Kordin appeared and presented me with an offer I couldn’t refuse—a way for us both to get out—I didn’t fucking blink to take it. I moved my mom into the Cape, handed Cyrus every dollar to my name, and married the hollow.
Eight years later, I’m no closer to being free but at least my mom is. And she’ll continue to be as long as I’m able to make it so.
“If Kordin’s got that kind of cash, why didn’t you just get him to buy your mom another house? It’s his mother-in-law.”
I bristle at the insinuation that I can’t afford to buy one by myself, but answer him anyway, explaining, “They don’t have a relationship. They’ve never even met. My mom is chained to that house. It’s her refuge as much as her prison. She won’t leave it for anything other than mandatory medical appointments.”
“Not even in the middle of the night? We could—”
“Don’t insert yourself in this. If she won’t let her own son-in-law see her, she definitely wouldn’t let you.”
He’s quiet for a minute, his face made of stone. I’m not taking it back. It’s true. Kordin is my husband and Reece is…not.
“The eye she’s partially blind in…is it her right eye? The same eye with the tattoo under it?”
“Yes.”
“She could wear an eye patch. There’s gotta be ones that’d be able to cover her tattoo.”
I shake my head, a pressure building behind my eyeballs. “Stop, stop, stop.”
“No, you fucking stop.”
“Stop what?”
“Stop acting like you’ve been brainwashed into thinking you’re just as stuck as your mom. You’re not stuck, Lex.”
