Page 38

Lux

T here was one thing I knew about my mother, and it's that she would always try to find a way to surprise me.

Not this time, though. I knew it was coming when we failed to drop Bella off at her house the day before. The only thing that surprised me was that she hadn’t come sooner.

I had taken Bella out of school for the week while we sorted this out. The last thing I wanted was for her to show up there and actually kidnap the little girl. After I saw her at the park attempting to do just that, I just didn't trust Bella out of my sight.

My mother had been blowing up my phone since the day before.

Calling, texting, leaving threatening voice messages I forwarded to my lawyer, until finally I just went ahead and blocked her completely.

She then got a hold of Juliette’s number—I didn't have to wonder from whom—and started doing the same until she blocked her as well.

Luckily, she didn't know how to use social media for the most part, so she hadn't found any of our profiles, but honestly, it was only a matter of time. She was nothing if not persistent.

I got up from my place on the couch while Juliette and Bella shot me worried glances. They were huddled together under a blanket and had controllers in their hands, but they’d paused the game they’d started playing after getting up at the crack of dawn.

We knew this was coming. We could handle it.

We had opted to stay inside for the day for fear that she might get to Bella somehow—or find someone to do it for her. Paranoid behavior maybe, but… who knew?

“If you keep this up, I'm calling the cops,” I threatened, and the pounding stopped immediately.

“If you do, I'll tell them the dirty secrets you're hiding!” she yelled, her voice raising an octave. “Do you think they'll let you keep Bella then?”

I opened the door and crossed my arms, blocking her way in case she meant to walk in.

“I have rightful custody,” I explained. “You taking her would literally be kidnapping.”

“I'm saving her!”

I exhaled and pinched the bridge of my nose with my fingers.

“I suggest you stop this,” I said, trying to keep my voice calm.

I had to buy Mia and Laura time to find out the rest. “Unless you want me to bring up your fake donations to the children's center to the police. Or maybe the influence those donations buy you? Orange isn’t really your color. And, oh my, what would your friends think? I can’t imagine. ”

“What are you talking about?” she asked, but there was a hint of alarm to her voice that told me Mia's information was spot on.

"You heard me. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Want to threaten me with my relationship with Juliette and how we met? That’s fine, I can dig up your skeletons too. So go ahead, yell louder.”

She stood there, fuming.

“I'm taking you to court,” she finally said, and then paused as if she was waiting for me to beg and plead her to stop.

Not going to happen.

“If you do, I'll spill everything I know.”

She let out a huff before turning away, stomping. The next sound we heard was the slam of her car door.

Juliette came up behind me, her hand running up my back. My shoulders sagged immediately. Even just the smallest of her touches could stop the whirlwind my mind was going through.

“We have a meeting with Laura and Mia soon. Let's get everyone ready, hm?”

I nodded and let her bring me back into the living room, where Bella was back to playing her game as if she hadn’t heard anything that had just gone down with her grandmother.

She's so strong. If I were in her position, I wouldn’t know what to do. Nor would I be able to emotionally handle it.

“It's okay, Aunt Lux,” she said, just barely looking up from her game. “I'm not going to freak out anymore. I trust you and Juliette and that weird lady you invited to the house.”

I didn’t trust Mia. Not one bit, but I knew she’d deliver.

“You can trust me and Juliette, forget about the other girl.” I patted the top of her head gently. “But she will be useful, so let’s get ready to go meet them.”

“Okay!” she chirped and turned back to the game, hastily slamming her fingers on the buttons.

I gave her a weak smile, but I couldn't bring myself to be positive yet. I had won this battle, but the threat was still there, looming over us.

I have to beat her. I have to keep us safe.

Suddenly, Juliette was there by my side, her hand gripping mine. It was the strength I needed to keep going.

* * *

“I love some good ol’ blackmail,” Laura singsonged as she looked at the iPad Mia handed her with all the juicy details on my mother's drunk-driving experience.

“Drunk driving, indeed,” Mia said as she looked at us.

I held onto Juliette’s hand, feeling the nerves through our touch. As much as I wanted shit on my mother, I didn't want it to turn to this. Juliette didn't deserve this. If what we thought was true, there was no making light of this situation.

The lack of sleep was weighing on me, the stress and pressure of it all making it even worse.

We had decided to visit Laura’s office to make this more official.

Mia was sitting on a chair next to her, handing her anything relevant, while Juliette and I sat in front of them.

Bella was originally behind us, supposed to be doing extra homework, but she got bored and went into the waiting room to play with Laura’s assistant.

I didn't want to let her out of my sight, but as long as I could hear them, it made me feel much more at ease.

“There's not much here that proves it was her, though,” Laura said. “Do you have anything from the cop that got her off?”

Mia leaned over and started scrolling on the iPad before coming to a pause. Laura's eyes widened.

“It would seem like this cop was investigated multiple times for misconduct, especially related to letting women go for a little bit of action,” Laura explained, annoyance clear in her voice.

Disgust filled me. I really didn't want to hear what my mother would do to get out of jail, but if it meant I could keep Bella, I would.

I knew my mom was awful, but I never knew she would stoop so low.

She likely killed people, for God’s sake. And she just walked around every single day of her life, not giving a fuck.

“Can you just be straight with me?” Juliette asked, leaning forward. “My parents died in a drunk-driving accident that same year, and I need to know if this is just a weird coincidence.”

Laura let out a hum, her eyes looking over Juliette. Mia was the one who scrolled back on the iPad and started reading all the information.

“It was at night, on 124 th Street. Two victims, a couple. They were taken to the hospital, but they didn’t make it. Their names have been blacked out of this report… Which is a bit weird,” she added with a frown.

“She could have paid someone or traded another favor to get this blacked out.” Laura said it and shrugged like it was no big deal as she kept scrolling. “You'd be surprised with what some people are willing to do for so little.”

“I'll get you the names,” Mia vowed, her brows furrowed as she grabbed her phone. “I have a contact I'll reach out to.”

Juliette nodded and leaned back in her chair. She was barely breathing.

This is my fault.

Realistically, I knew my mother's actions had nothing to do with me, but I couldn't help but think that if I hadn’t bought her at the auction that very first night, she would never have had to go through this.

But then I wouldn’t have her .

All it took was that thought to stop me from blaming myself.

“I know it’s not much, but does that information match?” Laura asked, her eyes never leaving Juliette. Lawyers were usually perceptive, but I had a feeling Laura was looking straight into Juliette’s soul.

“The more I think about it, the less sure I am,” she replied, her voice shaking. “I was young, and it was a long time ago. I don’t remember where they said it happened. I mostly remember my reaction to the police showing up at our door.”

I let my hand trail up her arm and rubbed her shoulders, a soothing gesture I hoped provided her with some sort of comfort.

“It's okay,” I said in a soft voice. She nodded, but I could feel that she was just putting on a brave face for everyone else. Inside, she was barely hanging on.

Seeing her this way gutted me. Regardless of whether it had been my mother, the emotional torment she was putting us through made me hate her even more.

There was nothing I could do to help remedy this situation. We needed to know the truth, and while I couldn't bring her parents back, I damn well was going to try to get my mother to pay for it.

Mia’s phone started vibrating, and she stood up, hastily leaving the room.

“It’s not what I usually do,” Laura started. “But if you need help with a civil suit, or maybe we could even go as far as bringing charges against her, I'll try everything in my power.”

Juliette nodded and gave her a weak smile.

“If it's true… I’m not sure what I want at this point. I need to talk to my brother but also… Knowing that she tried to get close to my aunt—my family—just makes it all feel even more sickening.”

Her eyes shifted to me, and I wished I could do something. Anything . Knowing I would do anything for her but having my hands tied like this was killing me. I felt so useless.

Mia walked back into the room, her face sullen. All of us turned to look at her. Juliette let out a pained noise as if she could read the answer on her face.

“Hayes. Trish and James Hayes.”