“Before I was born, my father ran a business. Then after he died, he passed it on to me.”
“Business? You mean the textile company?”
Jerry laughs, like I’ve said something stupid. “Get to the fucking point already!” His cold, dead eyes shoot her a scowl. “Your gran ran a gang, Evelyn. She’s been running that gang since before you were even born.”
“Wh-wh-what?” I whisper, shaking my head frantically. “No. You’re lying. Right, Gran?”
She blows a tired breath. “You don’t know how long I’ve wanted to tell you. I came close a few times, but it never felt like the right time.”
“Oh my God.” My vision grows blurry from the moisture there.
“I ran it well with no problems, then grew tired of it, so I passed it to your idiot father, which was a huge mistake.” Her mouth twitches with annoyance. “He decided to cause problems with the Eights.” She jerks her head at Jerry. “And once I found out, it was too late. He’d already agreed to sell you to them, and I couldn’t stop it.” She presses two fingers into her temple. “I wanted to get you out from the drug-muling, but Isaac wouldn’t have it. We were at war and people were dying, and soon it would have been me. So I needed us to go. I made you think it was your idea. But it was the only way we could get away.”
I can’t process what I’m hearing. I don’t…how? I…
Silently, I sob, unable to handle hearing anymore yet she continues to break my heart.
“My brother took over the business when we left, but the war continued. I was sick of people dying. So I called Isaac to stop all this.”
“H-h-how? How did you try to stop it?”
“By fucking your husband over.” Jerry grins. “Can’t wait to see the look on his face when my guys take all his weapons right from under him.”
“What? Gran? You didn’t! Please tell me he’s lying.”
She peers down for a moment and blows out a breath. “I had to give the Eights something big, and I knew how badly they needed new weapons. So once Rogue told me about the shipment arriving, I knew that was the thing to get the war to stop.”
“Rogue? He helped you?” My voice is so low, I barely recognize it. “H-h-how did you even know to approach him?”
“I knew his dad.” She glances at him fondly. “I knew who he was the moment I saw him, and he knew me. So we met and talked, and I realized he was looking for the perfect opportunity to get back at the Quinns for what they did. And here we are.”
She flits a hand in the air while I burn in agony.
Not only did my father betray me, but so did one of the most important people in my life.
How did I not know that my family was a bunch of criminals?
“Why did you need them to kidnap me? I don’t understand.”
“Because…” The crease between her brows deepens. “I wanted to keep you safe from the fallout when Tynan finds out what I did. He’d kill us both. You know that, right?”
“No!” Angry tears stream down my face. “Tynan would never do that to me.”
Her lips thin. “Oh, sweetheart. When it comes to money, anyone could kill anyone.”
Suddenly, thoughts of my mother come storming in. Does she know what my father did? Does she know why?
“And Mom? Is that why she died?”
She drags in a long breath and stares at the ceiling for a nanosecond.
“Oh, God,” I whisper. “You knew the whole time! You knew Dad killed her!”
“Elara…I’m sorry. I know how close you two were.”
“So you know what I did too?” My eyes expand.
She nods. “I knew from the start. Isaac told me.”