Page 5 of Cruel Riches

“So,” he finally said, drawing out the syllable. “I can’t tell you how surprised we were to hear from you.”

“Yes, I’m sure it was quite a shock,” Sascha said, taking a seat on the sofa that sat kitty-corner from the other one.

“Honestly, the biggest shock for us was hearing that the two of you had moved back here,” Deborah said, wrinkling her forehead. “May I ask why?”

Sascha and I exchanged brief glances.

“We came back for a few reasons,” Sascha began. “I was twelve when we had to leave, and I’m twenty-two now, so really, I’ve spent more than half my life here. I’ve always seen it as my home. I know we aren’t really welcome—not as our old selves—but I want to be able to move on from that and build a new life here. It’s such a beautiful place. I always hated that we had to leave.”

She wasn’t exaggerating about the beauty of Avalon Island. It was a base for the mega-rich and a hotspot for tourism for a very good reason. Lying several miles off the coast of Washington, it was filled with ancient temperate forests, rugged national parks, and magnificent mountain ranges in the north. The outer edges were dotted with quiet seaside towns, beautiful historical estates, and stunning beaches.

The largest city, where we lived right now, was a bustling cosmopolitan place with a population of three hundred thousand, and thirty miles to the south of that lay the wealthy community of Arcadia Bay. Arcadia Bay was home to Blackthorne University, which was one of the oldest and best colleges the US had to offer.

Overall, the island was a haven and playground for the rich, and a little piece of heaven for everyone else. Even the smaller towns with lower per capita incomes were great places to live.

“Uh… me too. I’ve always seen Avalon as my real home,” I said when my grandparents turned their expectant gazes to me.

That wasn’t the whole reason I’d decided to move back here, not even close, but they didn’t need to know that.

“I see. And what is it that you do, Sascha?” Edward asked, turning his attention back to my sister.

“I’m an artist. That’s another reason I love it here so much,” she replied. “Avalon City has a huge art scene.”

“She actually did all the paintings we have around here,” I added.

Our grandparents glanced around. “Hm. They’re quite nice,” Deborah said. “Your mother was always very artistic. I suppose you got it from her.”

It didn’t escape my attention that she said ‘mother’ like it was a dirty word.

“What about you, Alexis?” she asked, turning her cool gaze toward me. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m starting at Blackthorne University on Monday,” I said. “I’m actually moving into my dorm on campus later on this afternoon.”

Edward raised his bushy eyebrows. “Blackthorne? That’s a surprise.”

I nodded, and Sascha smiled again. “She scored 99.3% on the entrance exam. It was the third highest score out of all the applicants,” she said.

Our grandparents looked at each other, and I could practically hear what they were thinking. What happened to the other 0.7%? Why did she let two people beat her? Not good enough.

“Hm. That’s good, I suppose, even if you’re starting at nineteen,” Deborah said, as if it was a crime to take a gap year after high school. “Blackthorne is a very prestigious college.”

“Better than half the Ivy League universities on the mainland,” Edward added.

I tilted my head slightly to one side. “You own the teaching hospital next to the campus, don’t you?”

“That’s right. I lecture at the medical school occasionally, but hospital administration takes up most of my time,” he replied.

I gave him a tight smile. “Well, we might run into each other on campus sometimes.”

“Perhaps.” He paused and set his teacup down. “I don’t mean to be rude, but we don’t have a lot of time today, so I must ask. Why, exactly, did the two of you get in contact with us?”

Sascha and I exchanged glances again. I did the talking this time.

“We both love living on Avalon, but we don’t have any family here, and sometimes it makes us feel lonely,” I began, even though Sascha was the only one who actually felt that way. “Mom refuses to come back here, for obvious reasons, and we don’t have anyone on our father’s side either. So we thought it would be nice to have some people who know who we are and what we went through when we were kids. We can’t tell any of our friends who we are, so that’s not an option, and it can be hard sometimes; not having anyone around who understands.”

“So… we thought we could spend some time with you. Get to know each other,” Sascha interjected. “It would be so nice to feel like we have some family here.”

Edward straightened his shoulders and held up a palm. “Absolutely not.”

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