Page 67 of The Devil's Daughter

Drake is right beside me for all the greetings, shaking hands with my brothers, hugging my sister and my soon-to-be sister-in-law like we’re all family already. When he looks at me, the anxiety has faded, and he looks truly happy to be accepted by them all.

“Where’s Sam?” I ask. “You invited him too, didn’t you? And I still don’t see Marco.”

“I did. He and Toni live close by, so I suppose there isn’t as much urgency to get here early and beat traffic. Marco will be here a little later, but I promise he’s coming too.”

Soon my father appears with two beautiful women at his sides. I almost don’t recognize my own mother, dressed to the nines herself in an understated blue dress of flowing silk with a matching sheer wrap. She’s almost as tall as Flores, her fair skin shining and healthy and her shoulder-length dark hair just a little grayer than the last time I saw her. She’s wearing it down, which is unusual, and she looks amazing.

On Arturo’s other side is Elena Quiñones, more diminutive, though just as beautiful, looking poised, but slightly out of her element in a simple floral gown that accents her darker features.

I rush to my mother and envelop her in a hug. “Mom! I can’t believe you came. I am happy you did, though. So happy.”

She laughs, and it’s the most beautiful sound after the ordeal she’s been through, not to mention her hard recovery since having a stroke at Christmas and spending about a week in a medically induced coma.

“Arielle, you look beautiful,” she says, her diction just shy of perfect. The stroke impacted her balance and speech, but she’s worked so hard at her therapy any disability is nearly impossible to notice.

I cling to her hand, nearly in tears over the fact that she’s well enough to come to a party. “How are you feeling? Come, let me show you to our table so you can sit. Drake pulled some strings so all of us can all sit together.”

“I spent the last two hours sitting,” she says. “Let me look around. It’s been a long time since I’ve been here.”

“I’ve never been,” Elena says. “I think I’ll join you.” She slips her arm into my free one and leans closer. “How are my sons? I’m not getting an answer out of Arturo, so I thought I’d appeal to you for news.”

“They’re here,” I say. “No reason not to ask them yourself… except I suppose they’re working, so technically we probably shouldn’t bother them. But hopefully they’ll come say hi. If they don’t, I’ll just have to make them.”

The three of us meander through the museum, reading the plaques beneath each of the aerial exhibits and viewing the smaller exhibits in the outer ring of displays before making our way back to the pavilion. The security staff are easy to pick out from the guests, being the only men and women in plain dark suits, whereas everyone else is in ball gowns or tuxedos. The twins are the only ones dressed in tuxes, but I don’t see them at first glance.

Mom’s gaze rises to one of the aircraft mounted on a pedestal high above us. The plaque identifies it as a Bell AH-1E Cobra Helicopter. She stops and lets out a small sigh. “That one was Julian’s favorite. He said it was the first engine he ever worked on.”

I look at her, surprised by her mention of the man I believed was my dad all these years. She meets my gaze and presses her lips tight. “I’m sorry, honey. It’s easier to let myself remember the good times. Coming here was one of his favorite day trips when we were younger—when things were good. I know you don’t think of him as your father anymore, but he was always bigger than life to me, so passionate about the things he loved.”

After years of wishing for love from Julian Santos, it’s strange listening to her talk about him as if he was ever more than a brutal, violent man.

I refuse to lie to my mother about how I feel, though. I squeeze her hand, and in a voice tight with emotion, say, “I know you loved him, but I will never forgive him for what he did to you and my brothers. He’s the reason Arturo stayed away—did you know that? I don’t blame you for keeping him close. I know you did it to protect him, but did you consider the fact that Ineverknew a true father because he was there? Julian was never a dad to me. He was worse than nothing to the boys. And if you’d just left him, I might have had the chance to have a real father before now.”

Elena is a few discreet steps away, pretending to look at the plaque beneath another aircraft, but she turns to us, her brow creased with concern.

Mom’s carefully constructed façade cracks when she meets my gaze, the lines on either side of her mouth deepening as tears spring to her eyes. She lifts a hand to my cheek and strokes lightly.

“My beautiful Arielle. You deserved so much more than I gave you. I am so, so sorry I didn’t try harder. I could have done more—for all of you.

“I did try… I thought if you learned to dance, you and Celeste would have an excuse to spend time together, even if you never knew you were sisters. But you were so far apart in age. Arturo did seek you out whenever he came to Celeste’s dance classes, but he kept his distance, because I was afraid it would just be too confusing to you if he tried to build a relationship with you. I see now how wrong I was.

“I will forever regret those decisions. But despite it all…” She steps back and looks me over, her eyes brightening so much it’s like the sun coming out after a storm. “Despite it all, you have exceeded my wildest dreams in the woman you’ve become.”

“It means a lot to hear you say that. And please don’t think I love you less. You were more than enough of a parent to me all these years. I couldn’t have asked for a better mother.”

I pull her in for a hug, and Elena rejoins us as we continue our slow tour while more guests continue trickling in.

“I admit I wanted to come even more once I knew where this party would be held. But why did Drake choose this as the venue?” Mom asks.

“It might seem a little incongruous, but renewable energy research is one of his pet projects, especially where the shipping industry is concerned. The Typhon research arm intersects quite a bit with the aeronautics industry, and with NASA, when it comes to their methods of powering their aircraft. He has an entire presentation on it to show everyone later. I promise it’s way more interesting than I make it sound, but I hear the dessert is delicious, so if you get bored, you can just focus on the dish instead.”

“I’m sure it’ll be as fascinating as you say,” Mom says. Then her eyes light up as she looks past my shoulder. A second later I feel a tap and I turn, only to be swept up in a pair of familiar strong arms.

“Hey, Ellie,” Sam says. “What’d you do to finagle an outing like this? And gettingusan invite too?”

“We owe you,” Toni says, smiling at me from his side and hugging me once my brother releases me. She is absolutely stunning in a black satin dress decorated in red floral brocade that accents the inked designs covering her arms and shoulders. “I was going stir-crazy being funneled back and forth between work and home. I can’t wait for this to be over. But you’re looking surprisingly relaxed. You’re practically glowing. I guess living in captivity agrees with you?”

She lifts one eyebrow at me, and I can’t help but wonder if she and Celeste have spoken.

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