Page 35 of A Twisted Gift

Raina straightens in her seat, all her attention focused on me.

“They… were murdered,” I say slowly, “and I was supposed to die with them.”

The color drains from her face. “W-what?”

I tug at the collar of my shirt. That’s not even the worst part—not for her. “Charles is the one who ordered our deaths.”

She stares at me, frozen, her lips parted in shock.

“Our fathers were business rivals. My father… cheated yours. It’s a dirty business, and he made it dirtier.”

“What kind of business?”

I hesitate, unsure of how to frame this. I can’t lie. Not when I just promised I wouldn’t. Notever. “They traded in lives through various ways. Drugs, guns… people.”

“Like with the auction?” she asks.

“Things like it, yes.”

She looks devastated, and I wish I could take it all back. Find a way to rewrite the past so our lives weren’t intertwined in such a tragic way. All I can do is reach across the table, my fingers brushing her elbow through her sweater.

“I’m so sorry, Erik,” she whispers. “I lost my mother before I knew her, but I can’t imagine loving her and then mourning her like that.”

“I’d give just about anything if it meant my parents could be alive today. That night…” I glance out the windows in the front of the shop, staring out over the snow-covered town. “It’ll haunt me for the rest of my life.”

“Is that where your scar is from?”

I nod. “Three men broke into our house while we were eating dinner. They went for me first, knives already out, but my parents protected me.” I touch my cheek. “The blade was aimed for my throat. My father tried to push me out of the way. It kept me alive, but now I think of him every time I look in the mirror.”

“Erik.” Her voice is soft, unsure. What’s she supposed to say? There’s nothing that can make this better.

“It’s all right. You don’t have to pity me.”

“You deserved better,” she says softly.

I take her hands in mine, covering them completely and savoring her warmth. “So did you.”

“How did you escape?”

“My parents were able to hold them back. They told me to run, begged me to leave when I tried to help them fight. I was a child. What could I do? So I ran, right out the back door and into the woods. I didn’t stop until my lungs were burning and my legs gave out.

“Somehow, I got into contact with my uncle, and he took me in and treated me like I was one of his own. I took on his last name for my safety in case your father tried to find me. My uncle made sure my family’s home was cared for with the funds left to me by my parents, but I could never force myself to go back there. Not until I found out that you were real.”

“They died in that house. The—the one you brought me to.”

“Yes.”

“Because of my father.”

I nod.

“And you stepped into his home, shook his hand, laughed with him. And… he had no idea it was you, did he?”

“He was entirely oblivious. And for now, that’s how I want it to stay.”

She nods. “I understand.”

We sit in silence for a minute, the sounds of the shop filling the air. Only once I’ve given her enough time to let everything sink in do I continue.

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