Page 67 of Holly, Jolly, and Oh So Naughty

Sleep comes quickly that night from sheer exhaustion, and I leave town first thing in the morning.

I have to confront this face-to-face, and my mother is the only person who can give me the answers I need. Lily claims that she had been turned away multiple times, and I struggle to accept that truth because in my heart, I believe that a child would make all the difference.

If I’d known, if she’d reached out to me again, I would have come back in a heartbeat. Part of me always thought she had just moved on.

Surely, my mother wouldn’t turn away her own grandchild?

It’s not an answer I can get from Lily, though, so I fly back to New York City using my family name and an untouched credit card to find my mother in her penthouse.

When I enter, it’s like walking into a time capsule as my father’s belongings still litter the place.

She has her back to me, staring out over the city next to a gigantic silver Christmas tree covered in red decorations. It’s thrice the size of her and yet she somehow still has more presence than it.

“Mom.”

She spins to face me and a grin of delight spreads across her face when we lock eyes. The delicate glass in her hand is discarded on a nearby table, and she hurries over the expensive fur rug to reach me.

She never lets anyone walk on that rug.

“James!” She clutches at my arms and her long fingernails are like daggers in my biceps. “You came home! Oh, my goodness, this is wonderful! What a fantastic Christmas surprise! Oh, I can’t wait to call your Aunt Eileen and tell her. She will be absolutely ecstatic!”

My patience is thin after such a long flight and no food, so I’m firm as I grab her by the shoulders and force her to take a step back.

“Mom. I came here because I need to ask you something.”

“Of course, darling, anything!”

Glitter clings to her lashes, and her red-painted lips stretch eerily from ear to ear.

“Did you know I had a daughter?”

Her smile falters a fraction, and I instantly see the truth in her eyes. She tries to hide it with a fluttering of lashes and a strange, hollow laugh as she pats my arm.

“What? A daughter? Don’t be silly!”

“Mom!” I tighten my grip a fraction. “This is serious. Did you know? Tell me the truth.”

She laughs again, an awkward sound like wind escaping from a paper bag, then she jerks her shoulders free and clutches at the pendant around her neck. “Don’t grab me like that, James. How dare you.”

My heart begins to race faster and faster as she continues to dodge the question, leaving me with no choice but to raise my voice and press further.

“Lily!” I snap. “The woman whose house you barged into you. You’ve spoken to her before, haven’t you? Tell me the truth, Mom, please.” My voice cracks slightly as a tidal wave of upset creeps through my mind.

Mom doesn’t meet my eyes.

“Alright, fine,” she snaps like she’s scolding a child. “Yes, I know yourtartwas pregnant.”

My world narrows to a pinpoint and my heart pounds so hard that all I can hear is the blood rushing past my ears.

“But I did what any mother would do and I protected this family, do you hear me?” Mom points at me, and her smile is gone, replaced with the same grim face she wore when telling me my father had passed. “I protected this family. I protected you! Do you have any idea of the scandal if people found out you got a random working-class girlpregnant?”

The word curls past her lips with a note of disgust.

“We would never live it down, especially since she attended a college your father gave speeches to,andyou weren’t married!” Mom’s fingers twisted more aggressively over her pendant. “And you never mentioned the silly girl, so I knew she wasn’t pregnant.”

Anger bursts through me like an explosion and I lash out at the nearest thing—a porcelain vase shatters against the wall, sending water, flower stems, and shards scattering all over the floor.

My mother squeals and stumbles backward.

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