Page 39 of Darkness Falls

After Avery leaves, I turn to look at my mother. "What do you think of Avery?"

"I think it's wonderful that you've found so many people you love and who love you in return. It's all a mother could ever ask for, LeeLee." She grabs my hand with eyes full of trepidation.

"Momma, what's going on?"

"I need to talk to you about something. When your father told me you were back on the compound, I promised myself I would tell you the truth. I would have told you sooner, but he forbade me from talking to you, and I didn't want to risk disobeying him. He would have hurt one of us if I tried, you know that."

I wince at her words. I told her about what Seb and I did to my father when we were on the plane after fleeing the compound. I didn't want there to be any secrets between us. I also didn't want her to be upset with me for my role in what happened. My father deserved to die, but I wasn't sure if my mother still loved him. She told me then that the only reason she stayed with him at Rogue was to try her best to protect me. And she did her best at that.

"Momma, he hurt us both, no matterwhat we did. There was no escaping that fate."

"I suppose you're right, and I'm so sorry I couldn't protect you from that pain." She sighs, and her tearful eyes meet mine. "I went along with him from the start because I wanted you so badly, but this was never supposed to be your life, LeeLee."

"What are you talking about?" I furrow my brows and tilt my head in concern.

"Before I go into further detail, I want you to know that you've always been my biggest blessing. I love you more than anything in the entire world, and I'm so proud of the woman you have become despite all the struggles you’ve had to face."

"Momma, you're scaring me."

She takes a deep breath, and her eyes fall to the floor next to me, refusing to look at me.

"Your father and I tried to have children for years. When we got married, he said having children was the most important thing to him. I thought it was sweet. I thought he loved me and wanted to start a family, but I was so blind. I didn't realize he only wanted to secure his legacy for Rogue." She pauses, almost as if she's afraid to keep telling me.

"It's okay, take your time," I reassure her.

"I had three miscarriages in five years. For some reason, I just wasn't able to carry a child. Every doctor I saw told me there was nothing physically wrong with me. They couldn't find any sort of explanation for my infertility. I felt like a failure and was so ashamed I barely left the house. It had been months sinceany of the other families on the compound had seen me. I locked myself inside and refused to interact with anyone." She fidgets with her fingers on her lap.

"Father hurt you back then too, didn't he?" I reach out to try to touch her hand, but she pulls away from me.

"Your father grew more irritated with me the longer we went without having a child. He needed to secure his leadership role." Her eyes lock on mine for the first time. "Do you remember the stories about the founding family that left the compound? They were the family whose house caught on fire."

"Elizabeth and Martin Stone, right?" I ask, and she nods. "They had a baby, too. It's awful that they all died in the fire."

"Elizabeth and Martin Stone died in the house fire. Their baby did not," she states plainly, eyes bouncing back and forth between mine.

"What do you mean? And what does this have to do with me?"

"Your father was in Braxton Falls on business the night of the fire. Yes, the same Braxton Falls that you lived in. He called to tell me he was stopping by the Stone's house before coming back to the compound to make sure they were settling in okay. He said that when he got there, he saw smoke coming from the house. He ran inside to try to find Elizabeth and Martin, but he couldn't spot them through all of the smoke. He heard a baby crying and had to get her out of the house.”

She rubs the back of her neck and stands to start pacing back and forth in the room. I've never seen my mother get this worked up.

"I don't believe he had a real business meeting that night. It was too much of a coincidence for him to just be there at the right place, right time."

"Are you saying you think he went to Braxton Falls to purposefully start the fire? If that's true, then what did he do with the baby? Everyone thinks the baby died in the fire, too."

"LeeLee, you are that baby. Elizabeth and Martin Stone were your biological parents." She eyes me cautiously, waiting for me to say something, but I'm too stunned to make my brain formulate words.

I try to process what she just confessed. If what she is saying is true, that would mean that my entire life has been a lie. Gabriel was never my real father, and he potentially killed my biological parents.

It's all starting to make more sense now. He was able to be cruel to me because I was never his real legacy to begin with. I was his consolation prize that he constantly tried to make into his perfect image of a daughter. He stole me to keep his position as leader.

Barrett chooses now to walk into the room, and I lock eyes with him. "What's wrong, princess?"

"Not now, Barrett. I need to talk with my mother alone," I say with a clipped tone.

Hepauses for a moment, glancing between us before nodding and turning to walk out of the room. I'm sure he already has the cameras up on his phone to watch and make sure everything is okay. He's always watching. I turn to face my mother, and she walks over to sit back on the couch next to me.

"Let me make sure I fully understand what you're saying. You think that Gabriel showed up at the Stone’s house, stole me, and burned down their house, killing them in the process?"

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