Page 151 of Cruel Legacy

“It’s-”

“Been a lie! All this time, bringing me here was based on a lie? Am I a replacement?”

“A replacement? What? Thea, no!”

“Then what the hell is this?” I wave at the photo album.

“Thea. Those documents are fakes.”

“Some kind of scam? Do the two of you pretend to be pregnant and then sell babies in an elaborate adoption ring under fake identities, or something? Because my mother’s last name isn’t Laurent, and I sure as shit don’t have a brother.”

Scott steps into the room behind her and bellows. “We’re not criminals, Theona!”

“Fake birth certificates, fake death certificates. Or maybe not. If these aren’t real, then where’s your baby, Moira? Because you looked awfully pregnant in those photos. If they’re not photoshopped, where’s the kid?”

Moira cries, “Oh god, not like this. You weren’t supposed to find out like this. I needed more time.” She falls into Scott’s arms.

I glare at him, daring him to chastise me for making his delicate little wife cry. I’m not sorry. I want some answers before I leave this house of horrors behind.

“Answer me one question. How did you get pictures of me if you didn’t know where I was?”

Scott sighs before answering. “I knew where you were up until the time you left Louisiana.”

I snatch an envelope off the floor, replaying his words. He knew where I was until we left Louisiana.

He knew where we were, until I was three. A horrible thought crosses my mind. “Shit. Did you? Are you…” I can’t even form the words, but it’s possible. Right? I mean, people are assaulted by family members all the time, and the checks would make sense if he was trying to buy her silence. “Did you… are you my father?”

“Yes.”

I’m gonna be sick. “What kind of fucking monster are you? You raped her?” It makes sense. At first it was a game. We moved to experience new places and cultures. But after the car accident, mom started saying people were after her.

“God, no, Thea. I never attacked Hailee.”

I hold up my hand. “If you say your cousin wanted to have sex with you, I’ll gut you where you stand.”

He pales. “It’s not what you think. It’s not like that. Hailee and I aren’t actually related. She’s…” He looks at Moira. “Everything’s complicated. If you’ll just come down to the living room, we can explain it.”

“I’m fine with hearing the rest of the lies you plan to tell me right here. So if you’re not related to my mother but you are my father, what does that mean? That you got her pregnant in secret? Because so far all the stories you’ve told me say you and Moira were together when she was in college.”

Another possibility occurs to me. “Did you have an affair with my mother?” I look at Moira. “Did you threaten her when she wouldn’t take a payoff?”

“It wasn’t like that.”

“No? Then were you trying to gain custody of me and she couldn’t afford to fight you in court, so she hid me away? I guess you finally got your wish, but I’m almost twenty, so you’re late on that end.”

“Actually, Thea. You’re just eighteen, and nobody was fighting for custody. Moira and I let Hailee take you away.”

“Let her? It’s not like you could forbid it!”

They share a look, and when I look at Moira again, I’m struck by the color of her eyes. My voice sounds small when I ask, “You’re wearing contacts?”

Her hand flies to her face, and my mind goes back over details I ignored when I got here. Her fussing about mom not sticking to the plan, the comment about my bedroom, and LJ saying the library nook looks like a nursery. I stare at Moira’s blue eyes, startlingly similar to mine, and ask the question that nobody answered, earlier. “Moira, where’s your baby?”

She takes a step toward me, tears running down her cheeks. “I’m looking at her.”

“No. No.” I shake my head. “No.” This can’t be happening. How the fuck is this happening?

“Yes, Thea. We’re your parents.”

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