Page 92 of Twisted Legacy

“Then I heard someone talking in the bathroom during one of the Ladies’ Guild garden parties. They said he wasn’t really waiting for Hailee to graduate. It was the lie he’d told his parents to get them to agree to stall the marriage, because he liked them a little younger. Then they said my name.”

My stomach clenches when she looks at me.

“Thea, it took everything in me not to barge out there and ask them what the hell they were talking about. I had to force myself to be still and listen to it all. I waited until they left and then went to find my dad.”

Her voice turns sad. A bitter hint to it. “Turns out he already knew about the rumors. The husbands were joking about it too.”

“But he wasn’t gonna go along with it, right? I mean, aren’t these things usually contract based like in the movies?”

“Yes, but I don’t know how The League decides things. I’ve seen enough situations over the years where people start off intended for one person and end up with another. Mentioning what I heard got me grounded for eavesdropping. My father craved power, just like everyone else. He was still a lower ranked member, and I had no way of knowing what he’d allow. I just knew that I wasn’t gonna be someone’s pawn. Not after watching what Hailee was going through.”

“What did you do?”

“I acted out. Went out.Stayed outtoo late. I drank too much, drove too fast. Sometimes the cars weren’t mine, and I got caught kissing boys.”

I feel myself smile. That sounds like something I would have done.

“I was raising hell and successfully pissing my dad off, but Hailee was getting worried. So, being a good big sister, she convinced our father to let me go away for the summer. She said it would give me a chance to clear my head. He agreed, and the week after I graduated high school, I hopped a plane to Greece.”

Going to Greece sounds amazing. Maybe I should go instead of sticking around here for my own version of league drama. “Did that calm you down?”

Her smile covers her entire face. “It was life changing. It’s where I met your father.”

“What?”

“He was making his way through the European and Mediterranean country sides. He had his own family issues to work through. We met on a tour and figured out we were from the same town. We’ve been inseparable ever since.”

“Love at first sight, huh?”

“There was a connection, yes. But I was still feeling foolish and reckless. He sensed that and made me wait. I had a lot of growing up to do. It was the longest year of my life.”

“A year? He resisted you for a year?”

“I was still only seventeen. He was nineteen, so he only offered me friendship. But I took it and clung to it. Scott was my safety net.”

“What happened when you got home?”

“Hailee had somehow gotten my father to get a firm signature on her marriage contract. She was gonna marry the guy, but dad was still searching for someone else for me. He was determined to get two powerful alliances out of the deal. I had a lot of eyes on me, but Hailee helped me sneak off to see Scott whenever I could, as long as I promised to be careful.”

I already see where this is heading. “You weren’t careful.”

“Dad found me a match and there was no way out of it. I ran to Scott, determined to do one last thingfor me.We made love. You were conceived, and there was never any question in my mind that I was having my baby. There was also no way I’d be able to hide my pregnancy for long, so I told Hailee, and she donned her big sister cape again and assured me she’d handle it; just like she handled everything else. The next thing I know, she’s telling people she’s pregnant. Dad was furious. Her announcement made him look like a fool, especially when she refused to name the father. “

“Was she?” A small part of me wants there to be hope that this is all a crazy nightmare and I’m gonna wake up and find out nothing since the moment I found that birth certificate really happened. But hope’s a sadistic bitch.

“Hailee lied to help me hide my pregnancy. Then somehow she once again convinced dad to do something to save face. He sent her away in shame and I went with her so she’d have a support system.”

She smiles. “Scott joined us and he and I had four months where we didn’t have to hide our relationship. But we still weren’t free. Dad was looking to salvage his marriage deal with that family and decided I would be the substitute. Hailee knew it. I knew it. It was a no-win situation. We’d already said you were hers. I couldn’t say she lied. It would’ve made things worse for the both of us. So we planned to run. Her first with you. Then Scott and I were going to follow. Van was a godsend. She helped us make all the arrangements.” Her lips turn down. “I hated letting you go, but there was no way I could subject you to this life. There was no way I’d make my sister stay here and live a life with someone she didn’t want, when she’d been protecting me the whole time. You were the way we were all going to escape and have the lives we chose for ourselves.”

“If all of you were leaving, how did I wind up growing up thinking my mom was my mom?”

“All of us leaving at once would have been suspicious. I was supposed to come back to Canyon Falls and say you didn’t make it, and that Hailee took off in the middle of the night. We had a death certificate saying the baby, a boy, was stillborn. Our plan was foolproof. We had pre-planned meet up locations, dates and times and backups. Hailee was supposed to keep moving until we could eventually join her. Dad all but ignored me because he was too busy trying to save his reputation. Hailee had disgraced the Laurent name, and that made me tainted goods, by league standards, so my marriage deal was called off too.”

“Are you still in this secret society that everybody and their doctor knows about?”

With a shake of her hair, she says, “We’re not active members, we were never asked to join, but we live in town and smile and play the game. We live by their rules, with none of the perks. It’s my penance for Hailee.”

“Does your father know the truth about me?” I can’t call him my grandfather. I don’t know that man, and nothing I’ve heard makes me want to get to know him.

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