Page 52 of Against the Current

Jackie laughed nervously and glanced around, hoping nobody was listening. But the only people at the restaurant were feasting and having their own conversations. They weren’t thinking about the Suttons at all.

“I can only imagine how awful Mom was,” Victor said. “I can only imagine the heinous things she said.”

“She wasn’t always the kindest person,” Esme said quietly.

“Before I left Nantucket, there was a story about the Reeds in the newspaper almost every morning,” Victor said. “They were always stealing from somebody, or stealing from each other, or finding new and inventive ways to take advantage of those around them. They were masters of manipulation.”

“Then again, so was Mom,” Jackie said, surprising herself.

Victor cackled with laughter and slapped his thigh. “It’s true. The Suttons were bad in one way; the Reeds were bad in another. But who’s to say who was better?”

“Dana would disown you if she heard you say that,” Esme said.

“I love my mother,” Victor said, his hand over his chest. “I love her despite her faults and despite her arrogance and despite the fact that she was, maybe, the cruelest woman I ever met. I love her despite the fact that she spent millions and millions of dollars and left us nothing but that house when she died. It’s like she wanted to prove a point.”

“Actually, that’s what impresses me the most about her,” Esme said with a wry laugh. “How did she manage to spend so much? I’d have to work really hard, I think.”

“She had years of practice,” Victor said.

“She even sold off all the boats and cars!” Josh added, smiling.

Jackie filled her lungs and laughed. They would always love their mother, but it felt good to speak truths about Dana Sutton. It felt like cleaning themselves out.

Jackie sighed. “Trisha will never forgive me for that time of her life. I can’t blame her.”

“I’m sure Trisha has her reasons,” Victor agreed.

“What ever happened to the Reeds?” Esme asked.

“Funnily enough, I was just talking to someone about them,” Victor said. “They were kicked off their property and left Nantucket. A few of them went to Boston. One of the brothers was arrested out west for car theft. But the majority of them went over to Martha’s Vineyard.”

“Not far,” Esme said.

Something strange tugged at the back of Jackie’s mind.

Was that why Trisha had been on Martha’s Vineyard? Was she visiting her family without telling Ryan? Was she hiding a reunion?

Or was she planning her escape?

What if she took the children with her? Jackie’s heartbeat quickened.

“But some of them are doing all right for themselves, I hear. They’re overcoming the world their parents built for them,” Victor said, raising his glass of wine. “There’s a restaurant or two over on Martha’s Vineyard owned by a Reed. And one of them married a Strong.”

Jackie’s heart stopped beating. “I’m sorry?”

Victor hesitated. “What? You must know the Strongs of Martha’s Vineyard. They were hotel people; they owned about three or four before they closed up shop. They had one son, Max Strong. He’s the one who married a Reed girl. I don’t know howthe Strongs felt about him marrying a Reed, but I can’t imagine they were half as cruel as Mom was.”

Jackie gaped at her brother. “Is her name Sarah Strong?” She found it difficult to breathe.

Victor snapped his fingers. “Yes! Sarah Strong. Born Sarah Reed. Moving up through the ranks of the world. Much like our Trisha.”

Jackie thought she was going to throw up. She rifled through her purse to find her cell, then pulled up Sarah Strong’s real estate website, a site she’d visited at least fifty times in the past two weeks. She flashed Sarah’s photo at her brother, and Victor nodded.

“Yep! A Reed!”

Jackie couldn’t believe this. Had the Reeds crawled out of the dark past to destroy the Suttons’ future?

Worse, had Trisha been on Martha’s Vineyard to help Sarah Strong steal Ryan and Jackie’s clients?

---