Page 69 of The Devil We Know

Obviously, I don’t know for sure this is true, but I do believe it in my heart. And if by chance I’m wrong, and my heart ends up crushed into a million pieces, at least I’ll have that pain to fuel me for the reckoning.

We make our way into the building, going directly to the main communications area, where I know everyone is waiting.

Carolina meets us halfway across the room and immediately wraps an arm around Jessica’s shoulders, leaning in and whispering to her softly. I don’t waste any time with that; I walkdirectly over to my mother and stick my finger in her face and snarl, “Fucking explain yourself.”

She doesn’t blink or even flinch. She just raises a brow at me and asks, “You’re going to have to be more specific.”

I glare at her, pushing my finger a little closer as I say, “Don’t fucking play with me, Mother.”

Now, she flinches, her mouth falling open in shock. Then she glares back at me, slapping my hand away as she exclaims, “Don’t you use that word with me.”

I drop my hand, moving my hands to my hips as I lean in and ask, “And why not? Are you afraid I might know who my uncle is?”

Now, she frowns, a puzzled expression on her face as she parrots, “Uncle?”

I stomp my foot and exclaim, “Yes, uncle. Uncle Mathias, ring a bell?”

Her frown deepens, and after a moment, she laughs loudly. She continues to laugh while I stand there with my hands out, helplessly looking at Carolina for help. She shrugs, obviously uncertain what the hell is going on, and so I stand there and let Lilith laugh until she finally runs out of steam.

Eventually, she stands upright, wiping the tears from her eyes. She shakes her head at me and says, “You’re funny.”

“Funny or not,” I reply. “Matt went in front of all those fucking people and declared himself a Ferro. So, you have some fucking explaining to do.”

All humor falls from her face, and she cocks her head at me and says, “He what?”

I nod and reply, “That’s right. Heard it with my own fucking ears.”

She shakes her head and then says, “Well, that was kind of dumb.”

“Dumb? How about maybe it’s not true?”

She grimaces, and I immediately know that whatever the fuck is going on, the Ferro part is true and I sputter, “I can’t believe you didn’t fucking tell me.”

“It’s not my story to tell.”

“I’m so fucking sick of hearing that.”

“I understand that, Antoinette,” she replies calmly. “But up until now, I didn’t think it mattered.”

“Well, apparently it does,” I reply sharply. “Are you going to explain or not?” She pauses for a moment, giving me an assessing look, and finally, she nods and says, “I’ll tell you.”

I sigh in relief, then reply, “You may as well tell us all because I don’t feel like repeating it.”

“That’s fine. I guess we’re far beyond the need for story time. But I can assure you, he’s not your uncle.”

“How is he not my uncle if you have the same father?”

“We don’t,” she answers matter-of-factly. “I was never a Ferro.”

I gape at her and then roll my eyes, muttering, “Of course you’re not.”

She smirks at me and then laughs a bit bitterly as she motions for the chairs in the corner. “Have a seat. This may take a minute.”

30

A Very Lilith Story

Lilith

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