Page 138 of Lost
“I found Maree,” I say, ripping off the bandaid. “Caleb and Lars actually did, and they recognized her by her eyes.”
“The Edwards eyes don’t lie,” my grandmother murmurs. “We’ve seen her too. Kevin took me to breakfast, and we ran into her. It was quite the shock.”
“No,” my father growls. “You can’t come into my home and tell me that my lost daughter has just been traipsing around Minneapolis, doing normal fucking things like going to breakfast.”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying,” I say, swallowing hard. “I even killed the people who took her.”
“Who?” My mother is white as a sheet, but it’s a steady draining until her healthy glow leaves nothing but a ghost behind.
“Turbis and Louisa Franco,” I say. “Mr. Roberto Domino hired them to kidnap her, and then allowed them to raise her. They did a terrible job of it, and she ran away when she was sixteen.”
My father blinks slowly, looking as if he’s trying to process my words.
“Domino,” he says. “He’s a Michigan man, why would he want something of mine?”
“You’re not very invested in the families outside of accumulating money, which means that Domino felt that you’d be easier to fuck over,” Cian says. “A loss to one family is felt by us all, Paul. Your security also has been shit. Louisa was hired to be one of your maids.”
“We allowed her into our home,” my mother whispers. “I always felt that it had to be one of the employees, but the police told me that it couldn’t have been. They said it was an outside job.”
“Technically, it was,” I admit. “However, they replaced people in your staff to make my sister’s kidnapping happen. She also no longer goes by Maree. That name doesn’t mean anything to her, and she’s choosing to embrace the one that she grew up with.”
“That seems odd,” my father says. “Wouldn’t she want one that doesn’t remind her of everything that’s happened to her?”
“Not necessarily,” I say. “‘Maree’ doesn’t fit her at all. The name she has, Nova, fits who she is perfectly. She’s not someone you can use, she’s bonded to her scent matches, and she doesn’t want to meet you at this time. I know that’s harsh, but it should be her decision.”
“We’re telling you this because the mafia community grapevine works quickly. She’s decided to stay in Minneapolis for now, but something tells me that my granddaughter is a flight risk,” Grandma says. “She’s been doing an awful lot of running.”
“What does that mean? The running part?” my mother asks.
“Her kidnappers have been looking for her since she ran away. Turbis kidnapped me right off the street a month ago,” I say. “It was the day before my birthday in fact. I chose not to explain their error until I was killing them.”
“Being friends with the Finnegan boys ruined you,” my mother sighs. It’s not done in the same way that she shames mefor my body or clothes, though. Instead, it’s begrudging respect because I can take care of myself and others. “Did you make them scream?”
“For hours,” I say with a smirk. “The Francos sold Nova to Mr. Domino when she turned eighteen, so they felt that she needed to return home to fulfil their promise. Since you know how I feel about forced?—”
“An arranged marriage is not the same as sex trafficking,” my mother explodes. “I swear, you’re impossible to speak to, Hollis.”
“Which is why you’re not going to anymore,” Cian says. “You’ll direct your words to me. Please, let’s see you treat me with the same level of disrespect that you treat your daughter and see what happens.”
My mother squeezes her hands together as she shakes her head quickly in refusal.
“Good,” he mutters. “This is an informational visit to explain what’s been going on. Did you know that Hollis has been in the hospital twice with broken bones and terrible injuries? If not, you need to think about why you don’t. You gave birth to your daughters, Annabelle, but I’ve seen cats be better mothers to their children than you are.”
My mother scoffs, glaring at him.
“Don’t pretend to be offended,” Grandma says. “You and Paul are self absorbed and ignore the outside world. So please, continue to do that so that Hollis and Nova can enjoy their lives. Don’t happen to show up somewhere where either of them will be either. That’s just classless and stupid.”
My grandfather stands as Reggie brings in tea, smiling apologetically at him.
“I’m sorry to have put you out, Reggie. It seems we have other plans, and this was just a quick visit. Please accept our apologies.”
Reggie inclines his head as my grandmother, Cian, and I stand.
“You just imploded my life, and you’re flitting out of it again,” my mother grumbles. “The self absorbed one is you, daughter.”
“If we had any kind of relationship, I’d feel bad,” I mutter, leading the group out of the room to collect our things.
While that could have gone a lot better, I’m simply glad that I’m getting out of here without bloodshed.
