Page 41 of The Broken Queen
With that, he turned and walked down the hall until he was exiting the front door.
My motherand I hadn’t spoken since I returned.
At least not in any real depth. I had hugged her, told her I was safe, and then explained that I just needed a little space. She hadn’t questioned it, likely because I had kept in touch with her while I was in Italy. While I hadn’t shared all the details, I had shared enough that she wouldn’t feel like she was completely in the dark.
Today, as I stared at their front door, I tried to remember the soft cadence of my grandfather’s voice as he had called for his only daughter, assuming I was her. How as he took his last breaths, it was of her that he thought of. I owed her that information, not only as his executioner but as her daughter. I punched in the code that Scotty had set for our home. It had never struck me as odd that he was the one who set the code or set up all the security measures in the manor.
I found my mother on the balcony that led from the kitchen, overlooking the small stone patio below that was scattered with potted plants and green vines that curled over the stone railing. Her dark hair was in a sleek sheet, pin straight against her back. She wore a set of silk pajamas while she sipped a cup of coffee, and the familiarsight of her had me relaxing. I smiled as I made my way to the chair next to her. The one my father typically occupied when I usually found them out here in the mornings while growing up.
“Hey, Mom.” I greeted her warmly, loving how genuine her smile was as she raised her blue eyes to mine.
“Presley!” She set her coffee down on the bistro table in front of her before standing to wrap her arms around me. A burning sensation began behind my eyes as she held me, and a tight knot in my stomach made my breath hitch. I didn’t want to tell her.
How did I tell her?
She separated from me, holding me at arm’s length before inspecting me. “You okay, honey?”
A tear slid down my cheek. “I need to tell you something.”
She reclaimed her spot while I took the one next to her and pulled her hand into mine.
“You knew of a man named Markos Mariano?”
Her brows drew in close, but her chin lifted in a nod. “I remember him.”
“He’s Adrian’s father…well, adopted,” I explained and watched her face as I began to explain the story of how I went to dinner that night with him, and Alex was there. My mother stiffened when I explained that Scotty had encouraged Alex to go. My mother did not trust Scotty, not anymore at least. Perhaps she once did, but since handing the reins of my upbringing over to him, and when she pulled that gun on him, I knew something inside her had snapped.
“Markos had a prisoner…it was a test of some kind for me.”
I spoke past the ball of anxiety swelling in my throat.
“He was a federal agent, Mom.” My voice broke into a whisper as she suddenly shot to her feet.
“No.” Her hands came to her face as she began shaking her head.
“I didn’t—” I swallowed, unsure how to even continue. “I didn’t know him, but he kept calling me you…and he seemed so confused.”
A sob escaped my mother as she slowly sank to her knees. “He didn’t…”
“I was worried that if I didn’t do as Markos said, he’d torture him.”
Tears flooded my eyes as a sob scraped up my throat, making it burn. My mother cried in ugly, loud sobs as she shook on the floor, and I moved so I could hold her. Her head landed on my shoulder as I curved around her, wrapping my arms around her back.
“I’m so sorry, Mom. He told me that he loved you, and his last thoughts were of you.”
“He…” she hiccupped, “he made you kill your own grandfather?”
I sat back with a tear-stained face and nodded. “He told me it was my grandfather. I knew what I was doing, but based on how they spoke of him…I just?—”
My mother’s hands came to my face in a gentle hold as she inspected me. “You did nothing wrong, my love. I’m so sorry you were forced into that position. I hate that I wasn’t there to keep you safe. I’m so sorry that you were set forth on this path and that I didn’t protect you from it. There were so many times I hated myself for allowing you to endure what you have, I always worried you’d resent me.”
I shook my head. “Never, Mom. I’d never resent you.”
Her face was red and blotchy as she pulled me closer and we rocked back and forth for a few seconds. “I’m sorry I never told you about him. I kept thinking our world would stop being dangerous, but it never did. My dad wasn’t trustworthy when it came to intel. I worried he’d leak something that would get you hurt. He refused to step away from his job, even at the cost of losing his relationship with me, but I still should have told you about him.”
“It’s okay, Mom. I promise you, it is. I love you.” I kissed her cheek and then decided to spend the rest of the day resting on the couch with her while she silently grieved a father she resented but still loved. My dad arrived later that evening and didn’t ask what happened; he just dropped to his knees in front of my mother and held her face in his hands, pushing her hair back while fresh tears slid down.
I decided to give them a moment while my mother explained what happened and wandered to my old room. Everything was exactly where I left it the last time I had visited. I checked my phone to see if Adrian had texted me, but the second I realized he still hadn’t, I turned it off and left it on the dresser. Clicking the main light off, I decided to lie down on my bed and try to process my interaction with Kingston.
