Page 9 of Destiny

“But your father was—”

“He was. He was a horrible human being who did horrible things. He hurt so many people, myself included. But in the end, he saved my life. It was because of him that we found out Brad Steel—along with Daphne, at that point—was alive. We found Dale and Donny, and we found an old girlfriend of your father’s—”

“Wait, wait, wait. What?”

“Yes. Your father had a girlfriend before me.” She smiles. “Why does that surprise you? I mean, look at your father. Sometimes I still can’t believe he chose me.”

“Because you’re beautiful, Mom.” I shake my head. “Of course he had other girlfriends. I just never knew.”

“Her name was Anna. Anna Shane. She and her family used to own or rent—I’m not sure which—some of the land that now belongs to the Pike family. It was originally owned by the Steel family at some point. Honestly, I don’t know all the logistics. But your father dated her, and his mother—Wendy Madigan—didn’t think she was good enough for him. So…”

“She had the woman taken.” I hold back puke.

“Yes.”

“My God. What if the same thing had happened to you?”

“There was a time when I thought it had. When I ended up on that island. But no one harmed me. Other than drugging me and abducting me, of course.” She lets out a huff.

“I can’t believe everything you’ve been through.”

Mom nods, closes her eyes for a few seconds. “In the end, I think my father tried to atone for his sins. It certainly would never have been possible, but I think he tried. He did save my life. He led your father and Uncle Talon to me and, consequently, to the island. So maybe it was Wendy who had me taken. The FBI was after them as well. Dad and Uncle Talon hired a man they thought was a Jamaican guide to take them to the island, but he turned out to be an FBI agent.”

I rub my forehead against an ache that’s beginning to form. “I’m not following all of this.”

Mom squeezes my shoulders. “I know. We just don’t have all the answers, Ava. Either Wendy or my father had me abducted. And someone, most likely my father, planted Brad Steel’s ring at my place as a clue.”

“Which led Dad to the island. And to you.”

“And to Dale and Donny. And to Anna Shane, Dad’s old girlfriend. And myriad others they saved that day.”

“But the trafficking ring was never broken up.”

“Apparently not.”

“And are they now?”

She frowns. “We just don’t know. We got them off our property, and we erased all evidence that could implicate our family. But we don’t know if the traffic ring is still working.”

I massage my forehead again. “I can’t deal with all of this.”

“I know, Ava. It’s too much for anyone to deal with.”

I wipe a tear away before it falls. “I want to see the ring. Do you still have it?”

She nods. “I offered it to your father, to both of your uncles, but of course none of them wanted it. It represented evil to them. It represents the same to me, but still… Itisan heirloom. I couldn’t bring myself to part with it.”

“Where is it?”

“It’s in one of the safes.”

“Could I see it?”

“Do you really want to go there?”

“I can’t shake the feeling that this future lawmakers club that has sprung up at the high school has something to do with all of this.”

“How could high school students have anything to do with our family? We don’t have any students at the school anymore. Besides, the original club was at a completely different high school. Tejon Prep in the city.”

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