Page 136 of Ruthless Ends

“Did you know who he was when you met?” I don’t know who’s more surprised by the question, me or her.

What’s even more surprising is she answers.

“No. I didn’t know about his past as Westcott at all until after Adrienne was born, until after the scandal was out. He went by William Adler when I met him.”

“What was he like?” I whisper.

She cocks her head to the side, and her voice comes out soft as she says, “Charming. Kind. I didn’t make it easy for him either, but he never gave up. Kept pursuing me. Kept insisting I was the one. He didn’t turn out to be the man I fell for, but believe me when I say this, Valerie.” Finally, she turns, and her eyes are glassy. “No matter his lies and manipulations, I would do it all again to end up with you three girls.”

I stare at her, too stunned to respond. We don’t talk like this. We don’tcarelike this. She made those expectations as a Darkmore clear very early on.

But if what she’d said in Reid’s memory was true, that she was protecting us, all the while reeling from the betrayal of the man she’d thought was the love of her life…

The one thing that has me swaying toward believing her is what I saw in the shadow realm. Ifthatwas the opposite of her, then at least some of the past twenty-two years must have been an act.

But act or not, every second of it felt real to me. And I don’t know how to reconcile knowing the reasoning behind it and remembering experiencing it.

I take a step away, and uncertainty pinches her brow like she’s just as confused on how to navigate this.

“Are you…?” I clear my throat. “Are you okay?”

“I’ll be fine.”

I rub at a spec of nothing on my shirt so I don’t have to maintain the eye contact. But when I look up, she’s not staring at me—she’s staring at my ring.

“I’m happy for you,” Mom says, and I can’t help but wonder if Reid and I ever would have happened without her. She’d orchestrated so much behind the scenes to keep me alive, to bring us together, so many little pieces that had to fall into place for us to end up here.

Against my better judgment, I throw my arms around her shoulders. She’s slow to hug me back, her touch light and unsure when she does.

“I’m not ready to forgive you,” I say. “But I don’t want to spend the rest of my life hating you either. I’m glad you’re okay. And I want to thank you for everything you’ve done for me. If there’s a way for me to give some of this magic back—”

“No,” she insists, her arms tightening around me. “You keep it.”

“Mom?”

I pull away at Adrienne’s voice, stepping aside as she hurries in for a hug.

Another pair of arms circles my neck at the same time, crushing me against my other sister’s chest. “Thank God,” breathes Calla. “I was so worried about you.”

I hug her back, my eyes falling shut. “You scared me pretty good at the beginning there.”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you sooner. If Westcott knew, he would’ve thrown me in the hole with you and I would’ve been no help to anyone. I had to keep up the act.”

“No, that was smart. The others, the daughters, did you…”

“They’re fine. A few of Auclair’s Marionettes helped me subdue them. We put some of those red salt cuffs on them for now, just in case, but they didn’t really seem to understand what they were doing. Val, I—” She chokes on a sob. “I’m—I’msosorry about Reid and everything.”

“Shh. I know.” I squeeze her tighter and rest my chin on the top of her head.

Because the fact of the matter is, I spent years thinking she was dead and wishing to have her back, a prayer I never thought would be answered. And then it was, for a moment, until I saw her on that stage and thought only Popi was looking back. And I felt that soul-crushing grief all over again.

But now she’s here and standing in front of me, and I’m not willing to waste any more time.

I pull away with a smile and squeeze her shoulders. “You just saved all of us today, you know that?”

She smiles as someone calls my name behind me.

“Go on.” She releases me and joins Mom and Adrienne’s hug.

---