Total pages in book: 29
Estimated words: 30055 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 150(@200wpm)___ 120(@250wpm)___ 100(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 30055 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 150(@200wpm)___ 120(@250wpm)___ 100(@300wpm)
I don’t know what to say.
For once, she doesn’t seem to expect me to.
She takes one last look at me.
“You look very beautiful,” she whispers. “And your dinner monologue was quite entertaining.”
Then she turns and walks away.
I close the door and lean against it, my heart sinking a little more with every second that passes.
Ten.
Nine.
Eight.
I don’t even make it to seven.
Before I know it, I’m grabbing my purse and jacket and rushing back into the hallway.
“Wait!”
She stops halfway down the hall and turns around.
“Give me two minutes,” I say. “I’ll come with you.”
RESTITUTION (N.):
THE ACT OF RETURNING A PROPERTY, ASSET, OR ECOSYSTEM TO ITS ORIGINAL OR FORMER CONDITION AFTER IT HAS BEEN DAMAGED, DESTROYED, OR WRONGFULLY TAKEN.
SCARLETT
The faint crackle of the flames in the restaurant’s hearth is the only sound sifting between my mother and me.
She’s staring at me from across the table, crossing and uncrossing her legs while I’m silently wondering which one of us is supposed to break the ice.
“Can I interest you ladies in a glass of wine?” A waiter suddenly appears beside our table, holding up a bottle. “The chef sent this over.”
“Yes, please.”
“Gladly.”
We answer in unison.
He fills our glasses to the brim, sets down two menus, and disappears as quickly as he arrived.
“Your brothers just found out you’re no longer enrolled at Harvard,” she says. “I mean, you left months ago, but the news is new to them.”
“I’m shocked you didn’t tell them the same day you found out.”
“I don’t see why.” She reaches for her wine. “From what I remember, I was hell-bent on making you return and keeping that information to myself.”
A familiar burn spreads through my chest as the memory of what came next rushes back to me.
Maybe coming here with you was a bad idea.
“I stopped telling your brothers and your father things years ago.” She looks directly at me. “They were always too wrapped up in the ‘family business’ to give much thought to the little things. I don’t even think they’ve realized I’ve moved all my things out of the estate.”
“Just temporarily, right?”
“No, Scarlett.” She shakes her head. “Forever. Your father will be receiving divorce papers at the end of this month.”
“Why?” I ask. “Better yet, what happened to all those women who would kill to have access to your lifestyle?”
“I didn’t realize your father took that murder line so seriously.” Her voice drops.
“What are you saying?” I can barely hear my own voice.
“Your father is willing to permanently silence anyone he thinks is getting in his way, and I didn’t realize it until after he was arrested…”
I swallow. “Was Francis one of those people?”
“Yes.” Tears prick her eyes. “It was silly of me to ever get too close to him anyway. Your father hated the idea of me befriending any of the staff.”
“It’s not like you were dating Francis,” I say. “I really liked him, too.”
“I was in love with Francis.” She dabs at her eyes. “I should’ve taken him up on his offer to run away together, but I was too concerned with keeping my lifestyle.”
“Is he really dead?”
She bursts into sobs and nods. “Lucas all but admitted it to me weeks ago.”
I grab a napkin and move to her side of the table, pressing a hand against her shoulder.
“It’s my—It’s my fault.” Her voice breaks. “I forgot to turn off the cameras in my town car once. Just once…”
“Do you know where he, um, buried him?”
“I think I have an idea.” She dabs at her eyes again. “In one of his off-limits places at the estate, I’m sure.”
“One of?” I arch a brow. “The old water well was the only place, right?”
She doesn’t answer.
“Mom, the well was the only place he marked as off-limits, correct?”
“Sure…”
The defeated look in her eyes tells me the real answer, and I can’t help but push a little harder.
“Did you ever know what he actually did for the family business?” I ask. “Like, the main details?”
“No, I only knew bits and pieces,” she says. “He was wealthy, successful, and a lot more experienced than me, and that’s all I focused on at the time. I mean, I knew he operated in the gray areas and cut out middlemen to sell all types of supplies, but I never thought…”
She stops talking as the waiter sets down a basket of bread.
The moment he walks away, she immediately knocks back her glass.
“Well, maybe—” I pause. “Maybe he didn’t start off as terrible as he eventually became, and—”
“He’s a monster, Scarlett.” She cuts me off with a deep-throated cry. “I married a monster, and there’s no pretty way to put it.”
“I damn near turned into one myself.” Her cries come harder. “And I almost ruined you. I almost made you as fucked up as I am.”
Completely speechless, I rub her back.
“I promise you, Scarlett.” Her watery eyes meet mine. “If you give me a chance to be the mother I should’ve been to you, I will be. Please.”