The Mother

My mother walked into the mansion like she owned it.

She stopped in the center of the foyer. Turned slowly. Looked at the chandeliers. The marble floors. The portraits of dead men on the walls.

"Rex has good taste," she said. Her voice was exactly how I remembered. Low. Calm. Like she had all the time in the world.

"You have no right to be here," I said.

She turned to face me. Her green eyes met mine. "I have every right. I am your mother."

"You faked your death."

"Yes."

"For ten years."

"Yes."

"You let me grieve. You let me plan revenge against a dead man. You let me turn myself into a weapon."

She tilted her head. "And look how well you turned out."

I wanted to hit her. I wanted to scream. I did neither.

Rex moved to stand beside me. His hand found the small of my back. A warning. A promise.

"Mrs. Thorne," he said. "Welcome to my home."

She smiled. "Thank you, Rex. I see you have been taking care of my daughter."

"She is my wife."

"Yes. I know. I arranged it."

The words hung in the air like smoke.

"You," I said. "You arranged the marriage."

"Of course I did. Who else? Isabella? She cannot arrange her own hair." My mother walked to the living room. Sat down on the couch. Crossed her legs. "Are you going to stand there all day, or are you going to sit and talk with me?"

I looked at Rex. He nodded.

We sat across from her. I kept my hands in my lap. Kept my face calm. Kept my voice steady.

"Start talking," I said.

"What do you want to know?"

"Everything."

"That will take days."

"I have time."

My mother sighed. She looked at Rex. "She gets her stubbornness from me."

"I noticed," Rex said.

"I am right here," I said. "Talk to me. Not about me."

She looked at me. Her eyes softened. Just a little.

"Your father is dead," she said. "Victor. The man you thought was your father. He died three years ago. Heart attack. Alone in his study. I found the body."

"You found him?"

"I have been watching over everything, Mira. Even when you did not know it."

"Why did you fake your death?"

"Because Victor was going to kill me."

"He was going to kill you?"

"He found out about the affair. About your real father. He was going to put a bullet in my head and make it look like an accident." She paused. "So I beat him to it. I disappeared. I let everyone think I was dead. And I waited."

"Waited for what?"

"For the right moment. For you to be old enough. Strong enough. Ready."

"Ready for what?"

My mother leaned forward. Her voice dropped.

"Ready to take your place, Sable. Ready to inherit everything."

I shook my head. "I do not want anything from you."

"You do not have a choice."

"There is always a choice."

"Not in this family." She looked at Rex. "Tell her."

Rex's jaw tightened. "This is between you and your mother."

"No," I said. "You do not get to hide. You have been keeping secrets too. Both of you. And I am done with secrets."

My mother laughed. It was a quiet sound. Almost sad.

"You sound like me when I was your age."

"I am nothing like you."

"You are exactly like me. That is why I chose Rex for you. That is why I knew you would survive. That is why I am not afraid to tell you the truth now."

"What truth?"

She reached into her coat. Pulled out a photograph. Handed it to me.

A man. Dark hair. Sharp jaw. Green eyes like mine.

"Your real father," she said. "His name was Dante Marchetti."

I stared at the photograph. Then at Rex.

"Marchetti?"

Rex's face was pale. "Dante was my uncle."

My mother nodded. "Rex's uncle. Your father. That makes you cousins."

The room tilted. I grabbed the arm of the couch.

"You married me to my cousin?"

"I married you to the only man who could protect you."

Rex stood up. Walked to the window. His back was to us.

"You knew," I said to him. "You knew this whole time."

He did not turn around. "I found out two years ago."

"Two years. And you did not tell me."

"I was going to. When the time was right."

"The time was right before the wedding."

"I did not want to scare you away."

I stood up. My hands were shaking.

"Everyone in this room has been lying to me. Every single person."

My mother stood up too. "We lied to protect you."

"Protect me? You faked your death. You let me become a monster. You married me to my cousin without telling me. That is not protection. That is control."

"That is love."

"That is not love," I said. "You do not know what love is."

The silence was heavy. My mother looked at me for a long time. Then she sat back down.

"Fine," she said. "Ask your questions. I will answer. No more lies."

"Why did Dante die?"

"He was murdered. By Victor. Your father found out about the affair and had Dante killed."

"Victor killed him?"

"Poison. Slow. The same poison Victor used on me. But I survived. Dante did not."

I sat back down. My legs would not hold me.

"So Victor killed my real father. Then tried to kill you. Then you faked your death to escape him."

"Yes."

"And then Victor died anyway. Of a heart attack."

"Yes."

"So your faked death was pointless."

My mother smiled. It was a cold smile.

"Not pointless. It gave me ten years to plan. Ten years to build. Ten years to make sure you would be ready when the time came."

"Ready for what?"

"To take the empire, Mira. The Marchetti empire. The Thorne empire. Both of them. They are yours. Rightfully yours."

"I do not want an empire."

"You do not have a choice."

"Stop saying that."

"It is the truth."

I looked at Rex. He had turned from the window. His face was unreadable.

"You knew about this too," I said.

"I knew she wanted you to inherit," he said. "I did not know about Dante. Not until two years ago."

"And you stayed married to me anyway."

"I stayed because I wanted you. Not because of an empire. Not because of your mother. Because of you."

My mother watched us. Her eyes were sharp.

"He loves you," she said. "I did not plan that part. But I am not sorry it happened."

"Did you plan any of it?" I asked.

"I planned the marriage. I planned the body double. I planned the lie about your father. I planned everything."

"Everything?"

"Except you, Mira. I did not plan you. You surprised me."

I did not know if that was a compliment or an insult.

Rex sat down next to me. Took my hand.

"Your mother is not the enemy," he said.

"Then who is?"

"Whoever killed Marco. Whoever is inside this house. Whoever is trying to destroy both families."

My mother nodded. "There is someone else. Someone working in the shadows. Someone who wants the empire for themselves."

"Isabella?"

"No. Isabella is a pawn. She does not have the brain for this."

"Then who?"

"I do not know yet. That is why I came back. To find them. To stop them. Before they stop us."

"Us?"

My mother looked at me. At Rex. At our hands.

"You are my daughter. He is my nephew. We are family. Whether you like it or not."

"I do not like it."

"I know. But you will learn to live with it. You are strong. You are smart. You are my daughter."

"I am Sable," I said. "That is the only name I want."

My mother smiled. It was a real smile this time. Small. Sad.

"I know. I named you."

She stood up. Walked to the door.

"Where are you going?" I asked.

"To my room. I am tired. We can talk more in the morning."

"You are staying here?"

"Where else would I go?"

I looked at Rex. He nodded.

"She stays," he said.

My mother paused at the door. Looked back at me.

"I am sorry, Mira. For the lies. For the secrets. For the ten years."

"Sorry does not fix anything."

"I know. But it is a start."

She walked out.

I sat on the couch. Rex's hand was still in mine.

"She is lying," I said. "About something. I can feel it."

"Probably," Rex said. "But she is also telling the truth about some things."

"Which things?"

"I do not know yet. But we will find out."

"Together?"

He squeezed my hand.

"Together."

I stayed on the couch long after Rex went to bed.

My mother was in a room down the hall. My sister was in the city somewhere, probably plotting. My dead father was actually dead. My real father was also dead. My husband was my cousin.

And somewhere in this house, a traitor was watching. Waiting. Planning.

My phone buzzed.

Lin.

Found something. The traitor moved tonight. Checked your mother's file. Then deleted the log. But I recovered it.

My heart stopped.

Who? I typed.

The answer came three minutes later.

Mrs. Park.

The housekeeper. The woman who knew my mother. The woman who said she wanted to help.

The traitor was sleeping down the hall.

And I had trusted her.

I stood up. Walked to the kitchen. Mrs. Park's room was at the end of the corridor. Light underneath the door.

She was awake.

I knocked.

"Mira?" Her voice was soft. "Is that you?"

"Yes," I said. "We need to talk."

The door opened.

Her face was calm. Too calm.

"Come in," she said.

I walked into the traitor's room.

And closed the door behind me.