Chapter 117 Not Your Mother

Chapter 117 Not Your Mother


\-Vanessa-

Reginald looked almost amused when I entered the correctional center.

“You cannot keep me here for long,” he said as soon as I sat across from him.

“I know.”

His smile widened. “I have people. Connections. You know how this works.”

I nodded. “I do.”

“Then you should also know that this arrest will not last.”

I folded my hands on the table. “That is why I came to see you.”

His smile faded slightly.

I continued. “I know the kind of man you are. I know you have connections… And I personally don't intend to keep you here for long. I don't intend to let you go either.”

He studied me, trying to understand my words. “You think you can destroy me?”

A smile curved my lips. “I don't think. I know.”

“You have no idea what you're dealing with—”

“I know exactly what I'm dealing with. A man who spent years hiding behind powerful people and calling it influence.”

His expression hardened. “You are making a mistake.”

“No.”

I stood.

“You made the mistake by telling me I wasn't useful to you any longer. Pretending that all I was meant nothing… I'll make sure you never leave this rotten place. I'll make sure you die a discharged man.”

He gritted his teeth, struggled against his chains, but it was no use. 

And for the first time since I knew him… he looked powerless. Pitiful even.

I smiled at him. Took one last look at him, turned and walked away.

It was the last time I'd see him alive. 

I knew because everything was in place, and soon enough, everything he'd done would catch up with him. 

“Rest in peace, Reginald.”

My next stop was the warehouse. I arrived to see Lilith's car parked at the entrance while Lenny and Brick stood outside.

“How did she get here?”

What had these two idiots done? My mind raced as the car came to a halt. 

I rushed toward them. “What's going on here?”

“She drove here herself,” Brick said. 

“Say she's your daughter and said she'd wait for you,” Lenny added. 

I stared at them both in disbelief while trying to wrap my head around the situation. How? Why? 

I walked in to see Lilith standing under a light, arms folded across her chest like she'd come for war.

“Lilith.”

She stared at me. Her face was pale, and there was fear in her eyes, but she did not look away.

“How did you—”

“I followed you the other night. I wanted to know where you were going,” she said firmly.

I bit back a laugh. This girl was no longer afraid of me. 

I reached into my bag, and pulled out a box of cigarettes and a lighter. It was one of the bad habits I'd picked up recently.

I lit it.

She scoffed. “So now you're smoking too?”

“What do you really want, Lilith? Honestly?” I asked. “You know your parents are murderers, kidnappers. Yet you haven't told the cops. Yet you keep standing here and acting like you're some fucking saint!”

Her expression hardened.
“Who is she?”

“That is none of your concern.”

“It is now,” she said. “This is the last time I'm willing to turn a blind eye… Let them go, or I'll do something you'd hate.”

A laugh escaped me before I could stop it. I almost choked on my cigar. “Oh, Lilith, honey… Is that a threat?”

She stepped closer. “How do you live with yourself? How do you go to sleep at night knowing you're unlawfully keeping prisoners?”

I sighed. “You sound like the sisters at the orphanage trying to lead a child to salvation… And it's not working. It won't.”

I turned and walked away from her. “I worked hard to earn this life I'm living. I paid my dues… Do you know what will happen if I let them both go?” 

I met her eyes. “I'll lose everything.”

“You've already lost,” she said firmly.

I stifled a pained laugh. It was same words he said to me last time. Same spirit.

“It's true what they say, blood is indeed thicker than water.” 

She frowned. “What's that supposed to mean?” 

I stepped forward, closing the gap between us. “It means you should have gone home, Lilith.”

The fear she'd so desperately tried to hide finally bled out from her face, her lips quivered, her eyes searched mine, and her legs stumbled backwards.

“Lenny!” I yelled, holding her gaze. “Get in here.”

Lenny was by my side in seconds. “Hold her.”

“No,” she muttered, retreating.

Lenny approached her, she shoved him away.

“Don't touch me.”

He caught her arm and she fought him, kicking and twisting until Brick grabbed her from behind.

“Let me go!”

“Stop fighting.”

“Mother!”

She looked at me.

“Please.”

For a moment, I almost told them to release her, that she was nothing more than a coward. Then I remembered she wasn't mine to begin with. 

Reginald had taught me she was nothing more than a pawn. Now she'd served her purpose, but she knew too much.

“Tie her up.”

She struggled again. “This is wrong! This is not what you are, Mother—”

“Oh, you have no idea what I am.”

“I do… A fucking monster, that's what.”

The words had barely left her mouth before Lenny struck her.

My blood boiled.

I crossed the distance between us and slapped him hard across the face. “Who the fuck gave you the right to touch her?”

“I’m sorry, ma’am.”

“This fucking idiot!” I spat, glaring at him.

Lilith slowly lifted her head. Her eyes were wet, but there was no fear left in them. Only something that looked painfully close to hope.

“See?” she whispered. “There’s still a little good in you.”

I stared at her for a moment before walking toward her. “I’ll ask you again. What do you really want, Lilith?”

She held my gaze. “I wanted my mother back.”

I looked at her, and for a brief moment… Just very brief, something close to pity stirred in me. 

Then it disappeared, and something darker took its place.

“I’m not your mother,” I told her quietly.

Shock, disbelief, and hurt flashed across her face all at once.

I turned to Brick. “Tie her up. Then you two go get them both.”

They did as instructed. Once everyone was tied up, I made sure they were positioned in a circle, facing one another.

Lilith looked at me. I stared right back.

“Welcome to the family reunion, Lilith.”

I turned toward Camille.

“Meet your real mother.”

She stared at the woman as though the world had shifted beneath her feet.

But I wasn’t finished. Not until the color drained completely from her face.

“And this is David… your twin brother.”