Chapter 50 Understanding The Family History
Serena
I tried desperately to break the lock, but nothing worked. Mrs. Hale gripped the bars and pressed her face against them.
There was a sadness in her eyes I’d never seen before. Since the moment I arrived at the villa, she had been nothing but kind to me. She had done her best to keep me alert, to make sure I never got too comfortable.
Now I understood why she had warned me about their darkness. She knew they were both obsessed with me, but she hadn’t been sure I could handle them.
“Go. Save yourself. She’ll be back on her feet any moment now. You need to leave, Serena,” she said, reaching for my trembling hand.
I shook my head. “No, don’t do this. Saint and Sin deserve to reunite with you properly. Your story can’t end like this, not after watching them grow up and call someone else their mother. They deserve the truth, Mrs. Hale.”
Her lips trembled. “Tell them I—”
“No. I’m not telling them anything,” I said quickly, reaching for the pins in my hair.
I straightened them, then twisted them together until they formed one thick hook.
I heard the echo of a loud creak. Mrs Rivers was back on her feet.
“Serena, my boys need you. You have to go now.”
It felt strange hearing her call them my boys. I still wanted to believe I would wake up from this nightmare, because none of this felt real.
“Your boys are coming for us,” I said, forcing my voice to stay steady as I twisted my makeshift lockpick, trying to coax the lock open.
Then, with a soft click, it gave way.
I let out a heavy sigh of relief.
The bars were heavy, but I managed to force them open wide enough for Mrs. Hale to step out.
Mrs. Rivers’ loud laughter stopped us cold. “Two morons. Where do you think you’re going? There’s nothing but water all around us.” She ended with a manic laugh.
I urged Mrs. Hale to move faster. We reached the deck of the boathouse and gasped at the wide expanse of water stretching before us.
“Do you trust me?” I asked.
Mrs. Hale nodded.
“We’re going to jump. There are no waves, and we’re not near the reef, so we should be able to swim without having to hold our breath for too long. Okay?”
I heard her swallow thickly. She was terrified.
“We jump on three. One, two, three!”
We hurled ourselves over the edge of the deck and plunged into the water just as Mrs. Rivers reached it.
“Shit!”
Her curse was swallowed by the rush of water filling my ears.
“A wave is coming!” Mrs. Hale warned just as I started kicking.
It had been a long time since I’d swum, since my father had tried to teach me.
I was sinking. And I was dragging Mrs. Hale down with me.
I had underestimated the water. I could hear the waves rolling toward us, and Mrs. Hale let out a choked cry as one crashed over us, tearing us apart.
I tried to shout for her, but water flooded my mouth. I fought to keep my head above the surface, but it wasn’t working.
There was only water. Water, and more water.
The next wave dragged me under before I could fight it. There was no final thought, no chance to brace myself.
It happened too fast. I'd never faced anything like this before, so all I could do was let the water claim me.
I woke with a scream, my eyes snapping open to find Saint and Sin hovering over me.
Hun?! They were here? How? I still remembered gulping down water against my will, being tossed about by the waves, shouting for Mrs Hale.
I tried to sit up, but Sin pressed me back down.
“No moving just yet, babe. You literally just came back to life.”
I looked down at myself and cringed at the hospital gown covering my body. I turned my head to look around the room, hating the smell of antiseptic and drugs that immediately assaulted my nostrils.
Saint cupped my jaw, making me look at him. “You saved our mother.”
Sin smoothed a hand over my hair. “You did so well.”
I shook my head. “Where is she? Is she okay? I couldn’t swim. I nearly got us both killed. I need to apologize to her.”
They both chuckled softly.
“She’s okay,” Sin said. “She held on to you until our helicopter arrived. We brought both of you back with us.”
“What about...” I trailed off, unsure what to call her. Mrs. Rivers? Christabel?
“Christabel?” Saint said, bending to kiss my forehead. “We were more concerned with getting you and our mother out.”
I swallowed. “What about your father?”
They exchanged a meaningful look.
“Are you sure you want to hear all of that right now?” Saint asked gently, brushing the hair back from my forehead.
I nodded.
Saint exhaled slowly. “Our father has selective amnesia. It turns out our mother and Christabel used to be best friends. Our parents had been married for four years, but they couldn’t conceive. Then, one month before we were born, our father was in an accident that affected his brain.”
Two lines appeared on his forehead as he spoke, his expression tightening.
Sin picked up where he left off. “Before the accident, our father resented our mother for not being able to give him children. So when he came home after recovering, our mother had already signed an agreement with Christabel to step in as our mother until he recovered his memories.”
I bit my lip, trying to process everything. “How long was the agreement supposed to last?”
“Five years,” they said together.
I stared at them. “She cheated? Soooo…. your father still believes she’s his real wife?”
“Yes,” Sin said. “She forged a marriage certificate and destroyed the original one, the one that proved our mother was legally married to him. Our mother had no choice but to remain in the house as a servant, just so she could stay close to us.”
A chill ran through me.