Nervosa inclined his head.
“Still not a good reason. Daddy would’ve let Mom talk to her brother. Why didn’t you keep in touch?”
He seemed flustered and frustrated, hands spread. “I’m sorry, kid. We just didn’t. That’s how things go sometimes.”
“Why did my mother run away from home?”
He laughed, uncomfortable, and looked at Nervosa. “What’s this all about, Alex? I thought you had some questions for me about Oparid.”
“We can talk about that later,” Nervosa said quietly. “You should answer Melanie now.”
Uncle Cedric blinked rapidly at Nervosa’s tone and turned back to gaze at me with a wary frown. “Like I said, your mother had spirit.”
“I doubt she had spirit enough to leave everything she knew and loved behind. What happened after your father died?”
“My father’s death wasn’t easy on your mother. They were close.”
“Were they? How come she never talked about him then?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t spoken to her in years.”
“Why did my mom run away from your family? She left behind all your ample resources and lived like an urchin for years before she met my father. Why would she do something like that?”
“I don’t know,” he said, getting cold. “I took this meeting because I thought I was going to speak with Alex about a business matter. I didn’t to agree to be grilled about ancient history.”
“My mother never received a dime from her father’s estate. Don’t you think it’s odd? My grandfather left her nothing, and she struggled all on her own for years—”
“She landed a whale in the end, didn’t she?” Uncle Cedric’s voice was harsh, and Nervosa shifted closer, like he wanted to come shield me from my uncle’s ire. “Might’ve suffered for a bit, but I bet she hasn’t suffered since.”
“That’s not relevant. I want to know why she didn’t get a thing.”
“I don’t know. My father’s dead. I can’t ask him.”
“You’re not telling me the truth. You just said my mother was close with her father—”
“What do you want me to say?” His voice was on the edge of a growl and getting louder. “That my old man was an abusive prick? That everyone who ever met him hated his guts? You wouldn’t have liked your grandfather, I can promise you that. If you’re here looking for money, you’re wasting your time. The estate’s been settled since before you were born.”
“I’m an Oligarch’s daughter,” I said quietly, using the word he refused to say out loud. He flinched at hearing it. “I don’t need your pathetic fucking money.”
“Then what do you want? You’re here to stir up old wounds?”
“I want to know why my mother ran away from home and why she was cut off from the family.”
“And I can’t tell you that. If you want the truth, ask her, and if she won’t tell you, hire a medium and ask my father.” He pushed back from his desk and stood. “I’ve had enough of this conversation.”
I glared at him, wishing I could grab him by his collar and shake him or maybe smash his face through the glass. He had a comfortable, cushy life, partially because he’d stolen my mother’s inheritance.
There was a darkness in my family. A secret nobody wanted me to know. It was plastered all over my mother’s diary, but only ever spoken at sideways. There were hints of violence, of pain and abuse, and suggestions of what my mother and her brother wanted to do to fix it. My grandfather died suddenly, and I began to wonder if he’d died of natural causes at all.
“I’m here for the truth,” I said staring at my uncle. “I’m not leaving until I get it.”
“You will leave my house,” he said, looking toward Nervosa. “Are you going to sit there and let her berate me in my own home? I assumed we had a good relationship, Alex.”
“We do,” he said, sighing. He ran a hand through his hair and tugged at it. “But you see, I’m at an impasse. I want you to tell Melanie everything she wants to know, but I also need you to stop manufacturing Oparid, and I have a feeling I won’t get either of those things.”
My uncle’s mouth dropped open. “Stop manufacturing Oparid?”
“That’s right. Cut off production. I know you’ve been working with Silvano, and I can only imagine the size of the contract he gave you.”
“This is madness, even for you.”
He shrugged and pushed off the table, coming toward me. “Suit yourself. Melanie, I believe you’ve been introduced. Anything else you have to say to your uncle?”
I stood, seething. Uncle Cedric stared at Nervosa like he was seeing the man for the first time. Nervosa smiled back, perfectly calm.
“I know what you did,” I said quietly. “I know what happened to Granddad. And when I’m finished here, I’m going to prove it.” I turned and left the room.