He ducked, narrowly missing being clobbered in the head. Too bad it hadn’t been lit. The glass tumbler hit the wall with a thud, shattering into chunks of glass that clattered to the floor. “You’re as crazy as your mother.” His hand went to the side of his neck where a sliver of glass had nicked him.
I lost it then. Jumping up to my feet, I faced my asshole stepbrother, flames igniting in my veins. “Don’t you dare compare me to her. She isnotmy mother.” The pressure behind my eyes warned me I was about to cry. Nothing I hated more than angry tears. I don’t know why I let my emotions get so bottled up that they came out in a gush.
Carter’s lips twitched.
“What is going on up here?” Angie demanded, hovering just outside the doorway behind Carter. He turned to the side so Angie could see us both.
I stood facing them, fuming. “Where do you want me to start? I don’t know, how about the fact that your stepson is trying to blackmail me? Or that this family is so disturbed? Do you have any idea what he has done to me? To Ainsley?”
Confused crinkled at the corners of her eyes. “Ainsley? What does she have to do with any of this?”
“How can you stand there and pretend you don’t know why what is going on? This is your fault. If you would just listen to me…” I shook my head, my body physically shaking with rage. “You have no idea how much shit he has put me through.”
Carter touched the small scratch on his neck, smearing a bead of blood. “She’s off her rocker. She needs help.”
“You would love that, wouldn’t you?” I snapped, temper simmering in my blood. “Have me sent away, committed to a psych ward. It wouldn’t fix your problems. If anyone needs to seek treatment, it’s you.”
“It might be good for you,” he pressed on like he hadn’t heard a word I said. “You’ve been under a lot of stress.”
I straightened my spine and raised my chin. “Hell no. This is not happening. You’re sick in the head. I’m not the one who needs help.”
Defeat slumped in Angie’s shoulders, the fire in her eyes extinguishing. “Josephine, stop. Just stop. Carter has a point. Steven and I have discussed you talking to someone. We think it might be a good idea.”
This wasn’t happening. Just when I thought my life couldn’t get any more mucked up. “I don’t need a shrink. Besides, do you really want me to air our dirty laundry to stranger?”
Angie tilted her head slightly to the side. “Carter, would you mind giving Josephine and me a moment alone?”
“Don’t bother. I’m leaving.” I went to grab a hoodie from the end of my bed.
Both Angie and Carter stood like a barricade at my door, neither of them budging. Since when had then become a unit working against me? My supposed own mother. Fuck this. I whirled toward the balcony doors.
Angie rushed to get in front of me, putting herself between the exit and me. A tinge of sadness worked its way into her pretty yet tired features. “You are not going anywhere. Not until we discuss what is going on with you. I told you that boy was no good. Look where hanging out with him has gotten you.”
“This is not Brock’s fault,” I ground out, my voice dropping an octave.
Carter made a snort of disbelief that did not help the situation. “The Elite do nothing but cause problems. They ruin lives. They’ve been trying to ruin mine for years.”
Okay, I’d heard enough. Brock, Grayson, Fynn, and Micah weren’t here to defend themselves, so I took it upon myself to do so on their behalf. “You don’t have a leg to stand on. You raped my sister. And god knows how many others are out there too afraid to come forward.”
Carter’s face went beet red. I first thought it might have been shame, but then quickly realized it was undiluted rage that trembled through him. He wanted to hurt me.
“Do you hear yourself? You don’t have a sister, honey,” Angie said in a voice that was full of pity and meant to pacify an uncontrollable toddler.
This time it was my turn to grin nefariously. “That’s where you’re wrong, Angie. Turns out, I have a sister and brother. Triplets. Imagine that.”
Her face drained utterly of color, all the confirmation I needed, not that I required more proof. I’d seen enough. “This is nonsense. I’m making you an appointment with a doctor.”
The surprise in Carter’s face only lasted a brief moment before he quickly put together the pieces. Perhaps he hadn’t known my secret after all; not that it mattered now. I was just glad I was the one who unveiled the truth. Not him.
“Oh really, so you didn’t have a baby girl who was born premature and died in the NICU at Elmwood Hospital?” And just like that, I unraveled Angie’s deepest, darkest secret. I blew the lid off it.
Shock turned to a calculating gleam so quick, I couldn’t believe it. She was already looking for a way to spin a web of lies. It was impressive and scary as hell. This woman was more than a drunk—she was a con artist. Nothing about her life was genuine or true.
Angie schooled her features, morphing her face into one of shock and disbelief. “Why would you say such hateful things to me? Do you really hate me that much, Josephine?”
So she was going for the woe-is-me innocent mom act. I was not buying it. And surprisingly, neither was Carter. Perhaps it wasn’t that surprising at all that he believed me. Carter was, after all, his father’s son and a conman in his own right. It looks like Angie finally found a family who fit her perfectly.
I was the odd man out.