“Nate, using your magic is as simple as telling them to forget. See? No harm done.” She tapped a finger against her lips. “Once this is over, we can raze some of these wilted plants and change the land over to corn, give my fields a time to rest. I admit we got a little too ambitious, planting all of them this year, but Addison can help the garden forget, and we’ll all be better for it.”

Addison released her hold on Sylvia and stumbled away from her. “Wait…”

“I suppose I should thank you all,” Sylvia said. “Everyone’s here. Now that we all know that Kaden and Irene are Addison’s parents, I can pull just enough of these memories out to make us into the happy family I’d always hoped we could be.”

“A happy family you can control?” Kaden said. “No thank you.”

“Don’t interrupt me,” she said. “If you all know what happened, then you all have the bourbon in your system. Which means that all it will take is one word from me and everything you’ve uncovered will be gone. We’ll have to do something about Quinn.”

“Don’t you dare touch her,” Taylor said.

“Nate, I’m sure you’ll be up to the task,” she said.

“Me?” He blinked. His eyes widened.

“Don’t worry,” she said. “I’ll take it from you, just like last time.”

“No,” Addison whispered. “It can’t be true.”

“It’ll all be over soon,” Sylvia said. “Only this time, we’ll make sure you can’t get the memories back.”

“You… lied to me?” Addison said.

Irene watched her daughter’s heart break before her eyes.

Addison dropped to her knees and shoved her hands into the soil. “Please,” she whispered.

Sylvia let out an exasperated sigh. “Now’s not the time to act the hero, dear. We’ll take care of this, and then we can fix the garden together. It’s time for you all to forget—”

Chapter 44

Addison

The ground around them began to shake. Soil shifted. Sylvia stumbled, her sentence left unfinished as Addison fell back into her mother.

The bottle of bourbon slipped from Irene’s hands. Glass shattered as it hit the ground. Bourbon spilled into the soil, and with it, whatever memories of that summer that may have been left inside.

All at once, ferns sprouted from the dirt, encircling the Haywoods and Kaden right along with them. Massive black fronds unfurled, so thick it was impossible to see through to the other side. Sylvia’s voice faded, inaudible through the foliage.

Maura turned in a circle. “What did you do, you beautiful girl?”

But Addison barely heard her. After a life without a parent’s love, without a grandparent’s love, she’d finally found a grandmother who wanted her, but it had been a mirage. She dropped to her knees and held a hand over her heart.