Was there no hope of normalcy?

With the new information in mind, I swallowed the pill of reality. It was a large dose that sent shockwaves through my entire being. Accepting this new reality was going to be a tough hill to climb.

“Does he join them voluntarily? Wait, don’t answer that.” I held my hand up, trying not to physically clutch my pearls. “Let’s get back to dealing with Augustus. What will this meeting be like, and how do I act?”

Another man piped in. “Your mother was an expert when dealing with him. He practically groomed her and expected nothing but the best out of her every performance. A mentor to your mother, they held a very particular bond of close associates.”

He mentored my mother and taught her everything she knew, but I was left to flounder until she died. Was I supposed to catch on or what?

“So why didn’t he reach out sooner when she died?” My bluntness would be the death of me.

“Well, he did. While you were sequestered with that atrocious woman who gave everyone lip when we all reached out.” Mr. Caldwell butted in.

I wracked my brain to try to remember anything from Sylvia’s hell hole that would trigger a memory of any of this. As far as I knew, I was kept in the dark about most things and she never paid me any mind outside of her own proclivities. I was told to sit down, shut up, go to school, and mind my business.

Anything else would get me corporal punishment.

No letters came that I knew of. I never did much outside of school besides talk to Kelly. I lived in my bedroom–doing homework or reading to avoid her–for most of those years before I was ousted and was able to access some of my money to buy a house.

I even rummaged through memories of her abuse to try to search for clues. No dice.

“I never got anything,” I finally admitted into the silence. “What did she say to everyone?”

“Mostly excuses,” Evans said. “That you were grieving, didn’t want to take messages, or that you were out with friends, and that being underaged made her your legal caretaker. She threatened multiple lawyers on us, claiming you made that call and wanted to be left alone.”

I balled my fists on the table, trying not to slam them in frustration. First, she abuses me. Second, she isolates me. “She neglected... to relay that information to me.”

“Well, we have signed documents from you verifying certain details.”

That time I did slam my fists into the table. “Show me the fucking papers, Evans.”

All eyes fixed on me, some wide in surprise. A timid, soft-spoken girl like me finally snapping. Whatever Sylvia pulled was going to put her at the top of my hit list.