Steel Princess (Royal Elite #2) by Rina Kent

She swallows audibly as if summoning the courage to say the next words. “Then, a year later, she sent me wedding pictures with your father. She told me she was happy and she wanted me to be happy. Then…” She clears her throat. “She sent me pictures of her firstborn, Eli, then… of you.”

“And you still never came,” I ask.

“I had a trauma in Birmingham, Elsie. The moment I step into it, all I recall is Dad throwing an ashtray at my head because I hid his liquor.” She pulls the side of her ginger hair up to show me a faded scar. “I bled until I thought I was going to die. After I was discharged from the hospital, I packed my things and promised to never return to Birmingham again.”

“What do you know about my parents’ marriage?” I ask.

“Elsie…”

“Tell me, Aunt.”

“Abby was mentally unwell.” Aunt sighs, appearing lost in her own thoughts. “She suffered from depression and some manic episodes since our mother’s death. It became worse with Dad’s treatment of her. When she got married, she seemed like she was getting better. She smiled more and was slowly healing from Dad’s abuse. Ethan looked like he took care of her. He was the richest freaking tycoon in Birmingham at the time. He owned coal and steel factories and everyone feared him — Dad included. I was happy that he couldn’t hurt her anymore.”

“Wait.” I hold up a hand. “Ethan? I thought my dad’s name was John.”

“We wanted to hide you from your father’s people,” Uncle says.

My father’s people? What is that supposed to mean? “Why would you want to hide me from them?”

“Because they want to take you away from us,” Aunt snarls.

“Blair,” Uncle soothes her.

“Tell me more,” I say.

“More what?” Aunt frowns.

“You said Ma was healing, but something wrong happened, didn’t it?”

“I told you, pumpkin.” Uncle appears pained. “Eli drowned.”

A sob catches in Aunt’s throat. “I don’t think Abby has ever been the same after that. You were six and he was seven. You were playing by the lake when he went in and never resurfaced again. Abby wrote me letters telling me that she holds you to sleep. She called Eli the one who shall not be named because now, she’d only focus on raising you.”

My heart beats so fast as if it’ll come out of my chest.

It all makes sense now.

The way I remember she held me like she wanted to squeeze the life out of me. The way she’d sing me that song in that haunting voice.

Why couldn’t I remember what happened with Eli?

How come he only visited me once in my dreams?

“What about my dad?” I ask. “Where was he?”

“He helped her.” Aunt sniffles and wipes her tears. “Or tried to, anyway. Now that I think about it, Eli’s death destroyed her just like Mum’s death destroyed my dad.”

Silence falls in the room short of my harsh breathing.

I should stop, process all the information I just gathered and then return with questions.

But now that I started, I can’t just stop.

I’m like an insatiable monster.

“How did I survive the fire, Aunt?”

“I really don’t know, Elsie.” She glimpses at Uncle and he takes her hand in his. “We were called for being your next of kin that day. We found you in the hospital, injured, and screaming. Sometimes, you’d hit me. Dr Khan said it’s because I remind you of your mother.”

“Injured?” I stare at them, incredulous. “I thought I needed the surgery because of my heart condition.”

“There was never a heart condition,” Uncle says.

“Jaxon!” Aunt shrieks.

“She needs to know everything we do, Blair.”

“W-what do you mean there was never a heart condition, Uncle?” My breathing deepens as if I’m an injured animal. “Then what about the scar? The doctor? The appointments?”

“Those are true, pumpkin. You did have heart surgery, but it’s not because of a heart condition.”

“Then because of what?”

“You were shot,” he says the word with pain. “It damaged your internal tissues and you developed a heart condition because of that.”

My feet falter and it takes all my strength to remain standing. “Who… who shot me?”

“We don’t know, Elsie.” Aunt sobs. “Even the police didn’t know. We were just happy you remained alive.”

“And how did Jonathan King come in the picture?”

Aunt wipes her cheeks. “He just showed up and told us he’d pay for your surgery and that we can pay him back later.”

“He never said why?”

Both of them shake their heads.

“We were desperate, pumpkin,” Uncle says. “We didn’t have that much money for the surgery, and we couldn’t process your father’s will when he just deceased.”

“My father’s will?”

“Your father, Ethan Steel, was a tycoon.” Uncle rubs the back of his head. “He has people running his fortune until you come of age to inherit it. You’re Steel’s heiress.”

“No, she’s not,” Aunt snaps then her eyes soften when they meet mine. “Steel empire was built as ruthlessly as Jonathan King built his. You don’t want that, right? You’re Elsa Quinn, not Elsa Steel.”