Slaughter Daughter by Eve Langlais
33
I could admitI glanced around for a hidden camera. This couldn’t be happening. My mom? A man-stealer?
“I think you’re mistaken.” I remained polite in case Fake-mom’s insanity turned from irrational to violent. And what the fuck was wrong with Braedon? He hadn’t said a word or even moved a muscle. If I didn’t know better, I’d say he was paralyzed in place.
“No mistake. Our parents arranged it at our birth, intent on joining our two lines. It would have been a powerful union.”
“So he wasn’t really your fiancé,” I argued. “His family was forcing him.”
“It wasn’t forcing. He wanted it until he met her,” she spat.
Her obviously being my mom. “He dumped you because he fell in love.”
“That human whore stole him from me. Humiliated me.”
The way she said “human” had me asking, “If you’re not human, then what are you?”
“Demon.” Her lips curved into a cruel smile. “And so is your father.”
I laughed. “My dad is not evil incarnate.” I’d seen him fast-forward the beginning of certain kid movies to spare me the parent dying. He made pancakes in heart shapes.
“Your father was a highly placed demon until he left it all for her. And I lost everything when my brother ended up marrying a cousin from your family instead. Because of your whore mother, I became nothing.”
The revenge now made so much sense, as did other things. “You’re the reason we moved all the time.”
Her lips curved. “Dear Geoffrey. He led me on a merry chase. But in the end, I found him. And I hurt him like he hurt me. By taking away his slut.”
The breath left me in a rush that had me wavering and sightless. My lips—hell, my whole face and soul—were numb as I muttered, “You killed my parents.”
“Only your mother. And not intentionally. I planned to torture her, which, in turn, would have plagued your father. However, the police spotted her driving the car and chased us. I barely survived the crash.”
Once more, my brain took a second to catch up. “You were in the car with my mom? What about my dad?”
“That coward went deep into hiding. Once I recovered, I went looking but couldn’t find him. Which is why I decided to see what would happen if I played with you. His only daughter.”
I reeled from the influx of information. The threats by a psycho wanting revenge for being jilted. My dad was possibly alive but ignoring me. Leaving me alone.
Maybe he was a demon. It would explain why he didn’t love me.
“My dad doesn’t care about me. If he did, he would have shown himself to me by now.”
“I know Geoffrey. He wouldn’t abandon you. However, he would pretend to be dead if he thought it would protect you.”
“Guess again. I don’t know where my dad is.”
“Close by, I’d wager. Probably even one of those you call friend. But which mask is he wearing? He wasn’t hiding inside that kid Peter, or Jackson. Now that you’re in my grasp, we’ll soon find out which body he chose.”
Fuck me, I was so screwed. I knew better than to expect my daddy to come riding to my rescue. “Your plan won’t work. My dad’s not here.”
“Then I guess you’ll die.”
