Total pages in book: 140
Estimated words: 127933 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 640(@200wpm)___ 512(@250wpm)___ 426(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 127933 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 640(@200wpm)___ 512(@250wpm)___ 426(@300wpm)
For a moment, I wasn’t sure who she was referring to—her? Him?
But as her gaze continued to study me, I realized she meant my parents. She saw something in me that reminded her of them. The intensity of her stare, the way she was dissecting my features as if looking for traces of people she once knew, left me unnerved.
I swallowed, my throat tight. “Who do you mean?”
She smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “You’re truly Alistair. It’s all in the blood.”
Beatrice cut in with a soft smile, her voice steady and warm. "I'll tell her, Adelita."
Adelita.
The name echoed in my mind, a strange resonance flickering through me. It was so close to mine, like a reflection of something I hadn’t yet grasped. I glanced toward Alexander’s mother—Adelita—trying to process this new connection, but she only gave a small nod, confirming the name I’d just learned.
Beatrice handed me a glass of water, and I accepted it gratefully, trying to still the sudden unease rolling in my stomach. Esther took the seat beside me, offering her quiet presence, but her eyes held the same knowing look as the others. Beatrice's smile widened, and she began, her voice taking on a storytelling tone as though she’d told this tale a hundred times before.
“Adelita was a close friend of mine in high school,” she started, leaning back in her seat. “That’s how she believed she met my brother, Draven.”
I felt Alexander’s mother—Adelita—shift slightly beside me, her eyes still on me, but Beatrice continued without pause.
“Truth be told,” Beatrice added with a conspiratorial wink, “her story is a lot like yours. She and her sister are Asmos’, the last of them. That’s relevant.”
I blinked, trying to piece it together. Asmos'? I’d never heard the term before, but something about the way she said it made me think it wasn’t just a family name. It was heavier, more significant, like the weight of ancient history wrapped up in a single word.
Beatrice watched my expression closely, then went on. “Well, her sister, Isabel, was dating a real nasty piece of work called Troy—and also cheating on him with Adelita’s dear friend, and mine, Kyle.”
She paused, her eyes scanning my face to understand. “Are you following so far?” she asked, her voice light but with an edge, as if what she was telling me held more weight than just a complicated love triangle.
I nodded slowly, though my mind raced to keep up. “I think so,” I said, my voice hesitant. There was more to this than I could see, but I sensed that the history she was weaving was leading somewhere... and it involved me.
Beatrice's gaze softened, and she gave me a reassuring smile. “Good. Because the story doesn’t end there.”
She took a sip of her drink, her eyes glimmering with something between nostalgia and something darker as she continued. “Well, Isabel wound up pregnant, and Kyle knew she would need to be brought back to the Isle. This was before it became what it is today—back when things were a lot more complicated. Many things were different.”
She gave me a small, knowing smile, like she was letting me in on some long-buried secret. “It worked out well since Adelita was in a relationship with Draven—though, admittedly, she didn’t know at the time that he was Diabolus,” Beatrice paused, her laugh light but carrying a hint of the gravity behind her words. “Anyway, they were brought to the Isle. Isabel wasn’t the happiest here. Her now ex, Troy—well, he was dead by then. And eventually, she lost her tongue. But don’t worry, that didn’t slow her down any.”
She stopped, her expression shifting briefly as a flicker of sadness crossed her face before she pushed through it and continued. “Isabel wound up losing the baby,” Beatrice said softly, her tone carrying more weight now. “Shortly after that, a certain someone helped her escape.” She shot a playful glance at Adelita, her words laced with a joking tone.
Alexander’s mother, Adelita, shifted slightly but didn’t speak.
The tension in the room thickened, and I found myself holding my breath. I glanced between them, trying to process the weight of what Beatrice was telling me. The pieces of this twisted history were falling into place, and it was clear now that Adelita had played a role in helping her sister escape the Isle—a move that went directly against everything this place stood for. What baffled me was the way they spoke about it so casually, like these were just the facts of life. Loss, punishment, and betrayal all wrapped up in a web of relationships and secrets.
Beatrice continued, her tone softening as she delved deeper into the story. “We didn’t see Isa for a long time after that. We sent many to find her, but it wasn’t easy. Eventually, Kyle did. And that’s where you come in.” She smiled, though the warmth of it didn’t reach her eyes. “He lost Isa again before he could bring her back to the Isle. She was good at hiding. So good, in fact, that she gave birth to you off the record and raised you for four years before we found her again.”