Chapter 18
Callie
A fter Avery leaves, I turn to look at my mother. "What do you think of Avery?"
"I think it's wonderful that you've found so many people you love and who love you in return. It's all a mother could ever ask for, LeeLee." She grabs my hand with eyes full of trepidation.
"Momma, what's going on?"
"I need to talk to you about something. When your father told me you were back on the compound, I promised myself I would tell you the truth. I would have told you sooner, but he forbade me from talking to you, and I didn't want to risk disobeying him. He would have hurt one of us if I tried, you know that."
I wince at her words. I told her about what Seb and I did to my father when we were on the plane after fleeing the compound. I didn't want there to be any secrets between us. I also didn't want her to be upset with me for my role in what happened. My father deserved to die, but I wasn't sure if my mother still loved him. She told me then that the only reason she stayed with him at Rogue was to try her best to protect me. And she did her best at that.
"Momma, he hurt us both, no matter what we did. There was no escaping that fate."
"I suppose you're right, and I'm so sorry I couldn't protect you from that pain." She sighs, and her tearful eyes meet mine. "I went along with him from the start because I wanted you so badly, but this was never supposed to be your life, LeeLee."
"What are you talking about?" I furrow my brows and tilt my head in concern.
"Before I go into further detail, I want you to know that you've always been my biggest blessing. I love you more than anything in the entire world, and I'm so proud of the woman you have become despite all the struggles you’ve had to face."
"Momma, you're scaring me."
She takes a deep breath, and her eyes fall to the floor next to me, refusing to look at me.
"Your father and I tried to have children for years. When we got married, he said having children was the most important thing to him. I thought it was sweet. I thought he loved me and wanted to start a family, but I was so blind. I didn't realize he only wanted to secure his legacy for Rogue." She pauses, almost as if she's afraid to keep telling me.
"It's okay, take your time," I reassure her.
"I had three miscarriages in five years. For some reason, I just wasn't able to carry a child. Every doctor I saw told me there was nothing physically wrong with me. They couldn't find any sort of explanation for my infertility. I felt like a failure and was so ashamed I barely left the house. It had been months since any of the other families on the compound had seen me. I locked myself inside and refused to interact with anyone." She fidgets with her fingers on her lap.
"Father hurt you back then too, didn't he?" I reach out to try to touch her hand, but she pulls away from me.
"Your father grew more irritated with me the longer we went without having a child. He needed to secure his leadership role." Her eyes lock on mine for the first time. "Do you remember the stories about the founding family that left the compound? They were the family whose house caught on fire."
"Elizabeth and Martin Stone, right?" I ask, and she nods. "They had a baby, too. It's awful that they all died in the fire."
"Elizabeth and Martin Stone died in the house fire. Their baby did not," she states plainly, eyes bouncing back and forth between mine.
"What do you mean? And what does this have to do with me?"
"Your father was in Braxton Falls on business the night of the fire. Yes, the same Braxton Falls that you lived in. He called to tell me he was stopping by the Stone's house before coming back to the compound to make sure they were settling in okay. He said that when he got there, he saw smoke coming from the house. He ran inside to try to find Elizabeth and Martin, but he couldn't spot them through all of the smoke. He heard a baby crying and had to get her out of the house. ”
She rubs the back of her neck and stands to start pacing back and forth in the room. I've never seen my mother get this worked up.
"I don't believe he had a real business meeting that night. It was too much of a coincidence for him to just be there at the right place, right time."
"Are you saying you think he went to Braxton Falls to purposefully start the fire? If that's true, then what did he do with the baby? Everyone thinks the baby died in the fire, too."
"LeeLee, you are that baby. Elizabeth and Martin Stone were your biological parents." She eyes me cautiously, waiting for me to say something, but I'm too stunned to make my brain formulate words.
I try to process what she just confessed. If what she is saying is true, that would mean that my entire life has been a lie. Gabriel was never my real father, and he potentially killed my biological parents.
It's all starting to make more sense now. He was able to be cruel to me because I was never his real legacy to begin with. I was his consolation prize that he constantly tried to make into his perfect image of a daughter. He stole me to keep his position as leader.
Barrett chooses now to walk into the room, and I lock eyes with him. "What's wrong, princess?"
"Not now, Barrett. I need to talk with my mother alone," I say with a clipped tone.
He pauses for a moment, glancing between us before nodding and turning to walk out of the room. I'm sure he already has the cameras up on his phone to watch and make sure everything is okay. He's always watching. I turn to face my mother, and she walks over to sit back on the couch next to me.
"Let me make sure I fully understand what you're saying. You think that Gabriel showed up at the Stone’s house, stole me, and burned down their house, killing them in the process?"
"Yes, Callie. That's exactly what I think happened. Martin was the only male out of the four founding families who had an heir. He would have been able to take leadership from Gabriel. The council has always valued ensuring the legacy of the society over everything. There were rumors swirling around that if your father and I didn't have a child within the next year, they would be transferring the leadership to Martin. You know Rogue was always the most important thing to Gabriel. He took you, and he killed those poor people because he knew he was at risk of losing his power. Everyone believed you were mine because I was secluded for so long."
"I thought the Stones moved in order to get away from Rogue. And hold the hell up. You said they lived in Braxton Falls?"
"Yes, they moved to Braxton Falls to try and live a normal life outside of Rogue. The fact that you ended up living in the same town makes me believe fate was trying to reveal the truth to you. They tried to distance themselves, but no matter what they did, they would always be tied to the society. Founding family members don't just get to walk away."
"He killed them and stole me," I repeat under my breath, still trying to wrap my head around this entire ordeal. Suddenly, I feel so fucking angry. "You had this suspicion the whole time, and you didn't tell me?" She bows her head down and looks at her lap. "HOW COULD YOU?" I yell.
"Callie..." she whispers, her voice so soft I can barely hear her.
"NO! You don't get pity from me right now. YOU KNEW he wasn't my real father. You knew the truth, and you let him hurt me my entire life!!"
Tears stream down her face, and she reaches her hand out to try to comfort me. I don't want her comfort. "I'm so sorry. I wanted you so badly. Your parents were already dead, and all I ever wanted was to be a mother. I thought I could protect you."
"He dangled a baby in front of you, and you just went along with it?" My lip twists up in disgust, and I have to ball my fists at my sides to try to keep my anger in check.
"Yes, Callie. I went along with it because the alternative was him killing you. He gave me an ultimatum, raise the baby, or watch as he killed you. I made a choice, and I will never regret choosing you."
"You could have told the council."
"What do you think would have happened if I told them? Your father would have denied it. He would have told them I was suffering from some sort of mental illness. I was secluded for months, and we were actively trying to conceive. Everyone knew I had miscarried before. I could have easily been pregnant and hid it from them. You know how manipulative your father was. If I turned on him, he would have locked me up somewhere and raised you on his own. I tried to be as loving and supportive as I possibly could to you because I knew you would need that from me."
"You knew that he would be cruel to me just like he was to you!"
"I thought he would soften up since he had his legacy secured, and everyone believed you were our child. Nobody ever questioned it."
Of course, no one questioned it. If they did, my father would have killed them too. "I can't be here with you right now. I need time to process all of this."
She reaches out and grabs my hand before I'm able to walk out of the room. "I understand you're upset, LeeLee, but please know that you are MY daughter. I love you more than anything in this world. I know I've failed you in so many ways, but you will always be the best thing to ever happen to me."
"You should have told me sooner," I admit as tears fall down my face.
"There was no right time to tell you something like this. I was hoping that when you got away at eighteen, you wouldn't come back. You were gone for so long. I thought you were safe."
I rip my hand from her grasp. "You thought I was safe? I was living my life on the run! I was always looking over my shoulder, waiting for someone to come and take me back to him. I was afraid to make any real connections with anyone. I’m so fucked up that one of the few people I willingly let into my life ended up being just as evil as my father."
"You found love, though, Callie. You were able to open yourself to find love with these men and Avery. I'm so sorry. All I ever wanted was to be a good mother to you."
"The issue isn't whether or not you are a good mother. You were the best person in my life. It's the fact that for almost 25 years, you let me believe I was somebody I wasn't."
"How can I make this better? Tell me what to do, and I will do it, LeeLee."
"I can't be here with you right now," I tell her as I storm out of the room with my body running on autopilot. I don't know where I'm going until I burst through a doorway and see the one person I know can help me right now.