47. Hades
Hades
CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
NEW YORK
"You don't need to be so nervous," I assure her, putting an arm around her shoulder, King in my other arm, as we get off the plane on a private landing strip at JFK airport.
My relatives wanted to come and welcome us, but I thought it would be better that they didn’t. Little by little, I'm learning about Kennedy's ways, and I know that she needs to deal with new things little by little. If my family had come in force—brothers, sisters-in-law, and nephews—I think she might have felt overwhelmed.
"I don't know what to expect," she says.
"All the Kostanidou, myself included, are uncompromising bastards, but fair, too. My brothers trust my judgment and will accept you and King as new members of the family."
I talked to them and my cousins via video call before Kennedy woke up today. In addition to introducing them to King, who smiled and said his famous “good morning” to everyone, which drew laughter, I explained how we had been attacked and that we were at Beau's house.
They only calmed down when I told them I would be flying home today and bringing my family with me.
"They don't need to love me, as long as they love our son."
I don't answer because, in her position, I wouldn't trust anyone so easily either. Kennedy has been rejected and mistreated almost her entire life. It will take more than half a dozen words of reassurance to convince her that she can believe in me, and my brothers by extension.
We get into the limousine, and after seating King in the car seat and making sure he is secure, I authorize the driver to proceed.
Ernest shows King some cartoons on the iPad, and I take the opportunity to talk to Kennedy about Vina. "There is something I need to tell you."
I quickly explain the conversation I had with Pam's grandmother on the phone and how I found her change in behavior strange, which even culminated in her showing her desire to meet Kennedy again.
I realize that, although he is pretending not to, Ernest is paying attention to our conversation.
"She said she wanted to see me?"
"Yes, but it wasn't just that which made it weird, it was the fact that when we started talking, she was demanding an explanation from me for supporting you. Once she understood that my decision was irrevocable, she completely changed her attitude, acting as if you were someone dear to her that she hadn't seen for a long time and not like a . . .”
"Enemy?" she adds softly.
"Yes."
"Who could blame her for seeing me like that, Hades? Like the rest of the world, she thinks I was Ryan's accomplice. Pam was her granddaughter. I would never forgive someone who hurt our son."
"But that's exactly the point. The issue here is not the fact that she felt angry with you. It’s the almost instantaneous change in her attitude that made me suspicious."
“She was always good to me,” she says.
"Do you remember your relationship?"
"Now I do, yes. The first time I saw her in New Orleans, I had been left with nothing. After all, she was the mother of the woman who’d mistreated me my entire life, and there is that saying that ‘the fruit doesn't fall far from the tree.’"
"Yes."
"But as soon as I told her I wanted to go back to studying, she went from cold to loving in the blink of an eye. I understood that she was cautious at first because she was worried that I would influence Pam badly, since Riny had obviously spoken very negatively about me."
"I don't know, Kennedy. If you’d told me this a while ago, I would have believed that Vina was good to you because she is generous. Now, I don't think that was it."
"It sounds like you're thinking the worst of Mrs. Vina."
"I am. I think she encouraged Pam’s crush on me. Did you ever notice anything like that?"
"If she did, it wasn't in front of me." Suddenly she frowns. "There's something I'm remembering from the night of Pam's birthday at the club, when we were already leaving."
"What is it?"
"When the car you sent came to pick us up, just before we got in, she put a hand on each of our faces and said, 'Remember there will be two Kostanidou there and you will be the most beautiful women at the party. Behave and you will be the only ones Hades and Ares look at.' "
"What?"
"My God, I had completely forgotten about that, I think because, at the time, I thought it was just a silly warning from someone who saw romance in everything. But now, thinking about it, it was as if she was advising us to throw ourselves at you two."
My Kennedy with Ares—over my dead body.
At that time, he didn't even know Serenity, so it makes perfect sense that, as I suspected, Vina wanted to push Pam onto me, but she saw beyond that and also wanted her other “granddaughter” to win over another Kostanidis.
"Do you think she wanted . . .”
"Yes, the pieces are starting to come together. I’ve thought about it a lot and don't believe that if Pam was in love with me, she wouldn't have told her grandmother. I believe Vina encouraged it.”
"And when she saw me, she thought I could conquer Ares? Why?"
"It would be a way to change her status within the Kostanidis family. She would go from being a housekeeper to becoming a full member, “grandmother” of two Kostanidis ladies, which would guarantee her a life of luxury forever."
"My God in heaven—that is very Machiavellian!"
"To use your own words, Kennedy, the fruit doesn't fall far from the tree. I don't know if it was Vina who turned Riny Marcotte into the monster she was, but she may have been the person who encouraged Pam in her madness. I'm not absolving her of responsibility, but we don't know what kind of crazy ideas Vina put into her granddaughter's head."
"You were never . . .”
I know what she's thinking. "Was I never interested in Pam as a woman?"
"Yes, that."
"Never. On our son's life, I swear she was always like a sister to me."
"I believe you."
I take her hand and bring it to my lips, placing a kiss on her palm. "I don't want you to talk to Vina right now. I suspect she'll try to get in touch, but we're still analyzing years of footage and we haven't yet revealed Vina's role in this plot."
"Okay."
Kennedy
I don't know what I expected. Maybe that they would look at me suspiciously or act formally, but nothing like that happened.
All three Kostanidou—who will soon legally be my brothers-in-law—welcomed me.
King went crazy when he saw his cousins. It's been quite an experience for him to live with other children.
The three wives, Madison, Cici, and Serenity, hugged me and said they had been looking forward to meeting me.
None of them acted as if they were speaking to a woman accused of a crime, but rather a family member, and that calmed my heart a little.
Another thing that surprised me was the fact that Hades lives in a house, and it is huge. Maybe because of what I’ve read about him in the newspaper in the past, I imagined him in a penthouse, or something like that. A perfect place for parties and one-night stands.
I’ve also discovered that he is not a playboy. Despite being heir to one of the largest fortunes on the planet, he owns a famous advertising agency.
Come to think of it, Pam and Vina never mentioned where he lived or what his house was like, or even what he did for a living, which tells me that even though he was protective of Pam, Hades never let them into that part of his life.
I believe what he said, that he never saw Pam as a woman, but I still feel confused about his theory that Vina wanted to push me and Pam towards two Kostanidou. Could that be possible?
I look around the room. Ernest is talking to Eleanor, Hades' older brother Zeus's mother-in-law. Her husband, who is a doctor, is also nearby. Ernest seems comfortable, and the three are in a lively conversation about whether they prefer life in big cities or smaller towns.
Hades talks to his brothers, but the whole time, he watches me.
"Feeling a little overwhelmed?" Cici, Dionysus' wife, asks me.
"A little," I confess. "Since I came back from the coma, it's like I’m relearning how to live. Living in society sometimes scares me."
"The family is not complete yet. You haven’t met Odin and Elina, Christos and Zoe—oh, and we can't forget Madison's sister, Brooklyn, who—guess what—married a Greek man too."
I laugh. Cici is funny, lighthearted. "I'll need a notebook to write down all the names."
"You're welcome here, Kennedy."
"I know."
"Really? We are all aware of your history with Hades, even if several details were left out, like when you fell in love, for example, and how you made King, but no one here is judging you. We are your family now. We are not perfect, and we make a lot of mistakes too, but above all, we protect each other."
Serenity approaches. "What are you gossiping about?"
"I was telling Kennedy she's welcome."
"Yes, yes," Madison, Zeus's wife, says, joining us.
"Don't get me wrong, but after everything I've been through, I don't believe in fairy tales, and that's what this feels like."
"Why?"
"Your world is not what I’m used to at all. I grew up thanking God for the next meal."
"None of us were born with a silver spoon, Kennedy," Madison replies. "Except for Serenity, who . . .” She looks at her sister-in-law. "Well, she can tell you her own story when she thinks she should. Anyway, what I'm saying is that Cici and I came from humble beginnings too, not at all what high society expects for wives of Greek tycoons, and yet here we are."
"My case is a little more complex than just not coming from a rich family."
"We know that, darling." Serenity squeezes my hand. "But trust Hades. He will prove that you are innocent."