Chapter 33 Riley
Riley
EARLIER
“Did we really have to leave Beau at the hotel?” Jade asked, continuing to look at the back window, even though we were miles away from the hotel.
“Yes, Jade. We are already bombarding the woman, we don’t need to also surprise her with a dog,” Corrin explained, laughing.
I watched the houses go by, trying to clear my head and consider what I planned on saying.
This was probably making the top three wildest things I’ve ever done, right alongside having a foursome.
I would much rather be in the middle of a foursome right now than doing this if I was honest. I’m sure the boys would love that as well.
Corrin looked at the GPS on her car’s screen and then back at the road, turning on her blinker to make a right.
All the houses looked relatively normal, though I didn’t really know what I was expecting.
I didn’t know anything about this woman.
I didn’t know how she lived or what her day-to-day activities were.
She could slam the door in my face and I couldn’t say much about it.
Fuck, now I really wished I was back in the foursome.
“Is it this one?” Corrin asked no one in particular, driving slower.
Trees covered a good portion of my vision, but a medium-sized one-story home stared back at me.
The front yard was massive and looked like it was being well taken care of.
There was a stone path that led to the front door and simple rectangular windows that would have let me see inside if the curtains weren’t closed.
Corrin pulled into the driveway and I swiveled my head towards her. “Park on the street.”
“Why would I do that? There is a perfectly good driveway right here.” She rolled her eyes, putting her car in park.
“I don’t know. Parking in the driveway seems way too comfortable.”
She shrugged, opening her door. “Too late. Already did it.”
I groaned, getting out and shaking out my nerves.
I pulled on the sleeves of my shirt, cupping the ends with my fingers. Once the front door was the only thing in front of me, gathering up the courage to knock was proving difficult.
“Allow me,” Jade offered, placing two hard knocks against the door.
I was about to say fuck it and run back towards the car when a lock turned and the door slowly opened.
The woman from the picture Corrin showed me appeared.
She had aged a bit, but there was still a youthfulness to her features.
Her skin was light brown and her curls were pushed back with a scarf she’d tied around her head.
“Can I help you?” she asked, scanning each of us quickly and looking confused.
I felt both of my friends’ eyes on me and I took a deep breath. So many variations of things I could say came to mind, but nothing left my mouth. Teresa looked at me expectantly, then her eyes shot to my necklace. Her head tilted to the side and her mouth second by second began to form an O shape.
Her brown eyes found mine. “You’re Jillian’s daughter.” She said it more like a statement, no inflection indicating that she was asking me anything.
“Yes.”
She gave me a small smile and moved away from the door, motioning for us to come in. I hesitated but stepped over the threshold. The house was much bigger inside, the wooden floors looked like they had just been cleaned and various amounts of art decorated the walls.
Jade and Corrin stayed close by, gawking at the house along with me.
“Have a seat. Would you like anything to drink? Water? Tea?” Teresa offered, pulling at her cardigan.
I awkwardly sat on the couch in the living room. “Umm, water.”
Corrin and Jade shook their heads, keeping an eye on her when she walked away.
“Well that went…better than we hoped,” Corrin said, giving me a thumbs up.
“Nothing has even happened yet.”
“Mm, true, but she let you in after knowing who you were so that’s progress.” Jade bumped my shoulder when she sat down next to me.
Teresa returned, handing me a glass of water and sitting down on the opposite couch. “I have to admit, I’m a little taken aback.”
I took a long sip, placing the glass on the coffee table. “You and me both. I’m actually really rude, this is Corrin and Jade. My friends.”
They both casually waved and Teresa gave them a friendly smile. “You must know who I am if you came all the way here.”
“I do. I won’t bother you if you don’t want to talk about it, but I just have questions that I’m hoping you’ll answer. And maybe when we’re done, you’ll be willing to help me with something.”
She pressed her lips together, placing her hands in her lap. “We are family, so I suppose that isn’t asking too much.”
I interlocked my index fingers together, fidgeting. “Hmm, well…I…”
“You’re probably wondering about your necklace?” she asked, crossing her legs.
“That’s one thing, yes.”
She sighed. “When Samia called on one of the coven members for that kind of help, I was intrigued. When I learned it was for your mother, well, I was even more intrigued. We have a—” She cleared her throat then cracked her neck, “—complicated relationship.”
Jade side-eyed me but kept quiet.
“You let Evie do it. You allowed her to help create my necklace, even though it was for someone you didn’t like?”
She drummed her fingers on her knee. “It was for you, not your mother. There is a big difference. I knew Evie could do it, so it was also a way for her to show her skill. I needed my witches to be top notch. You are aware of that, I’m sure.” She glanced over at Corrin, who audibly gulped.
Teresa gave her a sly smile. “I don’t remember all faces, but I do remember most and I do know you are one of ours.”
Corrin blinked, her eyebrows turning inward. “Did you kill your husband?”
I choked on air, staring at her. Jade snorted, covering her mouth.
Teresa didn’t flinch. “Why would you ask that?”
Corrin licked her lips, smacking them. “Just curious. The school has archives, and I just wanted to clear some things up. Riley is curious about it too.”
I rubbed my temple but didn’t stop her. She wasn’t wrong…I was curious.
Teresa leaned back against the couch. “My husband had a wandering eye. Our marriage was never about love, but our son was the only thing that connected and united us. Phillip was a weak man, but Erik loved him. We wanted what was best for our son. That was where our similarities ended.”
“That doesn’t answer my–” Corrin started, but I grabbed Corrin’s knee and squeezed hard enough that I’m sure she felt a bit of pain.
“If that’s a sore subject, I’m sorry to bring it up…” I began to apologize, but she cut me off.
“His death was such a tragedy to that school. I tried my best to make the transition of the next chancellor easy, but it destroyed my son…amongst other things.” She looked at me, but it was almost like she was looking past me.
I stuck my tongue in my cheek, taking a moment before speaking. “I’m going to just assume you were fully aware of when he came back from his disappearing act and was the Chancellor of Mystic Riegan?”
She blew out a breath. “Of course. That moment made me so proud, finally being the person his father never was. He was going to run that school better than Phillip ever did.”
“My mom told me you and Chancellor Fowler didn’t get along.”
Teresa stared at the rug underneath her coffee table for more than a few seconds and I shifted on the couch. She ran her hands along the tops of her thighs before getting off the couch. “Would you excuse me a moment?”
“Sure,” I answered quickly.
“Bathroom?” Jade asked, grabbing her mass of curls and moving them over her shoulder.
Teresa pointed around the corner, waiting as Jade followed her instructions. Chancellor Fowler’s mother disappeared into her kitchen and I let the heaviness I felt in my chest ease up.
“I shouldn’t have fucking said that,” I whispered to Corrin.
“We’ll get nowhere if you play it safe. And that means maybe making things a tiny bit uncomfortable.”
“A tiny bit? Corrin, I basically told her that I know her son didn’t like her that much. Also how the fuck do you just blurt out a question about her murdering her husband?”
She pushed out her bottom lip, not looking sorry at all. “Hmm, yeah, well can’t take it back now. Keep moving forward.”
Teresa walked back into the room, now choosing to sit on the arm of the couch. “You caught me off guard with that, I’m sorry.”
I shook my head. “No, I shouldn’t have brought it up like that, but it’s just odd to me that he took your maiden name later on.”
She hummed. “We had spoken about it and thought it best he move on from his father as much as he still adored that man. He needed to build something new for himself.”
I tucked one of my braids behind my ear. “Mrs. Lowe…”
“Call me Teresa, dear.”
“Okay, Teresa. You were around the time my dad died, so I have to ask…” I rolled my lips together, “did you know that your son was responsible?”
She narrowed her eyes at me, but there was no indication that she was hurt by my question. One of her eyebrows shot upward. “Freak accidents happen all the time.”
“Accident? No, no. He admitted to me that he did it. I want to know if you knew, if you found out that your son killed my father, so you left?”
Teresa shook her head, placing her hands on either side of her skull.
“Of course he admitted it. Always so obsessed with you and that woman.” She wasn’t looking at me, but she was talking to herself.
“I thought maybe him leaving and just getting away would be good for him; he came back and wanted to be a leader, he wanted power, and I had the son I always deserved again.”
I caught Corrin’s eye and she quickly nodded towards the door. Jade walked around the corner but stopped when she saw the concerned looks on our faces.
“Teresa…we’ve caused you a lot of stress and I think we should be going.” I started to get up from the couch, Corrin following close behind.