“Coffee?” he asks.
I shake my head, walking into the kitchen. “Just a glass of water is fine.” Holding the sheet with one hand, I open cabinets with the other until I find a glass, fill it, and settle in the chair across from him.
Questions swarm my mind, but I’m not sure where to start.
I lift the glass, take a sip, and finally murmur, “Soo …”
The word lingers between us.
Emilio takes a drink. His gaze drops to the table, and when he lifts his head, his eyes lock with mine.
I hold my breath.
“The woman we took to the hospital last night …” He pauses for a moment, biting into his bottom lip before slowly releasing it. “That was my sister, Aurora.”
I draw back in shock. “Your sister?”
“I keep her listed in my phone as Hannah.”
“So … she’s not dead?” It sounds stupid to ask, but I need to hear him say it, to make sure I’m understanding correctly. “Everyone thinks she died with your mother in the lake.”
He smooths a hand over his jaw. “That was the plan.”
“Is your mom also alive?”
He leans back in his chair, pain spreading along his features. “No. She’s really gone.”
“All the reports say Aurora died with her.”
“That’s what she wanted everyone to believe.”
I swallow. “Why?”
“The day my mother died, she’d tried to leave my father. He beat her, told her if she ran, then he’d kill her and Aurora. My mother escaped, loaded Aurora in the car, and took her to their favorite hiking spot. She called Maggie, asked her to go get and hide Aurora, and said to give me the letter she’d left in Aurora’s bag.”
The hairs on the back of my neck stand as chills hit me.
“She kissed Aurora goodbye, left, and drove her car into a lake.”
That chill spreads down my entire spine.
“The letter asked me to tell everyone Aurora was in the car with her. My mother figured if my father thought they’d both died, then he wouldn’t go looking for Aurora and hurt her. She didn’t trust anyone but Maggie and me to protect her. Maggie had a family friend in Chicago, so we took Aurora there. For a year, we didn’t contact Aurora once. We completely cut her off for her own safety. After my father’s death, we started visiting, but it’s still very limited. The past year, I’ve tried to make it more regular though.”
A mother who died to protect her daughter.
A brother who’s keeping that secret for her.
Emilio lowers his voice. “That’s your husband’s biggest secret. Don’t make me regret telling you.”
I inch closer, resting my elbows on the table. “Your secret is safe with me.” I draw back and run my hand through the tangles in my hair. “How’d you know Aleksy asked me to kill you?”
The corners of his mouth form a smirk.
“Your brother is an idiot,” is his answer that really isn’t an answer.
“That much is obvious,” I grumble. “But that doesn’t answer my question.”
“I already told you a secret today.”
