Page 15 of Born Evil

Melissa nods and I hate the worry on her face as she struggles to get her emotions under control.

“Come. We could use a drink.”

She nods as I cross the room and take her in my arms, holding her tightly as she whispers, “I’m so scared, Troy. What if…”

“Hush, Max will find her. He’ll bring her home before we finish dinner.”

I sound confident, but I share my sister’s fear. Ever since our father died, mom kind of lost her mind. Outwardly, you would think nothing was wrong. To any outsider, she is coping well and going about her life as normal. However, behind the scenes, she is breaking apart and no shrink we have employed has even come close to dealing with that.

There is a painful knot of emotions balling in my soul as I think about what we need to do. I am trying so hard to get her the help she needs to keep her here with us. To provide a loving, supportive environment for her so she can heal, surrounded by family who love her. However, it’s becoming more likely she needs professional help and the best thing for her would be to send her away to a secure establishment where there are trained professionals who could untangle her mind. She has darkthoughts that scare the shit out of me and yet, unlike my sister, I don’t let them show.

We head into the living room where I pour us both a glass of brandy and we sit before the open fire, words not needed as we wait for news on our mother.

My heart is banging because my family is my life. I love them so hard it physically hurts sometimes and if anything happened to them, it would be the most painful experience of my life.

When my father died, it was as if he had shot a hole in my heart on the way through his head. I couldn’t contemplate why he had done it. He was always so strong, the strongest man I have ever known, and as it turned out, he hid his depression well.

We discovered his diary after he died and there were many visits to a shrink, that on further investigation revealed he had been struggling for years. Mom found medication that was meant to keep the demons at bay and when I learned the company was on the brink of collapse, it all made sense.

I pushed away my grief and focused on saving the company, making tough decisions to bring it back to life. I only wish I could have done the same for my father, and I suppose I did it in his memory.

“I should have gone with her. I blame myself.”

Melissa says miserably as she stares into her glass, the light of the fire dancing in her beautiful green eyes.

“You can’t follow her everywhere, Melissa.”

I reassure her and she shakes her head sadly. “She seemed so happy today. I asked her at breakfast what her plans were, and she told me that after visiting the cemetery she was going to meet Isabelle and then head home. What do you think happened?”

“I wish I knew.”

I drain my glass as Mrs. Carlton heads into the room. “Sir, madam, dinner is ready, but I can delay it while we wait for Mrs. Remington.”

The last thing I feel like doing is eating, but I note the pinched face of my sister and say firmly, “We’ll eat. Keep my mother’s for when she arrives.”

“Of course, sir.”

Melissa glances up, “I can’t…”

“We eat!” I say in the voice that offers no argument, and she nods, lowering her gaze with a sigh.

We take our usual seats at the dining room table, and I note the three empty spaces that should be occupied. Nobody sits at the head of the table—my father’s space and we always set him a place as if he is going to walk in as usual. At the opposite end is mom’s and the one beside Melissa is my younger brother’s.

“Where’s Harrison?” I say with some irritation, and Melissa shrugs.

“He’s probably banging his realtor.”

It makes me laugh because Harrison is hell bent on his independence and is currently in the process of buying a house at Burr Ridge with his inheritance. I’m in no doubt that Melissa is right because Harrison is something of a playboy. He works with me as my director of production and if he wasn’t family, I would have fired him months ago. He’s not as driven as I am and spends most of his time screwing the hired help.

“Tell me about your day, Troy. Distract me from my misery.” Melissa says with a gentle sigh.

“Nothing much to say.”

She raises her eyes. “Wasn’t today when that girl starts as your assistant? I must say I would have loved to be a fly on the wall after your conversation the other day.”

I picture Laura’s mortified expression when she first saw me and I laugh softly, “It was interesting.”

“Be nice, Troy.”