"Dad, you have to tell the truth," Alia pleaded the mont they found themselves safely sequestered in Ronan’s house.
"About what?" her father asked, his tone puzzled. "Millie, weren’t you supposed to be out helping that charity? I have thought of another idea. Maybe they can raise funds through bake sales―"
"Dad! This is not the ti for it! I’m talking about Uncle Joshua and Mom!" Alia exclaid, nearly tearing her hair to bits. Her stomach had twisted itself into knots on the car ride over to Dimitri’s house.
Her father’s face darkened imdiately, and he slamd his hand against the table. At that very mont, Alia could see the family resemblance between her father and that conniving greedy scoundrel that accosted her earlier.
"I told you not to look for him! Why did you disobey ? And don’t call him Uncle― he doesn’t deserve to be your uncle!" Michael Kentwood exclaid.
"I didn’t look for him, he ca to look for ," Alia explained, heated. "Dad, he told a very interesting story about Mom―"
"Everything he said is a lie," her father growled out. "Don’t listen to a word he said, Millie. His words are poison."
Alia blinked. "Dad, I didn’t even tell you what he said."
"You don’t have to. I know full well what he wants to say, and I’m telling you right now it’s complete fucking horseshit."
Alia’s mouth fell open at the expletive. Her father was always well-mannered and polite; rarely could he be forced to use foul words.
Clearly, her uncle had pissed him off like none other. Alia could relate. Unfortunately, she had to get to the bottom of things.
"Horseshit it might be, I still need to know what happened," Alia said steadily, while her father moved away from the table and walked back to his room. "Dad, don’t ignore !"
"There’s nothing to say," Michael Kentwood declared. "That man is a consummate liar, and he had always been ever since he was a child. Your mother saw right through him from the very first eting, and she didn’t allow him to get away with it. He wasn’t happy about it at all."
"...What about Germaine?" Alia asked. "He said that when you brought Mom over for dinner, Mom caused her to..." Her voice trailed off, unwilling to voice the heavy accusation.
Her father’s nostrils flared in anger. "Alia! Don’t tell you’re actually entertaining his nonsense!" His voice was like a gunshot that reverberated loudly in the room, and Alia sighed when she was faced with her father’s accusatory stare.
"Dad, I’m not saying Mom is at fault. I’m just trying to find out what’s going on," Alia said, holding out her hands in a conciliatory manner. Her father’s defensive behavior was making her nervous.
Maybe her mother was indeed a murderer.
"We need to prove that he is lying to put him behind bars, or at least get a proper restraining order against him," Matteo added casually, as he touched the inside of Alia’s wrist, wordlessly giving her support.
Unlike Alia, he could understand Michael Kentwood’s indignation and anger. If soone as odious as his brother had insulted Alia after her death, there would be no end to the retribution Matteo would inflict on his poor soul.
Mollified, Michael Kentwood finally began to explain what happened on that fateful night decades ago.
"You must understand, Millie, that I did not have the best relationship with my family mbers. My parents preferred my brother, and they often sided with him over , so you can imagine how intolerable growing up with him was."
"My condolences," Matteo said with a sage nod. He had personal experience with such experiences. Alia, the blessed only child she was, could only nod in support.
"He does seem very spoiled," Alia said, recalling Joshua’s behavior.
"Once I was certain that I would build a future with your mother, I brought her over to introduce her to the rest of my family. We were going to announce our engagent at the dinner. However, my brother must have gotten wind of my plans, for he brought Germaine over."
"She was... your ex-girlfriend, right?" Alia asked.
"Yes." Her father’s lips curdled. "We dated for a few years before she decided to cheat on with my brother. I decided to call it quits then, and ignore them blatantly flaunting their relationship in my face."
"My goodness..." Alia and Matteo exchanged glances of shock.
"You can imagine how awkward that family dinner was. I had told your mother about my past relationships before, and she was furious. There were plenty of harsh words thrown around, I won’t deny that," her father said with a sigh.
"Germaine didn’t like the fact that I had found soone new, soone she thought was prettier than her, and my brother didn’t like the thought that Germaine might have had second thoughts about leaving ."
"Your mother simply didn’t like the two of them, period, especially when they started targeting at the dining table. She especially took offense to the fact that Germaine seed to be making eyes at while pregnant with another man’s child."
Alia winced. Knowing her mother’s attitude, she would not have taken that lying down.
But would that have been enough reason to cause a miscarriage?
"Then what happened?" Matteo asked. "Did she shove Germaine? Your brother implied she did."
"Of course not! Your mother was many things, but she wasn’t so heartless to go after a pregnant woman!" Her father shook his head bitterly, his upper lip curling in distaste. "Even years later, that man rewrites the story to make it sound like he had nothing to do with it."
"In the end, it was all my asshole brother’s fault. He was the one that antagonized your mother, and your mother was trying to get to him. anwhile, Germaine was on his other side, trying to stop him. Unfortunately, he shifted, causing her to stumble and fall."
"Oh," Alia said, suddenly very relieved at her father’s retelling. "So she didn’t push her."
"That didn’t stop your mother from feeling guilty about it. We sent her to the hospital and paid for treatnt, but there was nothing to be done for the lost fetus," her father continued.
"After that, Joshua and my parents hounded your mother and incessantly, claiming that we were responsible for the death of their newest family mber. They would demand money ti and ti again, citing that that’s what your mother owed them."
Michael Kentwood’s fist tightened as he recalled his past.
"We thought that eventually, things would improve, but then Germaine committed suicide. As such, their demands grew more exorbitant, almost to the point of ludicrous. We were talking about tens of thousands of dollars, for a young couple with nothing to their na. Your mother did her best to scour her accounts, but she couldn’t do much."
Her father sighed, suddenly looking older than his years.
"Eventually we had enough. It was clear to us that we were nothing more than their walking wallets. They had no intention of forgiving us or ever letting your mother join the family. After you were born, we cut them off for good. I never expected him to find us again."
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