Final Debt

by Pepper Winters

  Her black eyes met mine, wide and horror-filled. “It’s okay? How can you say that? All this time, I hated my father for letting you take me, but I just found out my mother was the one who orchestrated it? He wanted to hide me, Jethro! And she stopped him! She was supposed to protect me. Tell me how any of this is okay? I don’t understand! First, I find out my grandmother was never killed, and now, I find out I have another…what? Sister?”

  My fingers pinched into her elbows, but she tore out of my hold. “No! Don’t touch me.” Her cast blurred through the air as she shoved off her sling and grabbed her hair. “What does this mean? Jacqueline? Am I supposed to know who she is? What. Does. This. Mean?”

  She whirled on me. “Who is Jacqueline, Jethro? Tell me!”

  I stood there, buffeted by her emotional turbulence, wishing I had the answers.

  But I didn’t.

  I didn’t have a fucking clue who Jacqueline was.

  I spread my hands in defeat. “I wish I knew, Needle. I’m sorry. My family had yours under surveillance for decades and not once has anyone called Jacqueline come up.”

  Nila breathed hard, her tears drying as anger filled her instead. Her eyes flew to the window where the barely-there outlines of our combined family stood around the wooden pyramid.

  Her hands balled, pain flashing over her face from her break. “I know who will have answers.”

  My heart stopped.

  I took a step toward her, trying to grab her before she did anything reckless. “Nila, listen to me. Calm down. You can’t go out there like this. You can’t—”

  “I can’t, can I?” She stomped forward, avoided my grasp, and scooped the box off the table. The letter crumpled inside as she slammed on the lid. “My mother just cleansed her soul by dumping decade’s worth of secrets. It’s not fair. How could she do that to me?” She sniffed, ice filling her black eyes. “I won’t let her get away with this. I want answers and I want them now.”

  “Nila…don’t. Wait until later. Stop—”

  She bared her teeth. “Don’t tell me what to do, Kite. She was my mother, and this is my fucked-up history. I deserve to know what she meant.”

  I stumbled to grab her. “You shouldn’t, not tonight—”

  Crushing the box, she glowered. “Watch me.”

  Turning on her heel, she bolted from the room, leaving me standing all alone wondering what secrets we shouldn’t have uncovered.

  Damn Emma.

  Perhaps the tales of the dead should remain dead.

  Did I do the right thing?

  Had I just kept a promise to a ghost and stupidly destroyed our carefully perfect world?

  I won’t let that happen.

  “Nila!” I charged after her, careening down the staircase and erupting onto the grass.

  Her treadmill running days gave her a good sprint, and I didn’t reach her in time.

  I couldn’t stop her slamming to a halt in front of her father.

  I couldn’t prevent her throwing the box in his face.

  And I couldn’t halt the torrent of questions spilling from her soul.

  “WHO THE HELL is Jacqueline?”

  I stood trembling in front of my father, fighting a vertigo wave.

  Tex was almost comical as he froze, gaped, and swiped a shaking hand over his face. “How—how did you hear that name?”

  Ducking, I ripped out the letter from the box at his feet and shoved it into his chest. V drifted closer, drawn by the air of animosity and questions. “Mum just told me.”

  Tex gulped. “What? How?”

  Jethro came jogging over the lawn, sternness on his face. “Nila…perhaps now is not the best time.”

  I whirled on him. “If not now, when?” Pointing at the ready-to-blaze bonfire, I snapped, “I think now is the perfect time. Closure, Jethro. That’s what this is and that’s what my father owes me.”

  Ripping my eyes from Jethro’s, I glared at Tex. “So, tell me. Who the hell is Jacqueline?”

  “Threads…what’s going on?” Vaughn nudged my shoulder with his. “What’s gotten you so upset?”

  My father didn’t look up as he read the same letter I’d just devoured, his pallor shifting to a sickly yellow.

  My voice throbbed as I looked between my twin and father. “Mum left a note.” I pointed at it, rippling in the breeze in Tex’s fingers. “That one. She not only told me our grandmother was never claimed by the Debt Inheritance, but I was sacrificed over a girl named Jacqueline. So my question is…who is she?”

  “Holy shit. What the fuck?” Rubbing his jaw, V glanced at Tex. “Well? I think we deserve to know.”

  Taking a huge breath, Tex finished reading. His eyes darted to Jethro before locking on me and V. “She’s your sister.”

  I’d already guessed as much, but it still hurt. “Older sister?”

  The eldest who should’ve paid the debt. The sister who should’ve protected us by being the chosen one, not the saved.

  Jethro came closer, barricading me against the wind. “I think you better spit it out, Tex.”

  Tex nodded, fighting ghosts and things I never knew. How could he keep such a secret? How could my own father be a complete stranger?

  Picking up the box, I hugged it, waiting for knowledge.

  His body tensed, thoughts filing into collected streams, ready to tell me the truth. “There isn’t much to say. Your mother and I met young. We never planned on getting pregnant—she was averse to the idea of children right from the start. But the pill failed. When we found out, we agonised for days what to do. We couldn’t abort as my parents were very religious and had recently died, making me loathe to destroy new life. But we also couldn’t keep it.

  “We were too young to make the choice, so we decided to let life do that for us. We got married because we loved each other, not because Emma was pregnant, and we set up life while she grew with you. However, instead of it being a happy time, it was fraught with secrets and tension. I didn’t care about any of it—the strangeness of taking her name. The oddness of her family empire and unspoken obligations.

  “By that point, I was happy to start our family young. Emma…she wasn’t. She came from Weaver money. I’d been inducted into the business and we were financially secure. We could start building our own family—regardless if we hadn’t planned it so quickly.

  “Early on in the pregnancy, we found out she was carrying not one, not two, but three babies. The shock quickly faded into happiness, and I was glad she came from a bloodline that tended to give birth to multiples. I transformed my home office into a large nursery with three cots, three bouncing tables, three singing mobiles. Three of everything.

  “But no matter what I said or how excited I became, Emma shut me out. The closer to delivery, the more she’d cry, need space, and push me away. I was told by our local doctor to leave her be—that some women required time to come to terms with their body changing and the uncertain future.

  “So, I gave her time. I was there for her, I left her notes telling her how amazing our life would be, how perfect our children would be, and how happy I was to grow old with her—”

  Tex stopped, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand. He stared at the awaiting bonfire and rushed onward. “She disappeared. I remember it so clearly. We’d just come back from our latest check-up and I’d left her in the lounge to make her a cup of tea. When I came back…she was gone. The front door was open, her shoes by the welcome mat. Just gone.

  “She was seven months pregnant and padding barefoot around London. Winter was close, and the air was freezing. Terrified, I hopped in the car and patrolled the streets for her. It took me hours before I found her sitting in the cathedral where we were married.

  “There she told me the most awful thing, the curse on her family, the debt she must pay. She tried to divorce me, telling me she’d made a terrible mistake. She tried to convince me to give up the children for adoption the moment they were born and let her run far away.

  “Of course,
I didn’t believe her. I thought she was tired and stressed from the pregnancy. I murmured and soothed and took her home to bed. She didn’t mention it again, and I stupidly thought it was over. Only, then the birth came around, and I rushed her to the hospital.

  “Jacqueline was born first, then you, Vaughn, followed by tiny Nila.” His eyes glistened with paternal love. “I held you all in my arms. Three small bundles with tiny red fingers and squished up faces. I fell madly in love with you within seconds.

  “I kissed Emma and handed over my newborn triplets for the nurses to weigh and measure. I trusted everything was right in my world.”

  Tears welled in his eyes as he cleared his throat. “However, after forty minutes, when the nurses didn’t come back, I began to worry. I tracked them down only to find my three children had become two.”

  My heart lurched, imagining such a tragic revelation.

  “I rushed back with you and V, demanding an explanation from Emma. She merely shook her head and said she’d told me what happened to the firstborn girls of her family, and she wouldn’t let that happen to Jacqueline.

  “Behind my back, she’d arranged a private adoption; she’d bribed the nurse and doctor to wipe all record of ever having triplets and listed her delivery as twins. She did it all. She stole one of my daughters to protect her, and for a time, she believed you would be safe, Nila. She said you wouldn’t be claimed as technically Vaughn was firstborn and not you.

  “However, that plan showed its flaws when Cut came to collect her. She was my wife, but she had so many secrets from me. She’d told me you would be safe, but she knew better. She sacrificed you. She let them take you. And I did nothing to stop it.”

  Silent tears tracked down his face. “I’m so sorry, Nila.”

  I couldn’t move.

  My mother had always been a perfect memory. I’d hated her for a time for leaving my father with no explanation, but then she became a saint when I found out the Hawks murdered her. She’d been a hard woman to love. And Tex had been there for her. He’d loved her so much even when she left. He lied for her. He did everything she asked. And he’d honoured her wishes and let them take me.

  I had so many questions, but I couldn’t formulate them clearly. My brain remained fuzzy, slow to grasp the magnitude. All I could think about was—

  “We have an older sister…” Vaughn murmured, stealing my thought. I leaned my head on his shoulder, slipping back into my body after living the past with Tex. Having my twin back and sharing the same thoughts was like wearing a favourite pair of slippers. I’d taken our ease for granted, and having him by my side while we learned something so monumental was a blessing.

  My hand slipped into Jethro’s. He hadn’t moved. He stood on my left while my twin stood on my right.

  I was the only female in an all-male gathering—apart from Jaz.

  I’d been the only female for most of my life.

  To find out there’d been another girl? A sister? A potential best-friend who had been robbed from me…it hurt. But excited, too.

  I have a sister.

  I could find her.

  Swallowing, I asked, “Where is she now?”

  Tex sniffed, reaching for the box in my hands, willing me to give it to him. I did, handing over the pieces of jewellery Emma had been wearing and whatever other knickknacks she’d treasured.

  They belonged to Tex more than me. It would’ve been Emma’s wish for her husband to possess her last trinkets. “I don’t know. I’ve never known.”

  “You never tried to look her up?” Jethro asked.

  Tex shook his head. “I wanted to. But Emma made me swear I wouldn’t.”

  “But you said you hired the mercenaries before I came to take Nila. What did you mean by that?” Jethro was deceptively calm, as if he’d been planning to ask that question for a while.

  Tex swallowed. “You caught that, huh?” Sighing, he added, “You’re right. I’d enlisted the help of a P.I and protective team to track her down. I kept it a secret from everyone—even the men working for me. They didn’t know why they were searching for a girl with my strict criteria. They just hunted.

  “Emma said if I ever tracked Jacqueline down and the Hawks found out, they’d take both my daughters. So I kept it secret—half of me wanting them to find her so I could love her from afar, and half of me hoping she remained lost so she stayed safe.” His eyes narrowed. “Is it true you would’ve taken both? If I’d found her?”

  Jethro pinched the bridge of his nose. “In all honesty, if Bonnie was still in charge, probably. But now, you have nothing to fear. If you want to track her down, I think you should.”

  Tex looked at me. “Nila…what do you think? Do you want to?”

  The question was too large to answer so quickly. I bit my lip. “Yes…no…I—I don’t know.”

  “I vote yes,” Vaughn piped up.

  How would a girl who’d been given up for adoption, stolen from her heritage and family’s legacy, ever slip into our world?

  “Imagine it from her point of view,” Jasmine said, wrenching our attention to her. “You two grew up together. You’ve been best friends all your life. She didn’t have that. She might’ve felt like she was missing something but didn’t know what.”

  She smiled sadly at Jethro. “I know I loved having more than one brother. It’s natural to want similar people to share your life with.”

  Yes, but we didn’t have a similar upbringing.

  Vaughn chuckled, sharing my thoughts again. “You think anyone could enter our life and not want to run away? Especially once we told her what happened and why she was given up?”

  Tex ran a hand through his hair. “You have a point.”

  “Shouldn’t she be given that choice though?” Jasmine rested her hands on her lap. “I think you should find her.”

  We all slipped into silence, mulling over the idea. There was still so much to say but not tonight. We’d all been through so much. Jacqueline had been missing from our family for so many years. Another few days wouldn’t make a difference.

  Tex straightened his shoulders, looking a hundred times lighter even after recounting something so hard. “I didn’t realise how much that secret weighed me down.” His eyes glittered. “Every time I look at you both, I remember Jacqueline. I wonder if she looks like you, has the same habits and fears. I hate that I was glad my parents died, so I didn’t have to break their hearts by stealing a grandchild.”

  He sighed. “I’m not one to complain; I loved your mother. But she did leave me so alone. Stranded with secrets and missing a wife I could never have.”

  Unthreading my fingers from Jethro, I went to my father. I’d held a grudge against him for so long, believing it was his fault for not protecting me. But I hadn’t known the full story. There was no black and white—for any of us. We’d all made choices on half-facts and uncertainty. If we couldn’t forgive, then what was the point in any of it?

  Wrapping my arms around Tex, I hugged him hard. His arms were imprisoning jaws, squeezing me tight. “Will you ever be able to forgive me for not saving you?”

  Vaughn joined our hug. “She already has, Tex.”

  I nodded. “He’s right.”

  Tex hugged us even harder. “I’m so glad I have you both. I love you so much.”

  As we healed each other through touch, Jethro moved to the pyramid and drenched the branches, torture equipment, and boxes full of records with gasoline.

  The pungent whiff of chemicals laced the night sky, and our hug ended with much needed closure. It hurt to hear the truth, but it patched up a hole inside me I didn’t know I had.

  My heart knotted as Jethro diligently thought of everything, making sure tonight would be a perfect end. I hated the fact I’d just gained a sister I didn’t know, while he’d lost a brother he loved. Life was never fair.

  Jasmine wheeled closer, touching my hand. “I know what you’re thinking, and he’ll be okay.”

  “I know. It’s just so hard to say goo
dbye to good people.”

  “He was the best.”

  We shared a smile as Jethro held out a box of matches. His half-grin fluttered my heart, and my lips ached to kiss him.

  Taking the offered box of matches, Jethro cupped my cheek and kissed me softly. “It’s all yours.”

  Tonight, when we were alone, I would show him how thankful I was for everything he’d done.

  I moved away and stood beside the kindling. The bonfire would burn for days with the amount of fuel Jethro had gathered.

  Stroking the matchbox, I closed my eyes and said a prayerful goodbye.

  This is to find your perfect freedom. The Debt Inheritance is gone. It’s over.

  Stepping to join me, Jethro’s gaze glowed with love and support. Holding out a folder, he murmured, “This isn’t the original—I’ll get that from the lawyers next week and burn that too—but this should be destroyed with the rest of what we’ve done.”

  Taking the folder, I opened it. Tears sprung to my eyes. Inside were the pieces of Debt Inheritance I’d been given after each round of the table along with the amendment I’d recently signed under Jasmine’s duress.

  “Thank you. This means a lot.” Holding the folder, I struggled to open the matchbox to set it alight. It would be the first piece to burn. The catalyst to decimate everything else.

  A flick of flint and glow of flame appeared in my peripheral. Jethro held out a monogrammed lighter. I’d seen it the night he’d dragged me into his office and made me sign the Sacramental Pledge.

  “The wood is drenched in kerosene, so it will catch easily.” Holding the lighter to the corner of the Debt Inheritance folder, he waited until the paper caught fire. Taking a step back, he smiled. “Whenever you’re ready.”

  I looked at my brother and father. They stood like two sentries against the darkness. Hawksridge loomed behind them, leering over all of us as no longer foe but friend. A few of the windows gleamed with golden lights, spilling rectangle wedges of illumination across the grass.

  Jasmine sat primly in her chair, her eyes reflecting the smoking flame in my hand. The folder rapidly dissolved into leaves of blackened char.