Stealing Rose
Page 69

I decide to beat her to the punch with shocking news. “I have something to tell you too.”
Her eyes narrow. “What is it?”
“Did you know Mom was having an affair with someone else? And that when he broke it off with her, she fell into a downward spiral and became so depressed she finally killed herself?” I throw it out there, in all its brutal, harsh glory, and Violet blinks at me a few times, her cheeks going pale.
“How … how did you discover this?” she asks, her voice small.
“I have her diary. The last one she wrote in. Everything’s there, in her own writing.” I feel bad, telling her like this, but I had to get it off my chest. It’s been driving me crazy, holding in this secret.
“I already knew.” She nods when I gape at her. “Father told me a while ago. He asked that I never mention anything to you, so I respected his wishes.”
“What?” Why am I the last to know everything? Unless … “Does Lily know?”
“Yes.”
Holy crap. I just … I don’t understand why I’m always kept in the dark. I can’t believe I let this eat me up inside when everyone already knew. God, I hate secrets. “So you knew she was having an affair. And Daddy knew, too.”
Violet nods again. “I guess the marriage wasn’t good for a long time. Ever since … after you were born, it went downhill fast.” She acts like it’s no big deal, but her words are like a fierce blow to my stomach.
“Downhill fast?” Great. So it was my fault? I can’t take this. May as well urge her on to blurt out her bad news. “What were you going to tell me?”
“It can wait.” The smile she gives me is false. Bright and cheery, though her eyes are dim and dark. “Let’s talk about it another time.”
Meaning she doesn’t want to make this conversation worse. Everything within me goes still. Now I must know. “What is it?” I ask cautiously. It must be something else about Daddy. Or Pilar. Or maybe Daddy and Pilar. God, if they ran off and eloped I’m going to lose it. Completely lose it …
Violet interrupts my thoughts, her voice soft but the words deadly.
“Your boyfriend is a thief.”
I stare at her for a moment, my brain trying to process what she just said. Caden and thief. The words together make no sense. None. I’m caught so off guard, I start to laugh, because I don’t know how else to react.
“This isn’t a laughing matter, Rose,” Violet says sternly, but her matronly tone only makes me laugh more. She’s glaring at me, her mouth working, her jaw clenching. “I’m serious!”
Okay. I need to straighten up before she smacks me. “Oh, come on. You can’t be for real, Violet. A thief? Really? Where did you hear that?”
She sniffs. “I did a little investigating. So did Ryder. Talked with people who know Caden, or know of Caden. We share a lot of the same social circle. Or at least we used to, when we were younger. Turns out rumors have floated around him and his family for years.”
“What sort of rumors?” I sound snippy but I don’t care. I already warned her I was grumpy.
“Did you know his father committed suicide?” Violet asks abruptly.
I blink, startled at the harshness in her tone. “Yes. He told me about his dad.” I send her a look. “I would think you’d be a little more sympathetic considering our mother did the same thing.”
She ignores my remark. “His father was an investment banker and stole from his clients. They were going to bring criminal charges against him. A few civil suits had already been filed when he took his own life.”
“I already know this. He told me everything.” I turn off my iPad and leave it on the edge of her desk, frustrated.
“Did he tell you that he and his mother were left with nothing after his father’s death? Not even the life insurance would pay out, because they don’t on suicides.”
“What does that have to do with anything?” I lean forward in my chair, imploring her with a look. “Are you purposely trying to rile me up? Disappointed that you haven’t shocked me yet with all of Caden’s so-called secrets?”
Violet doesn’t even acknowledge my remark. “We went to the same private school, Caden and I. We were in the same grade. I knew he was familiar—I just couldn’t place him, not that I really knew him. Lily remembered him, though.”
“Lily?” Say what? “What does she have to do with any of this?”
“She had an interesting story to tell me. Remember when she said she lost Mom’s diamond earrings? Father gave them to her for her sixteenth birthday and then they went missing. She said she lost them at some party and they got into a huge fight over it?”
I have no idea what Lily and her earrings have to do with Caden. “Sure,” I say weakly. I remember an argument. Missing earrings. But that was typical Lily. She was so careless. She still is.
“She didn’t lose them. They were stolen. She just didn’t know how to tell Father, so she lied and said she lost them.” Violet pauses and I swear she’s enjoying this roundabout storytelling method of hers. “She said Caden Kingsley stole those earrings. Mom’s earrings.”
Frowning, I slowly shake my head. “And you believe her?” This makes absolutely no sense. “This is crazy. She doesn’t know Caden.”
“Yes. She does. She remembers him from high school because he had a crush on her and she knew it. But he was younger and she wasn’t interested in anyone who couldn’t get her booze or drugs back then.” Violet rolls her eyes and I want to slap her, I swear to God. “They were at a party together years ago and she said they … hooked up. She was drunk or whatever and passed out. When she woke up, the earrings were gone.”