Page 149 of Chandelier Enthralled
“He was married. His career was in a fragile state, and he was known to be unkind to anyone who got in his way.”
“She protected you from him?”
I gave a steady nod.
“Celeste was rumored to have died under suspicious circumstances.” She put a hand over her mouth, meeting my gaze with a questioning look.
“Yes,” I answered.
“Are you saying…?”
“That he found out about me? Yes.”
“No, please, not that.”
“What he didn’t know was that my mother’s housekeeper was there the night of her death, hiding in the other room. Edith was present when his men made a visit to Mom’s Silverlake home. They drugged Mom, trying to get her to give up my whereabouts.”
Willa swallowed hard, unable to hide her horror at this heinous act.
One my father had gotten away with.
“You’ve had to live with this?” she whispered. “How?”
I let out a sigh. How had he done that to someone he had professed to love, how had she been brave enough to withstand their torture, how had I endured this for so long?
I stared at my hands. “She protected me.”
“How did you find out?” she asked softly.
“Overheard the conversation. Ed and Oakley believed I was outside playing, but I was in the kitchen, listening.”
She shook her head as though to shake off the sorrow. “Did they ever realize you knew?”
“Yes, because I cried that day, was unconsolable. Oakley sat on the edge of my bed and told me this could never be shared with anyone.”
“You’d become too well known. When anyone talked of your mom, they’d mention you, too.”
“I don’t want Jewel to use my past against me.”
“I appreciate you sharing this, but there is no way I would tell even one soul about any of it.”
“It would help your career.” I shrugged. “Something like this would put you in the spotlight.”
“At your expense.”
“If not you, Jewel will expose the truth and massacre my mom’s memory.”
Willa wrapped her arm around mine. “Your mom deserves to rest in peace. She deserves to keep her secret. So do you. We must guard against this ever coming out.”
“Not sure I can.”
“We can try.”
“You know, if you want to be a successful journalist, you might want to sharpen that ambitious streak.”
She looked shocked. “Tell me you know that’s not who I am.”
“Maybe we can help each other.”
