Page 40 of The Pacifist
“What’s going on?” I asked Hunter, who seemed to be on the outskirts of the family drama. He had his eyes on an interactive wall that was showing a News station but with the sound so low that I couldn’t hear what they were saying.
“Their sister just accused them of running a crime syndicate on every News channel there is.”
“Sister? What sister?”
“The troubled one.”
Widening my eyes, I silently asked Hunter to elaborate. He pulled me to the window, away from the family.
“When I first met Emanuela, she mentioned there was an estranged sister called Anne who was troubled. Emanuela sometimes points her out when she sees an ad she’s in.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Anne is a model and works for big fashion houses. Here, let me show you.” Hunter pulled up a number of pictures of a gorgeous woman with symmetrical features and hair down to the small of her back. She was smiling and grinning in all the pictures and it was hard to imagine her as anything but kind and warm.
“She’s troubled?”
“Yes, apparently, she had a falling out with the rest of the family about five years ago when she was in her late teens.” He nodded to the screen. “Now she’s getting back at them.”
“She’s my age?” I asked because her baby skin and freckles made her look no more than nineteen.
He nodded.
“What exactly did she say on the News?”
“She just told the world that Nostalgia Park is nothing but a false front to hide how her family is distributing illegal drugs and alcohol. There were images from the sex club and one of the fire fighters from last night explained how they had found beer brewing in the storage building. He basically confirmed that illegal activities have been going on, and now the reporters are speculating what it will mean for the Cervici family.”
I gaped, and the happiness I’d felt about my father’s upcoming operation was overshadowed by the frustration that permeated the kitchen.
“Why would she do that to her own family?”
Hunter shrugged. “Because she’s vindictive.”
“But she’s a Motlander. We are nice people.”
He gave me an are-you-serious glance. “People are people, Mila. Even Motlanders do absurd and nonsensical things. You Motlanders aren’t fucking perfect angels if that’s what you think.”
“I know that, but this makes no sense.”
“Of course it doesn’t. Her motive isn’t rational. It’s emotional. Cole told me that Anne was always dramatic.”
I leaned in to study the pictures of Anne up close. People called me pretty but next to this woman I was plain.
“She looks so nice.”
“Yeah, like an angel, but then Lucifer was an angel too once.”
“You think she’s evil?” I whispered the word since it was not a label I wanted to put on anyone.
“I never said that.”
“But you compared her to Lucifer, the devil. Isn’t he the very embodiment of evil?”
Hunter waved a hand through the air. “She’s disturbed and wants revenge, that’s all.”
Like a fish on land I opened and closed my mouth, unable to understand why anyone would hurt their own family like this. “Can’t we talk to her?”
Hunter moved his weight to his right foot. “You know what, that’s an excellent idea! I can’t do it myself, but I could teach you some nice tricks to make people regret their actions.”
