Page 80 of Cruel Love
“No. But it wasn’t for lack of trying on your father’s part. Unfortunatelyfor him, Helen was devoted to someone else.”She chuckled, before shaking her head as if she was enjoying a private joke.“I imagine your mom thought she saw a ghost when she met Willow, she was the spitting image of Helen.”
Disbelief rampaged through me. Was this what my father washiding? The memory of his phone call to Welch echoed in my ears. No, he had been too panicked to hide the fact he had feelings for another woman. There was more to this twisted tale for sure.
“I would have died a happy woman if I never had to think of Helenagain,”Milligan said, pulling me out of my chaotic thoughts.
She fell quiet, staring down at the piece of paper as a myriad ofemotions flitted through her eyes. When she looked up again, they were as cold as ice.
“Helen was beautiful. Beautiful, but she knew it,”she started, hertone oozing with jealousy.“She might have been desired by every single man she came into contact with, but her beauty was only skin deep. Underneath, she was a horrible person who liked to make people’s lives a misery. Especially mine.”
She knocked back the remainder of her drink before once againrefilling it and holding the bottle out to me. I shook my head.“How did you know her?”
“She was my sister.”
My brows almost disappeared into my hairline in shock as dotsbegan to join together in my head. Milligan and Helen were sisters. Helen was Willow’s mom.
“Willow is your niece?”I blurted, anger in my blood reaching boilingpoint.
How the fuck could she hurt her niece? If anyone dared hurt Billie, I’dskin them alive, andthenrip their heart out with my bare hands and shove it down their throats until they choked on it.
Milligan nodded once.“Every day for eight years, I had to look atthatgirl, and each time, I was reminded of her mother,”she hissed.“Reminded of what she took from me.”
“Which was?”I growled, my patience rapidly declining.
Anguish seeped into her eyes, the coldness in them softening.“Theman I loved,”she whispered, almost to herself.
I glared back at her without an ounce of sympathy. She brutallyassaulted Willow time and time again, all because of something her mom did.
“I assume you’re talking about Willow’s father?”I said when shedidn’t speak for a minute, doing my best to keep my tone neutral.
Milligan’s eyes hardened.“He has a name,”she snarled, banging herfist on the table.
“Had. Hehada name.”
Her face contorted into a scowl as she tore her eyes away from me.
“Had,”she replied quietly.“I still loved him, you know. Right up untilthe day he died. And if it wasn’t enoughthatI had to look at Willow and see Helen in her, I had to see parts ofhimin her too.”
“What was his name?”I snapped, unable to control my fury.
“Daniel.”
Daniel Somersby. For some reason, in the far recess of my brain, hisname rang a bell. Maybe he was one of the many names I’d come across when I’d been researching fatal car crashes.
Milligan’s eyes glazed over as she stared at a spot on the table, lostin memories.“Helen was the reason I took the job at Peartree House. After she stole Daniel away from me, I had nothing. I couldn’t bear to see them together. But when I got to Peartree House, I fell in love again, and I thought I’d getmyhappy ever after.“Her eyes shot to mine, her lips twisting into a poisonous sneer.“Untilthatlittle bitch came along, and he wasn’t interested in me anymore.”
I stared back at her, another puzzle piece slotting into place.“Youfell in love with Welch?”I chuckled, earning a scathing glare from her.
“Kevin Welch happens to be an amazing man,”she shrieked, hereyes turning wide and maniacal.“He was in love with me too, until he came back from the annual Legion conference, and everything changed! All he could talk about washer.He didn’t care if she was only a child, he wanted her!”
I leaned forward, one part of her rant standing out more than the rest.“What the fuck was Willow doing at a Legion conference?”
“She was there with her parents!”she cried, getting to her feet, andslightly swaying from the scotch she’d been throwing back like water.“Your father wanted Helen, and Kevin wanted Willow, so they concocted a plan to get rid of Daniel!”
My brain felt sluggish trying to process everything Milligan hadjustblurted. If Willow’s parents were at a Legion conference, they had to be members, which meant…
“Willow is Legion.”
Milligan slumped back into her chair, suddenly zapped of energy.“Willow is Legion,”she confirmed softly.“Daniel was Legion. And he didn’t die in a car crash, he was murdered.”
