Page 239 of Handsome Devil
“I don’t get it. Why would Rolf risk his position with us, for Laurinda? She couldn’t possibly pay him enough.”
“No. She didn’t pay him. They were involved, Dane.”
“Laurinda and Rolf?” he said, like he still couldn’t believe it.
“Yes.”
“But… he’s worked for me, every day, for the last two years.”
“Yes.”
There was a long silence as he put that one together.
“They’ve been plotting against me for two years?”
“Probably longer than that, Dane,” I said softly.
“What do you mean?”
I closed my eyes. Then I just said it. “Laurinda is your mother.”
Silence. Then: “What did you say?”
“Sit down, Dane.”
“I’m sitting,” he said, his voice low.
“Laurinda is your mother. She had an affair with your dad while he was married to your mom. Christiana, I mean. Your family took you from Laurinda. Your mom… Christiana… she raised you as hers. You were the sole heir. They wouldn’t let Laurinda keep you. Because of the affair. And then… she kind of fell apart. At least, that’s how she tells it.”
Dane was utterly silent.
“She hooked up with Joey after that,” I said softly. “I guess, for your grandmother, that was the last straw. The final betrayal. So, she was disowned.”
“I… I don’t know what to say. ”
“You didn’t know any of this?”
“No. I did not know any of this.”
“I’m so sorry, Dane.”
“They never told me,” he said. He sounded like he was in shock. I was surprised he was even stringing sentences together. I probably wouldn’t be.
“I know. That’s what Laurinda said.”
“She never told me,” he said. “Why wouldn’t she tell me?”
“I don’t know. But she was definitely trying to get Lex cut back into the family by discrediting you. She seemed very, very bitter about the fact that you were the only recognized heir because you were raised by Christiana. And Lex was unrecognized.”
“As she should be,” he said.
I didn’t say anything. There were so many layers to this betrayal, I didn’t even know where to start unraveling it all. I couldn’t even imagine how he must be feeling right now.
Shock. He had to be in shock.
“Devi,” he said. “Why would she just tell you all of this?”
I sighed again. “Because she’d been caught? And maybe she had nothing left to lose. Or… maybe she even wanted to get caught? Once she got talking, she didn’t seem to hold anything back. And honestly, if she didn’t tell me, I think Lex would’ve told us both. He’s not happy about any of this, Dane. I don’t know. I don’t know why someone would do any of the things that she did.” I hesitated. “She did tell me, though, that she loves you.”
