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“I can fix it. Here.”
Colette reached into her clutch and pulled out makeup wipes, mascara, and lipstick. She kept her eyes lowered to her sister’s cleavage as Colette fussed over her like she’d always wanted her to. Colette’s hands were shaking like crazy. They silently agreed applying mascara wasn’t worth the risk.
“I’m so sorry,” she whispered.
Colette averted her gaze. “I can’t do this.”
She tried to stifle her rioting emotions for both their sakes. “How did you find us?”
“I was keeping an eye on Warren. I usually do. I saw him go down the hallway. When he didn’t return, I followed. I didn’t know you were in there until I was standing outside and caught the last of what he was saying.” Colette searched her face. “About Elena...”
“Is it true?”
Colette hesitated before murmuring, “Does it matter?”
Which meant yes. She gripped the vanity as the strength went out of her legs. “Dad gave her money to abort me?”
Colette gripped her arm. “Dad loved you.”
“You really are your mother’s daughter.” Maximus had thrown that in her face when he found out about the affair. She hadn’t realized the implication at the time, but... She pressed a hand against her stomach and wondered if she was going to be sick again. Roth had called her a whore. Was it because she’d slept with other men or because he knew that was in her blood? Like mother, like daughter. She hadn’t even known and had followed in Elena’s footsteps anyway...
There was no doubt in her mind Roth had a file on Elena Rogan. He made it his business to know the ins and outs of her family. Did he know her mother wasn’t a personal assistant but a glorified whore her dad and his cronies had passed around? That her father had paid her mother not to have her? Of course he did. She was the last to know, as usual. Did he get the vasectomy because he thought she might try to trap him like her mother trapped Maximus?
“Minnie.” Colette stared at her with concerned eyes. “That’s all in the past. It doesn’t matter.”
Right. It didn’t matter. That was then; this was now. Even as she told herself that, her heart felt as if it were being stabbed over and over. Blood was spurting everywhere, just like her thoughts and emotions. She desperately tried to contain it like Colette. She should be comforting her sister, who’d just confronted her lifelong abuser. No one would know it though. Colette’s face was as still as a glassy lake. Only her eyes showed her inner turmoil. Why couldn’t she turn off her emotions like that? Why was she so weak?
“Should I get Roth?” Colette asked.
“No!” When Colette frowned, she fixed a pained smile on her face. “I’m fine.”
“You’re not.”
“Neither are you.”
To her surprise, Colette nodded and brushed a hand against her temple as if she had the beginnings of a migraine. “I’ll find Lyle and tell him we need to go. You should too.”
“Roth has business...”
“I think he can make an exception.” When she shook her head, Colette’s tone changed. “Why not?”
Her sister was too flustered to wonder why she was in the library to begin with.
“Do you want to come home with us?” Colette offered.
It was tempting. She wasn’t sure she’d be able to conduct herself normally after her world had imploded, but it would cause a stir if she left Roth behind.
“No. I’ll find him.”
“And leave,” Colette insisted. “He’ll understand.”
He wouldn’t, but that wasn’t Colette’s problem. She gave her sister a little push. “Go.”
As Colette walked out, she heard the chatter of voices and the strains of the live orchestra before the door closed again. She looked at her reflection in the gilded mirror. She was as pale as death and now wore Colette’s pink gloss instead of the bold red she sported at the beginning of the night. The curls that had once framed her face were now straight and damp. She didn’t have the energy to brush away the wet strands plastered to her cheek. The bright lighting showed hazel eyes dilated with shock. She blinked, trying to wipe away the glassy devastation, but it remained. She eyed her face objectively—a mirror image of her mother. How many of those derisive glances she’d received from her father’s cronies tonight were because they knew she’d sold her body as payment to Roth and were sure they’d get a turn?
There was a hesitant knock on the door. “Is everything okay in there? Can I come in?”
She swallowed before calling, “Yes.”
