Page 29 of Wicked Promises (Fallen Royals 3)
“I hope so.”
“The detective doesn’t believe me. T-that Matt took me a-and Caleb didn’t.”
She rubs my shoulder. “Detective Masters went to school with Caleb’s dad. There’s some bad blood there.”
My head throbs. “Did he know my parents?”
She shifts. “We all did.”
“What?”
“Josh, Ben, and Keith were friends in high school. Josh and Ben played football together, and Keith…”
My dad.
It’s surreal to hear his name on her lips, after so many years of nothing.
“He was the smart one of the group.” She smiles.
“You knew my mom, too?”
Her smile fades fast. “I didn’t meet her until after college. Your parents came back to Rose Hill engaged, and your dad disowned.”
I squint at her. “Disowned?”
She nods. “You have a grandmother out there. At least, the last I knew… She had a home in England, so she may have relocated. Or passed away… I wish I could tell you for certain.”
“That’s…” The first I’m hearing of this. I have a grandmother. “I always figured they died. Dad never mentioned having anyone, and neither did Mom.”
It’s the reason I went into the foster system. The state couldn’t find anyone who would take me. No relatives they could contact. The last name Wolfe was a dead end.
“Dad never said anything about knowing the Ashers, either,” I mumble. “I thought we moved into their guest house because Mom got a job.”
Norah clucks her tongue. “No, I remember Keith calling up Josh and asking for help. They were struggling for a while, and then Amberly got pregnant with you…”
“I never knew.”
“Amberly wanted to make a name for herself. She was working like a crazy person—harder than I’d ever seen Josh work, and he worked eighty-hour weeks—and it all came crashing down on her…”
I flinch. Just what I want to hear: that I was the source of my mother’s misery. The anger that made her boil over.
“She loved you,” Norah adds.
“Didn’t Eli and Caleb not meet until after…”
She heaves a sigh. “Josh and Ben had a falling out when you all were young—in diapers. For the sake of our family, we cut ties and moved away. After Keith was arrested, he reached out to Josh. Said he felt caught in the middle of everything, that he was sorry.”
“So why did Dad get a public defender instead?”
“It would’ve been a conflict of interest.” She shakes her head. “Sometimes I wish Josh did defend Keith. But knowing…”
I flinch. “He didn’t do it.”
“I’m sorry, honey.”
This time, I remain silent. I shouldn’t expect to convince her of his innocence—I barely believe it myself. It’s more of a point of hope. If he didn’t do it, then he’s not the bad guy I thought.
And if he didn’t do it… who did?