Chapter 6
Katya
I dropped my textbook on the floor. Trying to study was a waste of time. I’d read the same paragraph at least eight times and still had no idea what it said. The only thing I could think about was Carter, and that seriously flustered me. Why had he needed to appear in my life? As if I didn’t have enough to think about—a mysterious hottie stalker had to show up out of nowhere, claiming to know about my dad.
How could he know anything? Even my mom barely knew anything. She said Dad never liked talking about his family and only ever said he wanted nothing to do with them. It sounded like he thought they were dangerous, but Mom didn’t know for sure.
I hated thinking about Dad. It was too frustrating. He held more mysteries than our hotel. Not that I should’ve been surprised by that. He’d been the one to give Mom the hotel after Alley and I were born.
To add to the intrigue, he never even told her how he’d gotten it. But she’d been so heartbroken after he died that she moved us across the state. We’d only come here five years ago because Mom lost her job and couldn’t find a new one. She’d said her only option was to fix up and open Dad’s hotel.
Knock, knock.
“Come in,” I grumbled. I didn’t want to talk with anyone.
Mom came in and sat next to me on the bed. “Are you okay, sweetie?”
I didn’t know where to start. Not that I wanted to talk.
“Is it about those three boys you and Alley were sitting with? Were they giving you grief?”
“No.” It was the truth. They hadn’t done anything wrong. Other than Carter insinuating that he knew about my family. “They just got me thinking about Dad.”
She rubbed my back. “I wish you girls could’ve met him. You’d have adored him, and he would’ve felt the same way. Did I ever tell you that he named you?”
I gave her a double-take. “No. Why didn’t you tell me before?”
Mom frowned. “It hurts so much to think about him.”
“Did you name Alley?”
She nodded. “After he picked your name, insisting that your nickname would be Kat, I picked Alley, thinking we could call you two Alley-Kat.”
I groaned. “That was on purpose?”
She smiled sadly. “Yeah. I know it annoys you—you’re too old for it—but I can’t let it go. I feel like it keeps us all connected to Dad.” She sighed. “It was cute when you were little, you have to admit.”
“I guess. Why did he want me to have the nickname Kat?”
She looked behind me, her gaze turning dreamy for a moment before returning her attention to me. “I’m not really sure. Your dad was a man of many mysteries. I suppose that was a big part of what drew me to him. He seemed to be shrouded in secrets, and I felt special whenever he’d reveal one to me.”
“Like what?”
“Family things, mostly.”
I froze. After the conversation with Carter and his friends, her wording just didn’t sit right with me.
Mom continued, “But even with as long as we were together, and having had you girls, there was still so much I didn’t know. I felt like he was holding back on something big. Not to be mean, but more like… Well, I suppose if I knew, it wouldn’t be a mystery, would it?”
I scratched my head. “Then why stay with him if he had so many secrets? I can’t imagine wanting to be with someone who liked to keep things from me.”
She put her hand on mine. “It wasn’t like that, Katya. He wasn’t trying to be deceptive. It was more like…” Her voice trailed away for a moment. “…like there were things he wasn’t ready to reveal. I like to think that he planned to tell me everything someday.”
“Huh.” I tried to imagine the appeal. Carter was mysterious, but it only annoyed me. I couldn’t picture myself wanting to stick around and figure it out.
Mom patted my knee and smiled. “It felt like slowly unwrapping a present.”
“Ew, Mom. That’s my dad you’re talking about.”
She laughed. “That’s not what I meant, but that was fun, too.”
I turned away, my face heating. “I don’t want to know.”
“Okay, sorry. I wasn’t trying to go there. I just meant that with him, it felt like every new mystery revealed was bringing me closer to the core secret.”
“But you never got that far.” I frowned.
Mom shook her head. “Not before he was killed.”
“Did you ever have any ideas about how he died?”
“Some, but who’s to say how far off they were?”
I scooted closer. “Like what?”
“He got this hotel from his family, so I assume they had money. Or maybe they got a good deal on this place. It was hardly in pristine shape. The thought of the mob crossed my mind once or twice, but he didn’t act like your typical mob guy.”
“You mean stereotypical?”
“Probably. He wasn’t anything like they are in the movies. Honestly, I think it was something else, but we’ll never know.”
Curiosity burned in my chest. That wasn’t just some interesting story, it was my history. My family. “Did you ever try to dig deeper? I mean, once he was gone, it wasn’t like he could get mad at you.”
She met my gaze. “I know, and I have looked several times—for you girls—but I’ve found nothing. Even with everything available online these days, I haven’t come up with anything.”
I tapped my finger on the bed, nervous energy buzzing through me. Answers had to be somewhere. Maybe she hadn’t looked in the right places. “Have you tried a private investigator?”
“No, honey. Whatever money your dad’s relatives have, we don’t have access to it. Money’s always tight.”
“Yeah.” I frowned. “But there has to be something we can do. Somewhere else we can find answers?”
She squeezed my hand. “If you start looking, be sensible.”
“Sensible? You’re talking about my family and my history. I don’t just want answers out of curiosity. I need to know.”
Her expression tensed. “He was afraid of them. There was a reason I never met them. Look for answers, but promise me you won’t look for the people.”
How could I make such a promise? I had grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins out there who I’d never met. People who could tell me things about my dad that Mom couldn’t tell me.
“Katya?”
“Why are they so dangerous?” I countered.
“I don’t know, honey.”
“And if he didn’t want us to find them, why give you this hotel? Isn’t that just asking for them to show up one day?”
Mom squirmed. “I don’t have the answers. Your dad would’ve been the one to talk to, and believe me, every day since his passing I’ve wished he was here for you girls.”
I raked my hands through the length of my hair. “Yeah, me too.” I stared into her eyes. “What killed him? Why haven’t you ever told us? You always dance around the subject or change it altogether.”
Tears shone in her eyes and she rose to her feet. “I don’t want to talk about this. It’s too much.”
“Mom! We’re almost twenty. Whatever it is, we can handle it. And what’s to stop us from looking online?”
“Have you?”
“Yes. There’s nothing I can find.”
She stared into my eyes, tears running down her face. “He was murdered. Brutally. And I was the one who found him.” She ran from the room.
I stared at the closed door with a mixture of emotions raging through me. I’d always assumed Dad had died from an accident or an illness. But a brutal murder? Someone had killed him on purpose? And made him suffer?
Part of me wanted to chase after Mom for more answers, but I couldn’t move. Not after hearing that news.
After what felt like forever, I finally gained control of my body again. I reached over to my nightstand and picked up the framed photo of my parents and stared at my dad’s smiling face.
He was so happy in that picture. Like his world was complete just having Mom in his arms. She looked so different back then. What would Dad have looked like if he was still alive? More importantly, what would he tell us about our family? Would he have trusted us with the truth?
My bedroom door opened, and I glanced up. It was Alley wearing a silky pajama set.
“You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” She sat on my bed, almost exactly where Mom had been. “Don’t tell me that pool ghost came up here.”
I turned the picture toward her. “Do you know how Dad died?”
Her face contorted. “Yeah, that he was killed.”
“Murdered.”
Alley nodded. “I know.”
“You know?”
She looked away. “Mom wanted to be the one to tell you.”
I squeezed my comforter. “Why did she tell you before me?”
“She said she wanted to tell us individually when we were ready.”
“I’ve been ready for a long time!”
“Did you ask?”
I folded my arms. “I was waiting for her to tell me.”
“Well, you know now. Isn’t that what matters?”
“How long have you known?”
“Katya, don’t do this.”
“Why not?” I demanded. “How long have you known?”
She sighed. “A while, okay? Just let the news settle. It sucks, and it takes time to process.”
I glared at her. How was it that she always experienced everything before me? Everything. And I was the one born first. Where was the justice?
My sister gave me a sympathetic glance, but I wasn’t going to accept it. Why did she always get the better end of the deal? First lost tooth, first award, first boyfriend, first everything.
“Katya—”
“Just go.”
“We need to talk about this.”
I shook my head. “I need space. Please.”
“Don’t do this.”
“Like you said, I need time to process the news.” I clenched my jaw. “Let me have that much. You had all the space in the world since I didn’t know anything.”
“I wanted to tell you. More than anything. Twins aren’t supposed to have secrets, right?”
“Apparently we do.” I shot her an icy stare.
“That’s not fair. Mom made me keep it a secret.”
“Seems our family’s full of those. You could’ve told me if you’d wanted.” I turned my back to her and waited for the sound of the door closing behind her.
Angry tears blurred my vision. I blinked them away, then turned around and looked at my room. The walls seemed to close in on me. This little corner of the massive building had been my refuge for the last five years, but now it was more like a prison.
Fuming, I grabbed a light hoodie from my closet and headed out into the hallway. It wasn’t like I was going to get any homework done in my current state of mind.
Silence greeted me. I walked down the hall and leaned against the wall to try and catch my breath. My fury made it hard to breathe normally. I glanced down both directions. I could go to the left and pass the guest rooms and other more public areas.
Or I could go to the right and eventually wind up in the areas where guests weren’t allowed. Places that hadn’t been renovated and brought to code.
Places that might be sealed off, holding secrets that could reveal answers to my own past. A fake wall or hidden door that could lead me to a wing unseen for centuries.
I took a deep breath and turned right.