Selling Myself To The Alpha
Chapter 129

Luther POV

I am optimistic as Liana and I drive to Edith Chester's house. Finding my sister means I can try and fix what Dad has broken, and I can get rid of this guilt. I will finally feel that I deserve to be part of the alpha family again, and worthy of the pack. "Cute place," Liana murmurs when I park the car. "I always had a thing for white picket fences and red roses."

"It fits Nicky," I grin. "It's all fairy tale and chirpiness like her.

"I couldn't agree more" Liana laughs as we walk towards the front door.

I knock, and quietly, we wait for someone to open.

"May I help you?" A woman with platinum blond hair answers the door.

"Edith Chester?" I ask.

"Yes," she clears her throat. "Or I used to be."

"Good day, were..."

"Luna Liana," the woman interrupts me, and her eyes widen. "And Luther, please come in."

She opens the door all the way and stands aside.

"You have a lovely home," Liana smiles at Edith once we are in the living room.

"Thank you," she replies. "Please, have a seat. Can I offer you anything to drink?"

"Not for me, thank you," she says politely and touches her belly. "This little one keeps sitting on my bladder."

"I remember those days," she giggles. "There is a lot of discomfort and pain before you get to the joys of motherhood."

"To what do I owe this honour?" she sits opposite me and Liana. "It's not every day I receive people from the alpha family."

"We have questions about Nicky," I rest my elbows on my knees and intertwine my fingers.

"Oh, my," Edith looks nervously from me to Liana. "Did she do something wrong?"

"Not at all, she's a lovely girl," I put her to ease. "It's about her biological father."

"Oh," Edith's eyes turn stormy before she looks at her fingers.

"Nicky believes I'm her brother," my voice is calm and steady.

"She said that?" Edith's head jerks up and stares at me with a pale face.

"She overheard a conversation between you and Sam,"

Liana continues.

"That child," Edith shakes her head and sighs heavily. "I cannot tell you how many times I've told her not to eavesdrop and mind her own business."

"Edith," I say patiently. "Please help me understand what's going on. It's important to me."

"You and Nicolette aren't related," she says after a moment with a stoic face. "She overheard a conversation, added two and two and got forty-four. Sam and I weren't talking about her" "You were talking about Missy," Liana says, and Edith pales a little more.

"Well' she clears her throat uncomfortably. "I guess you know everything."

"Not everything," I smile. "That's why we're here. We need your help to fill in the blanks."

"What do you know?" Edith asks and crosses her arms in front of her chest. She is obviously reluctant to have this conversation.

"My father admitted to having an affair," I reply. "Edith came to him with a baby in her arms and he paid her to disappear."

"Typical," Edith snorts and rolls her eyes. "I'm sorry, Luther, but your dad is lying. He didn't pay Edith to disappear, he paid her to get an abortion."

"Are you serious?" Liana gasps as she wraps her arms around her womb as if to protect her unborn child from the word.

"That doesn't make sense," I shake my head to clear my mind. "How would my father know it's a girl if he paid for an abortion? And two million is a bit much for an abortion, don't you think?"

"Happy to know you can put a price on a baby's life," Edith's mouth pulls into a thin line and her eyes turn cold.

"That's not what I meant," I hold up my hands defensively. "But two million sounds much more than child support than an abortion."

Edith looks at me for a moment before she lowers her gaze.

"I'm sorry," she says after a while and looks at me again."

But you remind me of your father, and I got defensive."

"You know Gary?" Liana asks and I can tell her mind is racing.

"No," she shakes her head. "I only saw him when he came to the restaurant. Gary charmed Edith's panties off, so to speak. She was head over heels in love with him. When she learned she was pregnant, she was overjoyed. But reality kicked in quickly when Gary gave her money and instructions to get rid of it. Edith was hurt and furious. So, she took the money and placed it in an account for the baby. After Missy was born, she went to see him. It gave her immense joy to see his shock when she showed him his baby."

"Did he try to contact Edith again after that?" Liana asks."

Or his daughter?"

"I don't know," she shrugs. "He came to the restaurant a couple of times, but Edith would hide, and we would lie and tell him it's her day off or something. As far as I know, they never spoke again after that."

"No wonder my mother was so furious," I mumble when the realization hits me. "Not only did he cheat on her, but Dad also paid for an abortion that never happened. Edith won, and my mother hates losing."

"Edith got her revenge," she grins sourly. "She didn't just deposit the money. Only one person is allowed to make a withdrawal - Missy. She didn't use a cent, so he couldn't accuse her of stealing or whatever. And Gary couldn't dare ask back the money. If he tried to get it back, it would've become public knowledge that he paid a woman for an abortion in a state where abortions are illegal. The scandal for the alpha family would've been irreparable."

"Is that why he gave her so much?" | frown. "Because she had to travel out of state to get the abortion?"

"Partially," she grins. "And partly because Edith sort of blackmailed him for that amount."

"Just one last question," Liara's voice is icy, and I know she is upset with everything she learned. "Why didn't you take Missy in when her mother died?"

"I couldn't afford it," she replies stiffly and lifts her chin.

"I'm an Omega, married to an Omega. Back then Sam was a general worker in the factory. We didn't have money to feed another mouth. Edith had nothing and left nothing behind.

Not even a life policy. Meanwhile, there are two million rotting in the bank and is no good to anybody. I tried, but Missy must be thirty to make a withdrawal."

"You left a mourning teenager to fend for herself because you couldn't lay your hands on her inheritance?" Liana hisses.

"Luna, you don't understand," Edith says quickly. "You don't know how bad it is when you have no clue to where and how you can get food for your child, let alone somebody else's."

"Spare me the drama" Liana stands up. "I grew up in a trailer park with my parents and a brother. I know financial struggles and it's doable."

"I did try," Edith defends herself. "But it didn't matter how we looked at it, we couldn't feed Missy. She was better off in foster care."

"You horrible woman," Liana snaps. "Edith was your best friend and she trusted you with her child. How would you have felt if she dumped your child into the system?"

"She should've thought of Missy when she deposited that money," Edith is red in the face. "She had two million dollars; it wouldn't have killed her to allow the legal guardian to withdraw a couple of thousand to keep her child alive."

"Edith," I stand up and tower over her. "You and Sam are no longer invited to my wedding. I would also strongly advise you to leave the pack."

"You're kicking us out for something that happened ten years ago?" Edith gasps.

"I'm being kind," there is no joy in my smile. "I want to do much worse. You kicked my sister out, now I'm repaying a favour."

"That's not fair," Edith shouts bewildered. "You can't punish us for being poor."

"You knew who Missy is," I shout as I lose the last shred of my temper. "You knew she was of alpha descent, and you did nothing to help her, all because of money!"

"Get off your high horse," she snorts. "It's not like your family didn't do anything to help her."

"I'm not making excuses for my father," my words are soft and calculated. "What he did, was despicable. But in his defence, he has no idea Edith is dead. Nor does he know where his daughter is. However, that's irrelevant. He failed his daughter just like you failed Edith and Missy. I was a child when all of this happened, but I'm not anymore and will fix the mistakes of your generation."

"Let's go," I take Liana by the elbow before turning back to Edith. "You better start packing. If you're still here in seventy-two hours, there will be hell to pay."