Broken Princess (Criminal Heirs, #1)

Chapter 8 - Vanessa

"What?"

I stared between Felicity and Anthena.

Two queens.

One was my mother and the other was my grandmother.

They both looked at me, waiting-no expecting a reaction.

They would be sorely disappointed since I had mastered the art of hiding those emotions.

"Those bastards left me a bitch like you. Then they died."

Amberly Vacker was no saint. Never has and never was.

She was more like a monster sitting down on the side of the Devil himself.

But I never assumed she would kidnap me.

Amberly Vacker was full of unwanted surprises. Maybe went I meet her in hell she would clarify things more clearly.

"Why?"

Felicity's glare pierced through the room, her disapproval evident. "She is too young! She shouldn't need to know all this," she snapped.

Anthena, however, locked eyes with me, her gaze unwavering, "Prove me wrong, Vanessa, and tell me you didn't need to know this."

I was kidnapped.

By my own aunt.

I ignored both women, "Why? Why did she kidnap me?"

Felicity's eyes flickered to my face, "We are a very powerful family. We all have enemies. Ours just come in different forms."

"Meaning what?" I snapped.

"Meaning that Amberly was jealous of the power we had," Anthena's eyes flickered to me, "Your father is a very powerful man. Amberly couldn't handle it."

"So she kidnapped me because of jealously?" I snorted. So Amberly did have her weak spots. Interesting.

"We believe so, yes," Anthena spoke.

I sank back into the plush chair, I had been so focused that I hadn't realized I stood up. I sighed and rubbed my temples.

I had been kidnapped. For thirteen godamn years.

"So how did you?"

"I beg your pardon?" Felicity asked quietly.

"How did you find me?"

Felicity's voice dipped into a hushed, almost solemn tone as she responded, "The DNA test raised a flag, triggering our suspicions. We didn't stop until we had answers. Our men conducted a thorough investigation."

"Who knows that I'm here?" That I'm back.

"No one other than us."

"Does Viktor know?" I locked eyes with Felicity, searching for any hint of deception or evasion.

She paused for a moment. "Not yet." Felicity ignored my unspoken question, "I understand that this is a lot of information to process and this can seem overwhelming but we need to know if you are okay, Vanessa."

Okay? No.

People only cared about you when it served their own interests, when it propelled them forward on their path to success. My past experiences had taught me that painful lesson all too well.

"I'm fine," I turned to both women. "So what now? What's going to happen to me?"

Felicity opened her mouth, "First thing we are going to do is introduce you to your team."