Lia gathered her thoughts together. “Just that Luc wants to find my father. He knew him before he went to prison, but then when Luc got out, he disappeared.”
“You know that Luc was innocent?”
“Yes, but what does that have to do with my father?”
“Your father set him up. Luc only acted in self-defense, but your father paid people or terrorized them into lying in court.”
“But why?”
“Because Luc was determined to find out what happened to his own father, and he was getting too close. Jimmy Brent was responsible for Luc’s father’s death, and Luc was determined to expose the truth.”
Lia wanted to shake her head, deny the words, but they all made horrible sense.
“Your father is an evil man,” Isabella said. “That scar on Luc’s face—Jimmy Brent is responsible for that. He wasn’t content with having Luc locked away—he paid people to have him killed in prison. Luckily, Luc had friends.”
Lia couldn’t take it in. Why hadn’t Luc told her? The questions went over and over in her brain. Why? Was he still planning revenge? Still using Lia as bait? She couldn’t bear it.
She swallowed. “I love him.”
Isabella studied her almost sadly. “It’s not enough. I don’t know what Luc is doing with you, using you somehow to get to your father perhaps. But whatever his reasons, it cannot end well. Luc hates your father. At one point, his whole life revolved around revenge. He got past that, but if he ever finds him, I’m not sure what he would do. Would you have Luc back in prison?” Her face hardened again. “Go away, Ms. Brent. Go away before that happens.”
“I can’t, I have to wait for Luc. I have no way to go.”
“There’s a boat waiting for you at the dock. It will take you to the mainland. A car will meet you there and take you to the airport. Here—” She thrust something into Lia’s hand. “It’s a plane ticket back to London for tonight.” She looked about to say more, then shook her head. “Do us all a favor and go home. Just leave Luc alone. Your family has done him enough harm.”
Lia watched as the helicopter rose slowly into the air amid a swirl of rose-colored dust. Luc’s mother’s face was at the window, staring back at Lia with what could only be pity on her patrician features. She raised a hand in farewell, but Lia didn’t return the gesture.
Her mind was numb; she walked slowly back to the villa and into their bedroom. The maid hadn’t yet been in, and the bed was still rumpled. Lia collapsed onto the mattress and buried her face in Luc’s pillow. She could still smell the sharp exotic cologne he wore, and she breathed in deeply. For long minutes, she lay there, not wanting to think.#p#分页标题#e#
She had been living in a fantasy world, totally suspending reality, a world where it was possible to fall in love and live happily ever after, but she had always known that such a world didn’t exist. All those years of watching her mother fall apart should have been proof enough of that.
She’d always known her father was not a good man, but that he had been responsible for Luc’s father’s death was unbelievable. Not only that, but he had nearly ruined Luc’s whole life. Set him up and then tried to finish the job. How could Luc not hate the man responsible for that? How could he not hate her?
Closing her eyes, she remembered his words that morning. She couldn’t believe Luc had done this all out of revenge as his mother had hinted. Oh, it may have been his motive at the start—in fact, she was sure it was, he had made no secret of it. But she was convinced that he felt something for her now.
But he had never actually told her he loved her, or even approached anything close to saying that. Then again, she had never said she loved Luc. Maybe he did care for her, but how could it ever be enough to overcome the betrayals of the past? And what would happen if her father did turn up? Could she stand by and see Luc destroy him? She had always hated him, but he was still her father. He was also Mike’s father. What would it do to her little brother? Luc had told her that anything he did would be legal, but that still wouldn’t prevent it from being splashed all over the newspapers. It was better for Mike that his father stay away from them all as he had done for the past ten years.
The thoughts kept going around and around in her head. Luc’s mother would never accept her, that was for sure, and even if Luc did care for her, Lia didn’t have the right to cause a rift between the two when her family was already responsible for so much.
Almost mechanically, she got to her feet. The envelope Luc’s mother had given her was still clutched in her hand, and she placed it carefully in her handbag. She opened the wardrobe and pulled out the suitcase, then pushed it back. The clothes weren’t hers. She would take nothing with her.