He only bares his teeth in a mocking semblance of a smile.
Then I get it. Suddenly, I understand my oversight, the mistake I made. “The guy.” My mother’s lover. “He was in on it.”
“Of course he was,” he taunts.
The quiet street with all the neighbors hiding inside their houses comes back to taunt me. I should’ve thought about it. I should’ve told Leon. I shouldn’t have listened to my mom when she vowed she trusted him.
I’m backed into a corner again, my stomach bottoming out with helpless anger. “You’re an asshole.”
He licks his cracked lips. “And your mother is a whore. So what?”
“Stop calling her that,” I say, my voice rising with the fury bubbling inside me.
“What’s the matter, Violet? Can’t face the truth? At least I’m not pretending to be someone I’m not. I wonder how my father is going to react when he finds out?”
“No,” I cry out, catching his sleeve. “What do you want? Money? Tell me.”
He shakes his head slowly. “Not money. No.” He narrows his eyes to slits. “Leon’s program has a second phase development.” His words wash like déjà vu over me when he says with a sly smile, “And you’re going to steal it for me.”