“It wasn’t,” I argued quietly. “And I didn’t almost get kicked out. I would have applied for loans if I needed to, but they offered me an alternative academic scholarship considering my grades.”
Sophie dabbed her lips with a linin napkin. “I don’t see why you’d need either. I told you I could help pay for school given the circumstances. Your father would have but…”
I swallowed. “Yes, well, I told you I didn’t need the help. I was raised to do things on my own, which is why I denied his help too.”
Sophie didn’t say anything else, but Lydia smiled to herself as she poked at her food. She jumped in after a few awkward moments of silence. “I hate to bring it up, but there was a reason I wanted to come and talk to you both today.”
Sophie’s eyes rolled. “Shocking.”
I eyed her for a moment when she wasn’t looking before glancing back at Lydia with interest. Whatever was on her mind was serious because she had a sheepish look on her face.
“What is it?” I asked lightly.
Setting her fork down, she looked at both of us before sighing. “I was reached out to by a reporter from The Times. They have new information regarding your father, Della.”
My heart dropped. “What?”
Sophie set her napkin down. “How on earth could they still be digging up information on him? It’s done.”
It’s done. Those two words were so final that they hurt. I wasn’t sure I wanted to believe them, even if she was partly right. It’d been months since he was buried, why would the press be reaching out to anybody? And why Lydia?
I was hesitant when I asked, “What did they want?”
Sophie shook her head. “Does it really matter, Adele? Whatever they say can’t be any good, especially not for us.”
Lydia disregarded her sister’s comment and focused solely on me. “He said there was a list being published of the names of the people Anthony stole from. Apparently, it’s extensive.”
We already knew that my father had harmed a lot of people, but during the trial it was considered sealed evidence so nobody could be named publicly. Speculation buzzed in the city, in certain social circles, about something like this coming to light. But after so many months, I figured it was over.
“Why now?” I whispered, frowning.
Lydia reached over and took my hand. “I can only think that they want to give victims justice in a way that outs Anthony. I’m sorry, Della, I know how hard this has to be for you.”
“For all of us!” Sophie said abruptly. “I can’t believe they’re going to put our name out there again. It isn’t right.”
How can she even say that? “What about the people he hurt, Sophie?” I questioned, staring at her with unblinking eyes. She gaped at me. “It isn’t fair for them.”
“They were given hefty sums of money for compensation. Some more than they lost after Anthony was convicted. Why do you think they took everything from you?”
Jaw ticking, I pushed my plate away. “I don’t like the thought of Dad’s name being in the papers again either, but we can’t ignore the people, his victims, that deservingly put him there.”
“You act like he was a murderer,” Sophie scoffed at me.
I didn’t have the energy to argue with her, so I turned to Lydia. “What else did this reporter say? Did he mention when they were going to publish it?”
“Tomorrow.”
I blinked. Tomorrow. That was…soon.
“We’ll sue.” That came from Sophie.
“We have no grounds,” Lydia told her calmly, being the voice of reason that I couldn’t be. “These things were bound to happen.”
Angered, Sophie stood. “But why? Anthony is dead for Christ’s sake! It isn’t like he can hurt them any further.”
Closing my eyes, I felt her words like a stab straight through the heart. Why did she have to be cruel? Even if it were true, she didn’t need to be so abrupt about it.
“No,” Lydia agreed, “but that doesn’t mean the truth can’t still come out. Plenty of people have demanded documents be made public since the trial ended.”
“He wanted money, didn’t he? The reporter. He must have asked for something in return to make the story go away.”
I cracked my eyes open to see what Lydia’s reaction was. She looked pale, sad, and a mixture of other things I could relate to. “I’m sorry, but no. He wanted me to know because of my relationship with Anthony.”
“Relationship,” Sophie repeated, walking away from the table with a hand on her temple like she had a headache. “So, what? He gave you a heads up out of pity? If that were the case, why didn’t he call Adele or me? Hmm?”
Lydia was quiet.
I shook my head. “It doesn’t matter now. These are going to come out one way or another, so why argue?”
Sophie said, “Because it’s ridiculous!”
Lydia squeezed my hand.
“It’s not,” I whispered.
Sophie cut her gaze to me in disbelief. “I can’t believe you’re willing to let this family go through more shame. Between you and your father, I swear—”
I paled at her words, which caused her to stop short. The lump in my throat grew as embarrassment, shame, and a million other negative things crashed into me.
Lydia glared at her sister. “That’s enough. Don’t you think she’s gone through a lot already? The last thing any of us needs is to create more problems. We’re supposed to be supporting each other.”
“That’s rich coming from you,” Sophie scoffed at her. “You only show up to be the bearer of bad news. When was the last time we saw you? That’s right. Anthony’s funeral. Convenient that you only come when you see fit.” Sophie stepped toward me. “Adele, I didn’t mean anything by what I said. I’m just angry.” Yet, she didn’t apologize. A classic Sophie move. It was like she was allergic to saying sorry or having any true semblance of guilt for anything she did.
Lydia sighed again and said, “I know this is going to be hard for everyone which is why we need to stick together.”
I wondered how that would work since the two of them didn’t exactly have a relationship in the first place. “What do you think will happen after the list is published? Those people were given their money back.”
“Not all of them,” Lydia admitted. “There were a few that received nothing, or very little compared to what they lost. Your father had already had a lot of assets tied up elsewhere, and the property and belongings the state sold to compensate didn’t cover everything.”
“Could they come after us?” Sophie wondered aloud, panic in her eyes.
I swallowed. “They can’t…can they?”
Sophie held her hands up. “I’m calling my lawyer. This needs to be nipped in the bud before it gets out of hand again. We all know how the press can be and how it can…impact people.”
Another reference to me and my reaction last time. I’d lost it, but I wished she didn’t bring it up, indirectly or not. It was bad enough I had to live with my breakdown, the last thing I needed was my family reminding me when they got upset.