Michelle Madow - The Secret Diamond Sisters

It didn’t only look like a slug, it tasted like one, too. Not that Peyton had tasted a slug before, but it was what she thought one would taste like if she had. She forced it down her throat, her eyes watering as she tried not to gag. Once she swallowed, she placed the shell back on her plate and chugged water to get the salty taste out of her mouth.

Those were supposed to be a delicacy? What were these people thinking?

“I suppose oysters aren’t to your taste?” Adrian asked. The corner of his lips twitched up, and he dabbed the side of his mouth with his napkin.

“That was disgusting,” she said, still trying to get the taste out of her mouth. She used the fork and knife closest to her plate for the rest of the appetizers—the ones that according to Brett were for the main course—but if anyone noticed, they didn’t say anything.

Next came the main course. Two and a half pounds wasn’t a huge amount of lobster, especially for being seventy dollars’ worth of food on a single plate. That much money could have fed her family for two weeks.

Savannah and Courtney had involved themselves in a conversation with Rebecca, so Peyton turned to Brett with a brilliant idea—flirt with her future stepbrother. That would surely piss Adrian off. “So, Brett,” Peyton started, using her mini-fork to get some lobster out of the claw. “Do you live here, too?”

“In the Diamond?” He cut into his steak and took a bite.

Peyton nodded. What did he think she meant—Las Vegas?

“Yeah,” he answered. “Mom and Adrian share a condo, so I have one to myself. It’s pretty sweet.”

“You have your own condo?” Peyton leaned closer to him. “You should show it to me sometime. Does it have a Jacuzzi?”

He said yes, and took another bite of his steak.

“We have a Jacuzzi in ours, too.” She batted her eyelashes conspiringly. “You should come over sometime and christen it with me.”

Okay, that was overkill, even for her. But at least it’d gotten a raised eyebrow from Adrian.

“Maybe.” Brett shifted away from her and focused on his food. She could tell she’d made him uncomfortable, and he didn’t say anything more.

She scooted back in her seat and took another bite of lobster. Brett was a total bore.

He turned to Courtney and asked if she’d thought about what colleges she wanted to apply to, since they were both going to be juniors and junior year was when the honor students worried about that stuff. Peyton, on the other hand, meant it when she said she wasn’t going to college. She wanted to get out of boring, stuffy classrooms and into the real world as soon as possible. If she ever changed her mind, she could just sign up for the community college in Fairfield.

But, of course, Courtney perked up at the mention of college plans. “Stanford,” she answered shyly. “What about you?”

“UCLA,” he said. “I’ve wanted to go there since middle school. They have great courses for people interested in careers in the movie industry, so I’m taking an Intro to Film class this summer at UNLV to get ahead and show I’ll be serious about my major.”

“Wow.” Courtney looked impressed. “I want to be an English major, because I love reading and think I would like working in publishing, but I hadn’t thought of taking a summer course. I’ve just been focusing on my grades and SAT scores so I can hopefully get a scholarship.”

“I’ve been working on the SAT this summer, too,” he said. “I have a tutor who comes to my condo twice a week, and he teaches me all these great techniques on how to ‘outsmart standardized tests.’ Maybe you could join in on our sessions.”

“I would like that.” Courtney smiled.

Brett would rather study for the SAT with Courtney than lounge in the Jacuzzi with Peyton? Whatever. She was stuck listening to their nerd-tastic conversation through the rest of the main course, and while she loved her sister and all, it was unbelievable how long Courtney could talk about school. To make it worse, the lobster wasn’t even that amazing. She would have much preferred a cheeseburger.

The busboy cleared the plates once everyone finished their meals, and the waiter approached their table again. “Dessert, coffee or tea?” he asked.

Adrian whispered to Rebecca, then turned to the waiter. “Coffee, please,” he ordered. “Black.” Then he looked at Peyton and her sisters. “Would you all care for anything?”

Savannah passed, Courtney ordered tea and Peyton got a coffee. The waiter turned to Rebecca next.

“Actually, Brett and I will be leaving now,” Rebecca said, placing her napkin down on the table.

Brett seemed confused for a second, but then he understood. After the waiter left they said their goodbyes, leaving the three of them alone with Adrian.

“Girls,” Adrian said. “I suppose we have a lot to discuss.”

That was the understatement of the past fifteen years.

“Why did you wait so long to contact us?” Peyton broke the ice.

“Has your mom ever told you why she left Las Vegas and moved back to Fairfield?” Adrian asked.

“All she’s told us was that she didn’t want us growing up around your kind of lifestyle,” Courtney said softly.

“And she was right,” Adrian said. “As I mentioned earlier, this life has its dangers.”

“What kind of dangers?” Peyton asked. Adrian Diamond had the world in the palm of his hand. What could be so bad that it would keep him away from his daughters?

“I’ll tell you now, but please listen without interrupting,” Adrian said. “You can ask questions when I’m finished.” The three of them said okay, and he continued, “There’s no easy way to say this, so I’m just going to tell you flat-out. When you were a baby, Courtney, you were kidnapped and held for ransom when your nanny was taking you out for a walk. He took the nanny’s life and said you would be next if I didn’t meet his demands. Luckily I was able to negotiate with him, and he returned you safely. Your mother and I were lucky to get you back, but it could have been worse, and we both knew it. Your mother was traumatized at the thought of what could have happened. She was already pregnant with Savannah at the time, and after such a scare, we agreed it was best for the three of you to live under the radar until you were mature enough to handle yourselves in this kind of environment. We also agreed it would be best for you to not have a connection to me, since that was what put your life in danger in the first place.”

Courtney dropped her teacup onto the plate, the clank of the china filling the room. Peyton had never seen her normally composed sister so speechless. Her heart pounded at the danger Courtney had been in, and more so at the possibility of what could have happened if Adrian hadn’t successfully negotiated with the kidnapper.

“No, Mom never mentioned that to us,” Peyton said, since Courtney clearly wasn’t ready to say anything herself. She didn’t know what she had expected Adrian to say, but it wasn’t that. And if their mom had never told them about something so important, what else could she be hiding?

Peyton couldn’t imagine the possibilities.

“Wow,” Courtney finally managed to say. She blinked a few times, then took another sip of tea, as though it could help her organize her thoughts. “Peyton’s right—she never told us that. But I guess it explains why my baby book was never as detailed as Peyton’s or Savannah’s.”

“What do you mean?” Adrian looked alarmed.

“Just that, with the kidnapping, Mom must have been so stressed that she forgot to update it,” Courtney explained. “And since we moved after it happened...she must not have had time to keep on top of it. Right?”

“Of course.” Adrian stirred his coffee, even though he was drinking it black. He looked so sad, like he was remembering something painful that he didn’t want to think about.