of you often. He was deeply saddened when he heard about…”
“My death?”
Willa rubbed her temples, the conversation making absolutely no sense. “What do you mean your death? So help me, if one of you doesn’t explain what the hell any of this means, I’m going to go insane.” Oh wait. Too late.
Aurele took Willa’s arm and steered her toward the chintz sofa in the living room. “I’ll tell you everything, but perhaps first I should put some tea on? Or take the lasagna out of the freezer.”
More than familiar with Aurele’s stalling tactics, Willa narrowed her eyes. “I’m not thirsty or hungry. So spill it.”
Exhaling heavily, Aurele perched on the edge of the couch cushion and smoothed the knee of her polyester slacks. “As I’m sure you’ve already deduced, we’re not really blood relatives.” Her shaky hand reached for Willa’s and squeezed. “But I want you to know that I’ve always viewed you as the niece I never had. My love and affection for you is no different than if we did share blood ties. That’s never going to change.”
“But…” Willa shook her head, scrambling to process it all. “Even before my parents died, you were there for every family gathering. Every holiday. My mom called you sister. Why in the world would she do that if you weren’t?”
Aurele pinched the bridge of her nose. “This is going to be so very difficult to explain, much less for you to comprehend.”
“Try me.”
Her aunt—no, apparently that wasn’t correct anymore—peered desperately in Max’s direction. As if he’d be any stinkin’ help. He knew about as much as she did. Or at least she assumed so. To be honest, she doubted anyone on the planet could claim to be as clueless as she at the moment.
Finally Aurele’s scrutiny settled on her. “Willa, your memories aren’t one hundred percent accurate.”
“Not accurate? Uh, I’m pretty certain there’s no possible way I can screw up something like that.”
“There is, since your memories are implants.”
Willa blinked at Aurele. The only implants she was familiar with were the ones that came in silicone and boasted numbers like double D. She kind of doubted that’s what Aurele meant, however.
Max approached the sofa, his features frozen in disbelief. “What do you mean they’re implants? Are you saying her memories aren’t real?”
“Not entirely.”
“Wait, wait, wait.” Willa held up a hand, desperate to put an end to this madness. “That’s ridiculous. How could they not be real?” Glomming on to the first thing that popped into her mind, she hiked up the hem of her cargo pants and pointed to the faint white crescent scar just below her kneecap. “I clearly remember getting that when I was seven years old and I fell off my bike after dad removed the training wheels for the first time. Are you telling me it’s not real?”
“The scar is, but the memory is not.”
She couldn’t grasp the insanity that Aurele was suggesting. “Then how did I get it?”
A heavy weariness turned Aurele’s features haggard. Her gaze roved to Max before once more meeting Willa’s. “I don’t recall the precise means, but I know you got it the day we escaped Atlantis. The day your parents were murdered.”
Chapter Twelve
Max watched the color slowly leach from Willa’s face while a horrible premonition of doom barreled upon him. He had a sinking feeling where this story was headed, and if he was right, his and Willa’s lives were about to be irrevocably turned upside down.
“What do you mean my parents were murdered?” Willa’s voice came out little more than a whisper. “They drowned. I saw it with my own eyes.”
“Another implant. I begged the mind sweeper not to use it, not to put you through that, but he insisted it would be the only way to keep you from wondering. To keep you from ever entering the ocean.”
The odd statement snapped Max into investigative mode. “Why didn’t he want her to go into the ocean? And who the hell is this mind sweeper?” He wasn’t familiar with the term, but given this talk of implants and false memories, he could easily deduce what the individual’s skill amounted to.
“I think I’d better fill in a few blanks before getting into that, otherwise it’s not likely to make sense.”
Willa grunted. “Got news for you. None of this is making sense.”
“I know, dear. You have no idea how sorry I am that we’re even having this conversation.”
“Why?” Willa’s eyes flashed with accusation. “Because the guilt’s eating at you due to you lying