What's your agenda?

Chapter 2

Craig's POV

I must confess, my new step-sister was not at all what I was expecting. As much as my father was fawning over her, I thought she would be a snob, someone who would look down on everyone. But she was the complete opposite.

She was kind and funny and, not to mention, gorgeous.

I also wasn't expecting her mother to welcome me with open arms and hug me on the spot, since my own mother disowned me and called me a failure on so many occasions.

I was always wondering what my father saw in her once upon a time and now I was starting to realize she must once be the same as Vicky's mum was at the moment.

But don't ask me what happened, that she changed so much because I have no idea.

But I made a mental note to ask my father about it.

I was deep in conversation with my father and his new wife, but I couldn't keep my eyes from searching for Vicky every few seconds. I was starting to get worried because I could not find her anywhere.

"You won't find her here, you know. She is probably in her room already or in her home office working", her mother said in a voice that was little more than a whisper.

I looked down at her and was surprised to find her smirking at me.

"What do you mean?" I asked, feigning innocence.

"Don't you dare play dumb right in front of my face. You know exactly who and what I am talking about. You are smitten with my daughter already and you just met her. I couldn't be more happy honestly. She missed so many important things in her life because of her father's death."

A sad look crossed her face but she covered the sadness with a smile in the blink of an eye.

I was looking at her speeches.

When I found my voice again, I couldn't help asking the question that took the front stage in my mind.

"You don't mind me being attracted to your daughter? Even thought you married my father? Many people would find it scandalous".

She smiled at me sadly at my words.

"Ah my dear. If you think that looks scandalous, imagine what my poor daughter has gone through in the past few years. Since she was the only person beside her father in the house at the time, everyone was pointing a finger at her when they were looking for his murderer. Before your father came along, I think me and her best-friend were the only people that trusted she didn't do the crime. But i can see how isolated she became. She keeps to herself almost all the time, and everyone is just trying to use her brilliant brain and not be her friend. I can imagine it can be exhausting ."

I could hear love and affection but the way she spoke it also showed me she never let Vicky know she knew about her being an outcast.

"So let me make it clear. They never even tried to catch the real killer? They just assumed it was her and left it at that?"

Her mother was trying to hold back her tears and it was obvious how much it hurt her still after all these years.

"Something like that, yes. You see we live in a small town, and it's known what the gossip around the town is. Usually the main line of it is the truth. So not even the police believed she was the one to blame. But since she was under age, they left it alone."

I just couldnt believe what i was hearing. To just accuse a minor of an act like killing her father. That's something unheard of in our society.

"Would you excuse me if i go find her? "

Her eyes lighted up a second before her lips pulled into a huge grin.

"Not at all, my dear. Go. I bet we old people must bore you to death".

I laughed at that and gave her a quick hug. She really was a brilliant woman. I was glad my father found someone nice and caring and not an evil monster like my own mother was. In all the years I lived with her she not once showed me she knew about the problems and questions in my head. And not in a way like Vicky's mom hid it from her. Not at all. My mother just didn't care about me or what was happening if it included me.

But now I have a goal in mind.

I needed to find Vicky first and let her know we could be friends.

For now.

The other goal, was to use every resource known to mankind and find her father's true killer. Maybe then she can finally get her life back.