"You should have told me your Uncle Hugo was Chef Hugo," Jenny said as they approached his house. "Chef Hugo! From Hugo's Haute Cuisine. He's a legend."
A legend who had made Genie wait two days before finally agreeing to talk. She supposed it had been unreasonable to just show up at his eponymous restaurant, Hugo's, just before lunch and expect the celebrity chef to drop everything. He was a busy man, after all.
A busy man she'd only really seen during political events, galas and charity fundraisers her parents hosted. A busy man who Genie thought of so rarely, he'd genuinely slipped her mind.
At least, after two days, Uncle Hugo had finally agreed to talk.
-----------------------------
It had been a long two days.
Two days spent avoiding her mother, which was fortunately easy to do. The estate was large. Her mother was often away and, after all, Genie had years of practice.
Avoiding Kassidy, however, had been impossible in the end. Especially after Jenny had gently pointed out that Genie had been trying to avoid her little sister.
Genie had wanted to say she'd just been busy. She was working on a draft article for her editor. She had to go through her notes and her mother's records about Crossing, trying to come up with something that somehow presented enough facts to tell the story, while leaving out details too unbelievable to print (or too difficult to face). She wanted to insist that she hadn't really been avoiding Kassidy.
Mariah had always told her that the best lies were true.
In the end, she'd faced up to it. She couldn't avoid her sister any more.
So, she'd sat down with Kassidy and told her at least some of the truth. It was enough to say that Shannon had, in fact, been killed as part of a conspiracy tied to the land deal they had been protesting. Much like her article, Genie had left out the parts about witches, werewolves, vampires and aliens. She'd also left out the part about their mother's involvement... about how Kassidy's own mother had ruthlessly suggested her friend's death.
Genie had, at least, admitted to Kassidy that there was more to the story. Things she wasn't ready to share yet. She just needed to dig a little deeper, to find out a little more, to really understand what had happened and, most importantly, why.
The best lies were true.
Kassidy's shock and anger helped Genie remember why she'd started this. Why she needed to find the whole truth, for both of their sakes.
-----------------------------
Genie's cousin, Jon, answered the door of Uncle Hugo's modern-style house, which sat on the beach on the other side of Crumbling Isle from the sprawling Von Windenburg estate. Genie was certain she'd met Jon before, probably at some family function, but she mostly knew him as the co-host of Hugo's Haute Cuisine, where he played the part of 'everyman' to his father's gourmet.
"Hi, Genie, right? Welcome to..." the young man said, his eyes going wide and his dreadlocks swinging as he saw Jenny and made an almost comic doubletake. "Oh my God. Babette!? You're Babette from the Urbz. I mean, you're..."
"Jenny Poole," Jenny said with her brilliant 'for the fans' smile. "You must be Jon."
"Stop flirting," Genie muttered, though she recognized that she may as well be talking to herself.
"They never should have killed you," Jon said.
"Hey dad, Genie's here!" Jon yelled as he led them into the house.
"Thank you for making sure the entire island knew that," Hugo Villareal sighed. The neatly dressed man, whose round face was synonymous with fine dining for countless television viewers, gave his son a long-suffering look.
"Yeah, yeah. I'm going to go check on the script for the next show," Jon said. "Leave you guys to talk. Amazing meeting you, Jenny, and good seeing you too, Genie. Call me. We'll catch up later."
"Um, sure Jon," Genie said, a little thrown by her cousin's everyday casual manner. She reminded herself that most people weren't spending their week dealing with murderous conspiracies. Jon probably had no idea that his Aunt Luna and Uncle Max were involved with organized crime. He certainly had no reason to believe they were involved in a secret war between witches, vampires and aliens, at the cost of who knew how many lives. He had no reason to doubt himself. Some people had all the luck.
"Please, sit down, both of you," Hugo said, gesturing toward a couch. "I'm sorry, I'm not being a very good host. I'm still a little thrown by all of this. Can I get you anything? Something to drink? Or eat?"
"No, thank you. We're fine," Genie said quickly. She caught Jenny's brief look of disappointment, but she really felt that her uncle's famous canapes would just be a distraction.
"Alright." Hugo nodded politely, taking a seat between them. "Your message said you wanted to talk about your mother and your grandmother."
"I do," Genie said seriously. "You know... Do you know? That my mom is involved with some..."
"Questionable people. Questionable things," Hugo sighed. "Yes. I'm sorry to say she followed in your grand-père's footsteps after I rejected that particular inheritance. I know enough to have read between the lines in your articles about the fall of Alto family a couple of months ago."
"I need to understand why she's doing this," Genie said, willing herself to use her 'interview' voice. "Why she's like this. Someone told me that I needed to understand her relationship with Genevieve, with her mother, and that I should ask you."
"That someone would be Gwen Silveroak, I assume," Hugo said. "Yeah, that shocked look on your face is nothing to how shocked I was when she called me, a little after your articles came out. Called to remind me that she had told me we would need to have this conversation... to remind me that she told me more than twenty years ago, just after you were born. Naturally I'd forgotten all about it until she said something."
"She's kind of like that," Jenny said. "We're both friends with her daughter, Miranda," she added, which at least explained how they were familiar with Gwen's uncanny prescience, Genie supposed.
"Cassie Goth's daughter. We really are coming full circle," Hugo mused, half to himself. "I have to tell you, some of this... it's hard. It's things I haven't talked about in years."
"Please," Genie pleaded. "I need to understand. I don't even know what I should be asking. Gwen said I needed to understand her relationship with Genevieve, but I don't know anything about her. I didn't... I didn't even realize I had her name. Please, what can you tell me about my grandmother?"
"Where do I even start?" Hugo mused. Genie could see old sorrow and regret rising in her uncle's eyes. The warm, round face that made gourmet food accessible for countless viewers fell into a look of grief and pain that had never fully healed. "You know, it's been nearly thirty years, but I still think about her. Especially at this time of year, near Halloween. Near when she... Well, the anniversaries always hit me. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
"Your grandmother was a lot of different things, to different people. I think what most people saw was the Lady Von Windenburg. The head of one of the wealthiest and most influential noble families in Windslar. The face of the Von Windenburg Bank.
"We certainly got our share of that side of her, Luna, Max and me," he continued. "She was very clear about what was expected of each of us, as members of the Von Windenburg family. In public we were to be quiet, be polite, be presentable and, of course, always be camera ready. We were never to show the public what we might actually be feeling, no matter what that might be. Just put on a polite smile and carry on."
Genie shuddered, hearing her own mother's expectations echoing from another generation - be quiet ("this is a very important meeting, Genevieve"), be polite ("he is a very important donor, Genevieve"), be pretty ("you have to do something about your hair, Genevieve"), sit still for the cameras ("this is for your father's campaign, Genevieve"), paste on a false smile ("You mustn't be so emotional, Genevieve") and carry on ("You must be strong, Genevieve").
"It was difficult, for me especially because I was the eldest child. The heir," Hugo said ruefully. "It was expected that I would follow in my family's traditions. I had other plans. We had more than a few arguments about that but, looking back, maybe not as many as you'd expect.
"You see, in private, my mother showed us a different face. She understood that being a Von Windenburg was demanding. She always said that we each had to find a balance between our obligations to the family and our obligations to ourselves.
"In my case, it was absolutely expected that I would become the Baron Von Windenburg, taking our family's seat in the Upper House and on the board of the bank. Unfortunately, I couldn't care less about politics or banking. I loved food. Not just eating it, though I've always enjoyed that part," he said, giving his round belly an amused little pat. "I loved the craft of it. The art and science of really great cooking. Your grandmother tried to convince me that I could have both. She said a well-rounded gentleman could certainly be a gourmet. She encouraged me to pursue it, but as a hobby, rather than a career. Obviously, I wasn't convinced.
"Now Luna, on the other hand, never seemed to have a problem with those family obligations. She wanted to follow in your grandmother's footsteps. She idolized her. Some of my earliest memories of your mother are of her trying to look and sound like your grandmother. Even as a teen, she'd put on a public face that was every bit the proper little Lady Von Windenburg. She could be annoying about it sometimes, but that's what little sisters do I guess.
"Still, your mother did have her softer side. My goofy little sister, who was so serious in public, still played with dolls at fifteen and could trip over her own two feet," Hugo chuckled. "She got along especially well with our little brother, Max. You know, hard as it may be to believe, back then Max was just a kid whose biggest goal in life was to collect all the rare Voidcritter cards. Luna shared Max's enthusiasm for them. I remember our father, your grand-père Jacques, would always bring them cards when he came back from his business trips."
"I'm sorry," Jenny put in suddenly, "but I have to ask. How did your mother end up with your father? I mean, how does the proper Lady Von Windenburg get married to a... I'm sorry..."
"A gangster? Trust me, I know who my father was," Hugo said wryly. "I don't know the whole story, but I do know that my mother wasn't always the proper Lady Von Windenburg. Her older brother, my Uncle Karl, was the original heir. I've heard enough to know that she was a bit of wild child during the '70s. I like to think she met Genie's grand-père at some seedy discotheque, but I'm not sure. I do know that at some point, he became friends and business partners with Genie's great-grandfather, Baron Henry."
"Then things changed," Hugo sighed, turning to Genie again. "My Uncle Karl was killed in the Tomarang Wars and your grandmother became the heiress. Shortly after that, your grandparents got married. I know your great-grandfather didn't approve, but he wasn't able to prevent it. I don't really remember your great-grandfather very well. He died when I was young, but I remember he didn't get along with your grand-père. He did do everything he could to cut your grand-père out of the family money or any involvement in the bank.
"The funny thing is, I don't think that bothered your grand-père at all," Hugo smiled. "Despite the rumors I've heard my whole life, I don't believe he married your grandmother for her money or position. I really believe they genuinely loved each other.
"Anyway, whatever his reasons were, your grand-père managed to keep his shady dealings out of the public eye, and away from all of us, in those days. Your grandmother was the public face of the family."
"But, you wanted to know about Luna," Hugo continued. "Like I said, she idolized your grandmother, and your grandmother doted on her. Luna would follow her around, attend galas and charity events with her. Luna even convinced her to take her to a few board meetings and once or twice to the Upper House. Your grandmother had to remind Luna sometimes that she was still a young woman. That she should spend some time with other teens. I guess we should always be careful what we wish for..."
"What happened?" Genie asked softly.
"It was October, 1998." The look of deep grief and pain returned to Hugo's face. "I was near the end of high school, preparing to go to university..."
--------------------
"Hugo, we've talked about this. For you to take a position at the Bank, you need to study Economics," Genevieve said patiently.
"Maman, I've told you a hundred times, I don't want a position at the Bank," Hugo groaned. "I want my own life. Why should my entire future be decided because of who my family is?"
"I can do it," Luna said, stepping into the room. "I mean, since Hugo really doesn't want it, I'll study Economics and work at the Bank. Then Hugo can go be a gourmet chef or whatever."
"Children, that just won't do," Genevieve sighed. "Hugo is the heir and that means..."
"Hugo doesn't want to be the heir, maman!" Luna cried.
"Hugo has obligations to the family," Genevieve said firmly, "and you have obligations of your own. You should both enjoy being young while you can, especially you, Luna, because very soon you will also have to live up to those obligations."
--------------------
"But the real blow-up happened a few days later," Hugo continued. "On Halloween. Your grandmother and grand-père were preparing to go to some big society party..."
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"But you said I should 'enjoy being young' while I could," Luna sneered. "So, I did!"
"I didn't mean that you should go to some wild, unsupervised teen party," Genevieve sighed. "I certainly didn't mean you should drink and do who knows what."
"Doing who knows what?" Luna shouted. "Do you mean smoking pot, maman? Or the other things I did! Because let me tell you, everything I did felt great. Every. Single. Thing."
"Luna Villareal!" Genevieve gasped. "That is not the way a daughter of this old and honorable noble family should behave! You presume that you could be the future Lady Von Windenburg? Let me tell you, if you behave like a common tramp that will never happen!"
"You're such a hypocrite!" Luna yelled. "I know the stuff you did when you were young! If I'm a tramp, you're a fucking whore!"
"That is enough!" Genevieve snapped. "Go to your room. We will discuss this tomorrow."
-----------------------
"They never did," Hugo said, a silent tear sliding down his cheek. "My mother never came home."
