Chapter 70.1

The journey to Evelyn’s mysterious penthouse only took about forty minutes—hardly any time at all, considering Chicago traffic. For the first half of the trip, Amara barely paid attention to her surroundings, instead talking a mile a minute as she told Vee all about her first day with her new family. Each topic blurred into the next as she failed to organize her thoughts, jumping from idea to idea without rhyme or reason.

She talked about Rosie, about how much they had in common and everything Amara had learned about her half-sister’s amazing and illustrious life. Now happily retired, Rosie had worked many years as a nurse before eventually working her way up to hospital management. This status had given her enough influence to enact hundreds of small policy changes throughout the years, all of which had gone to strengthening her community. Throughout the day, Rosie had insisted time and time again that her surprisingly high position within the hospital was owed entirely to Evelyn’s supernatural assistance, though Evelyn insisted the opposite; she’d only stepped in once or twice, and only to make sure that Rosie was given the respect she’d already earned for herself.

Amara was shocked at how much she had in common with Rosie. Despite the nearly seventy-year age differences, they shared many of the same mannerisms. On multiple occasions Amara had been tempted to make a comment or joke, only to find Rosie beating her to the punch. Their food preferences were nearly identical as well; Rosie insisted on making the family her favorite meal, and Amara was thrilled to find it was one of the most delicious things she’d ever eaten.

Reminiscing about Rosie’s amazing life gave Amara the perfect excuse to talk about her two children, Mateo and Evie. Amara had only met Evie today, but she was every bit as interesting as Rosie. Evie worked as a teacher with the Chicago Public School system, and she had lots to say about the sudden appearance of a person she’d once believed to be entirely fictional. In her own words, she’d decided decades ago that Evelyn was nothing more than an imaginary friend Rosie had conjured up in order to cope with growing up poor during the Great Depression.

Evie’s two sons, Luis and Gabriel, were so alike that Amara sometimes mistakenly thought of them as twins. They both loved sports, and were die-hard fans of the Chicago Cubs. They both had careers in Finance—Luis was a Certified Public Accountant while Gabriel served as Treasurer for a moderately sized real estate firm. They both shared a fondness for cigars, despite the protests of their wives, and they both had dreams of one day indulging in some kind of muscle car.

Their similarities failed to carry over to the rest of their family. Luis had two children, both somewhat younger, while Gabriel only had one. Sofia and Máximo were both incredibly excited to meet Amara, in their own ways, while Camilla had easily been the most mysterious person at the entire meet and greet. Amara had been incredibly excited to spend time with the only person in her family roughly her age, but Camilla had been somewhat standoffish the entire time. Was she just a naturally reserved person? Had Amara accidentally done something to offend her? While frustrated at the lack of information, it was hard to dwell on a single hesitant family member when the rest of the day had been so amazing.

Towards the tail end of their trip into the city, as they found themselves surrounded by skyscrapers, luxury shopping centers, and historic landmarks, Amara couldn’t help but lose herself in the grandeur of it all. Their destination was Park Tower, the twelfth-tallest building in Chicago and home of both an extravagant hotel and elegant restaurant with a spectacular view. At first glance, it looked like nothing more than a ritzy hotel, but Evelyn clarified that all of the building’s upper floors were actually luxury condominiums.

Evelyn’s penthouse was the building’s crown; a lavish home suspended nearly seventy floors above street level. Before even gaining access, Evelyn first had to guide Vee through the parking garage to one of several spaces specifically reserved for her. After parking, they navigated to a private elevator that only served residents of the building. Evelyn used a specialized key card to give them access to the top floor, at which point they settled in for the long trip skyward.

No longer focusing on the confusing layout of the parking garage, Amara finally turned the entirety of her attention to the looming mystery. “Okay, Mom, time to spill the beans. Since when do you have a penthouse?!”

After settling in against the back wall, leaning against the stylish wooden railing, Evelyn responded. “I’ve always lived in the city, Amara. I met your father here; this is where I became the person I am today. After returning from Hell following the end of World War Two, I needed a place to call my own. I don’t sleep or eat, but it’s nice having a place to come back to when I’m not out on business. For most of the back half of the 1900’s, I alternated between many nice places, but none of them ever felt like they were truly mine. Then, in the mid-nineties, I learned about the plans for this very tower. I pulled some strings and convinced the designers of the building to reserve the top residence for me and me alone. Because of this, I was able to personally design the entire place to my own specifications; the floors are completely fireproof, the many windows significantly more durable than city regulations would normally dictate. The building was finished in… I believe it was early 2000? By sheer coincidence, you were born less than a year later, so I ended up using this place far less than I ever intended. We’ve got our beautiful little place out in the suburbs, and this place sits empty most of the time.”

Amara nervously tapped her foot as she watched the floor indicator count higher and higher. “Okay, but it’s a fucking PENTHOUSE! In the middle of the Magnificent Mile! How much money do you have that you can afford an insane house like this and never even use it? Are we secretly crazy rich?”

Evelyn chuckled. “Saying that I’m ‘crazy rich’ would be a bit of an understatement, actually.”

“Okay, but how much? Are we billionaires?!”

“Truthfully, I don’t know. Until I had you, money never particularly mattered outside of being a means to an end. Money is power, after all, and the more I have, the easier it is to obfuscate my existence. A vast majority of my holdings are split amongst hundreds of false identities, and I’ve never taken the time to count it all.”

“But what about all our money problems when I was growing up?” Amara asked. “You once sat me down when I was sixteen and made me help you with all our budgeting!”

“Budgeting is actually extremely important for me, Amara,” Evelyn clarified. “Remember, I was prepared for you to live your entire life not knowing about my true identity. Not only that, but I also need to make sure that my real identity stays hidden; my current legal identity, the one that works as a defense attorney, has a fixed income. If I spend a dramatic amount of money, it might raise certain flags in the wrong places. Even more important than all of that? Money is a foul, corrupting influence. The more people have, the more it warps who they are and how they view the world.”

“You wanted Amara to have a normal life,” Vee said, finally chipping in.

“Exactly,” Evelyn said with a smile.

“Huh.” Amara briefly stopped pacing. Some small part of her prepared for another burst of emotionality, but ultimately, she found she didn’t care. While she didn’t have the same perspective as a millennia-old demon, her mother’s words still made perfect sense to her. She’d heard countless stories about money breeding entitlement, or how excess wealth made it impossible to forge true, honest friendships. Amara had earned her place at Aurelius University by studying hard and applying for several hard-to-get scholarships; who would she be if that position had simply been handed to her? More than anything, she was overcome by a burst of affection for her mother, and she eagerly pulled Evelyn in for a tight hug. “I won’t ask for any money, Mom. I think you’re completely right about this. But… we still have a penthouse, right? Now that we know about it, can we use it?!”

After a quiet laugh, Evelyn said, “I don’t see why not. I can’t imagine you’ll need to spend much time in the city, anyway, so I don’t see the harm in letting you use it. With that in mind, I should probably give you the tour, shouldn’t I?”

Amara’s excitement returned in droves, and she stepped back before grabbing Vee’s hand. “Yes! The whole tour, spare no expense!”

As if on cue, the elevator doors opened and Evelyn led everyone into the penthouse. When she turned to face Amara and Vee directly, she’d adopted a pleasant smile and a crisp, warm voice reminiscent of a TV show host. “We begin our luxurious tour in the lobby! You’ll notice the flooring here is constructed entirely of imported marble tiles. Not only do they perfectly complement the rich wood paneling that frames much of the residence, but as I mentioned earlier, they are also completely fireproof. Should you ever decide to teleport here, please use this lobby as your destination.”

Eyes wide with wonder, Amara gasped as she looked around. Rich decadence dripped off every single feature of this lobby, which was at least a couple dozen feet wide. A fancy cushioned bench sat opposite the elevator doors, above which Amara saw a small television.

Why is there a TV here? It’s obviously not for watching anything… What kind of problems would weird rich people have? Maybe it’s for, like, displaying schedules should the host decide to throw a fancy dinner party or something. Or maybe it can display a map for when we inevitably get lost in this ridiculous place.

The tour continued. “Just past this small divide you’ll find the living, sitting, and dining rooms! These spaces, much like almost every single room in the house, come with floor-to-ceiling windows that showcase the brilliant skyline of our magnificent city and the nearby Lake Michigan.”

For the next hour, Evelyn walked Amara and Vee around the penthouse, letting them explore to their heart’s content. The house had seven bedrooms, eight bathrooms, multiple room-sized closets, a massive kitchen with two full ovens, two full balconies—one of which had a hot tub—and even access to a deck on the roof of the entire building. The master bathroom had a walk-in shower and a massive standing bathtub situated directly next to yet another floor-to-ceiling window.

By the end of the tour, as the three of them drank in the Chicago ambience atop the roof of the penthouse, Amara’s emotional day finally caught up to her. A wave of exhaustion pulled her deeper into Vee’s embrace, and the group decided it was time to get some rest following their busy day. As Evelyn had no need to sleep, she happily allowed Vee and Amara to take the master bedroom. While Amara desperately wanted to see if the shower was big enough to accommodate her wings, she failed to muster the strength for a shower tonight. Instead, after setting an alarm on her phone, she vowed to test the shower’s full capabilities in the morning.

With plans set for a luxurious morning in their penthouse, Amara and Vee fell asleep in each other’s arms.