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hy you married Stanhope,” Landra said then. “For the child.”
Alyssa nodded sharply. “Look, as interesting as all this is,” she mocked Sebastian’s pretense of grief, “I have a question.” She focused on Landra. “Does Dad know you’re his aunt?”
Landra at least had the grace to glance away for a moment and shake her head. “The subject hasn’t come up,” she admitted.
“Then I would say you’re unaware of the pictures he and Shane sent my parents? That they accused me of initiating the relationship that they found distasteful. And if I wasn’t kept from them, even if we were at the same social event, then those pictures would be sent to every porn site, paper and Internet based.” She would have sneered; instead, she watched as Sebastian seemed to pale.
“My God!” Landra lifted her hand to her throat, shock filling her expression. “Alyssa, I know for a fact this is not true. I and my other sisters are all that kept Shane’s and Sebastian’s families from being bankrupted by the blackmailer that demanded Shane and Sebastian never see you again. Such pictures were used as well. For you, dear, for Shane’s and Sebastian’s love for you, five families paid a blackmailer for six years, until they were able to learn his identity and end the threat.”
That couldn’t be true. It wasn’t possible.
Dizziness threatened to wash over her before she steadied herself.
“I have to say, you’re good,” she accused him, forcing the words past numb lips. “A liar to the end. Where’s the money you and Shane stole from your family?”
“Sweet mercy, Alyssa,” Landra gasped, shocked. “You can’t think such a thing.” She stared between Alyssa and Sebastian before turning back, her lips trembling. “Alyssa, had they known about the child, nothing could have held them back. I swear that to you.”
She couldn’t let herself think anything else. She couldn’t.
“Keep fucking with me, Alyssa. We’ll both regret it—” Something dangerous rumbled in Sebastian’s voice.
“You are a liar to the end,” she accused him, ignoring that warning, ignoring the trepidation, the suspicions beginning to rise inside her. “And I won’t stand here and listen to it.”
“Then fucking sit!” The lash of his voice had a flinch jerking her body tight.
Violence throbbed in his voice, tightened his haggard expression. Stalking to her, he caught her arm, holding her in place when she made a move for the door.
“Shane and I did not do that—”
She smacked him. A hard, open-handed blow. The sound exploded around her. When he turned his gaze back she smacked him again, just as hard. Before she could draw back for another blow he secured her wrists with one hand.
Gently, so gently, he held her immobile, staring into her eyes as she met the black, swirling rage in his eyes.
Releasing her slowly, he lifted the weight of the chain between her breasts, his gaze centered on the gems as her eyes opened.
“Your heart bound by ours,” he reminded her. “I swear to you, may God strike me now, neither Shane nor I would ever do something so vile. Especially to you. To the one we pledged ourselves to.”
She ripped the chain from her neck, throwing it in his face as she jerked from him. “I struck you for Him.”
But she was breaking apart inside because she wanted nothing more than to believe Sebastian.
“You will not run from me again.” Swinging her around, he forced her to face him. Refusing to let her escape the bleak suspicion rising inside her.
“I won’t listen to your lies—”
“By God, you will hear me,” he cursed furiously. “You know we didn’t do that to you, Alyssa. You know it.”
“I won’t hear this—”
“Do you think you suffered alone? We suffered with you, dammit. We felt your pain when you lost our child, and knew no reason for it. Two years ago we felt you die, felt you cry out to us that you were cold. That we had promised to keep you warm.”
Shock had her swaying for a moment. How could he have known that? No one was there when she’d whispered those words.
“We suffered a blackmail so vile it nearly destroyed five families to keep those pictures from being released. To protect you we followed a blackmailer’s demands to the letter until we fucking killed him six years later. Gregory Santiago, Alyssa. He orchestrated it, he was the only one that could have sent your parents those pictures, and we collected all the negatives, everything he had. And all we could think about was coming for you. Only to feel your death hours before we were to leave Spain and fly here.”
“No.…” It couldn’t be true. It couldn’t be.
“We tracked him when he finally tried to transfer that money six years after beginning to collect the monthly payments. Two days before Stanhope stabbed you.”
