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"I'm not fucking lying about being your brother. I can prove it. I’ve already sent off samples for testing just to be 100% sure there was no mistake. But what do you mean your dad is dead?"
When his eyes meet mine, I can tell he's sincere, and now it's me who's a wreck. Now it's me facing hard truths.
"He was found outside of the new Grand Office Suites site unresponsive in his car from an apparent drug overdose last night."
His shoulders slump as he drops his head. Part of me wants to go over and comfort him, but I don't know him well enough to know if that's what he needs right now, so I stay put.
"Can you tell me how this is possible?"
Slowly he lifts his head, and his eyes say what I'm sure his mouth won't:I'm sorry.
"Robert is a wealthy man, so it struck me as odd that he was going out of his way to rob your father of what was his. Even without your dad's stock, he would still be on his way to billionaire status. I hired a private investigator to look into my dad's business dealings with your father. At first, nothing stuck out on paper, but that's when I realized it was never about the money. It was a personal vendetta.
“The year your dad invested in Robert's company was six months before my dad filed for divorce. I always assumed the divorce was because my dad had a wandering eye and didn't want to share his success with my mother. He was a cold fucker in that way. The divorce files were sealed, but I had them hacked and found out he served my mom with an NDA and offered her payment for her silence in keeping my paternity a secret. The documents didn't disclose who my father was. It took a lot of coercion, but eventually, my mom agreed to tell me everything. Apparently, she had a one-night stand with your dad on a business trip when she and Robert were only dating. My mother says that my true paternity was only discovered once they tried to have more kids. However, Robert is an intelligent, calculating man. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that your father happened upon him at a golf course and invested with him. I believe Robert suspected I wasn’t his long before the test confirmed it. He was only biding his time until the moment was right to strike.”
“When they tried to have more children after me, the doctors told Robert he was sterile, and there was no way I could be his. In hindsight, the way I grew up, the fact that he isn't my biological father, makes sense. He was never there for me, missed every big event, every milestone. I came last to his work and women, and now I know it's because I was never really his."
My eyes are locked on his, and I can't help but feel sorry for him. I've judged him from the moment I laid eyes on him. Just because he's rich doesn't mean he is immune to emotional abuse or neglect, it doesn't mean he isn't a person with feelings. Growing up, I hated the feeling of being judged. We didn't have money, my parents were addicts, and we moved around so much that I had no real friendships. Now I'm sitting here realizing I've done just that to Ethan. I've unfairly labeled him.
Before I notice what I've done, my legs have carried me to the other side of the island, and I've wrapped my arms around Ethan in a side hug. Initially, his body is rigid and cold, but when he realizes I'm not letting go, he turns slightly and hugs me back.
"Gianna, there is one last thing I need to tell you, and it's going to hurt like hell. I know you have no reason to put any faith in me or trust me whatsoever, but now that I've found you, I'm not letting you go."
I pull my face away from his chest and release my hold on him to look at him before saying, "You realize I'm your half-sister, and I'm dating August, right? There's never going to be an us. That's fucking sick."
He furrows his eyebrows before pinching the bridge of his nose. "Shit, that came out wrong. I meant that I've always wanted a sibling, and now I have you, I’m not going anywhere. I want to be a part of your life. I want to help you. This is why I need to know where your mom is. I don't think she's innocent in all this."
Tearing my gaze from Ethan's, I look over at Mason, wondering if he sees any validity in Ethan's assessment. He's currently standing against the countertop, arms crossed deep in thought when suddenly his eyes dart to mine, and he shakes his head.
"Gigi, we need to get you and Elio out of here."
"Mace, tell me what you're thinking?"
Ethan is now pulling me toward the front door while Mason jogs toward a door across the living room. I assume it’s the door that leads to his office where he said Elio was playing videogames.
"Mason, please just tell me." Before he has a chance to respond, the door down the hallway opens up, and my mother walks out, gun in hand, pointed directly at me.
"Ethan, I'm going to need you to step away from my daughter now."
What catches me by surprise is how rather than step away, Ethan steps in front of me before saying, "That's not going to happen, Maria. Since you took Mario from me, she is all I have left."
Now my head really is spinning. I've never thought my mom was a malevolent woman. Sure, she mistreated me, but I saw her as a woman who couldn't get away from her addiction, and I paid the price. This right here is downright diabolical. Who points a gun at their own child? She must be on drugs, that’s the only thing that would explain this mayhem.
Stepping out from behind my new human shield, I say, "Ethan, she's not going to hurt me. She's my mom." Now that Ethan is no longer blocking my view, I can see that Mason is still standing in front of the office door, but now his gun is drawn.
"Mason, please put the gun down. Why do we have guns drawn anyway? Mom, what's going on?"
"Well, now that we're at this point, you can cut the mom crap. I'm not your mom. Of course, you might have discovered that sooner if you weren't so busy whoring it up with Mason, August, and apparently your half-brother from the looks of it."
This can't be real. That was a loaded sentence that my brain literally isn't letting me compute.
"What do you mean you are not my mom? Who's my mom then?"
"Don't know, that bitch died giving birth, or at least that was the story I've always been told. Who knows, maybe she ran for the hills and left you with your dad when she realized what a piece of shit he was."
None of this makes any fucking sense. Why did she stick around all those years when I was young, taking me from place to place? I always thought she was trying to leave my dad, but if I was never her child, why bother taking me?
"I don't understand. If you're not my mom, why did you take me all those times?" Shaking her head she lets out an annoyed sigh as if my line of questioning is such an inconvenience.
