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18
JASE
Ireread all the files Connor had sent me once I got to the office the following morning, this time absorbing all the information carefully. I had to tell Emilia about Janet’s visit, and I wanted to ensure I knew as much as I could before I said anything.
Still, I waited all day. I was going to say something at the office, but then I realized it would be better to wait until we were home so she’d have a private space to react. I knew Emilia better than anyone else on the planet, but even I was unsure about how she’d take the news.
After dinner, we settled in the living room to watch a little television and relax. She immediately curled into me, her arm thrown across my chest, and her head resting on my shoulder.
I couldn’t leave it any longer.
“Em, we need to talk.” I shut the TV off and sat up, twisting my body to face her.
She gazed at me and then did the same, her expression guarded. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong, exactly. But I need to tell you something, and it’s not necessarily a good thing.”
She paused a few moments before answering. “Okay.”
I took one of her hands in mine and laced our fingers together. “You had a visitor at the office yesterday, a woman who demanded to see you.”
She frowned. “Who was she?”
I took a deep breath before answering. “She said she was your mother.”
Emilia’s shocked intake of breath was easily audible, and she stiffened in her seat. “My mother? But…” She shot out of her seat and began to pace in front of me. “Are you sure it was her? Maybe it was just some crank trying to do a money grab.”
“I considered that possibility, yes. But I had Connor run a background check on this woman and it appears the information she gave me was correct. I also looked at her carefully and there is a striking resemblance.” I rose up and placed my hand on her cheek. “I believe she’s telling the truth, Emilia. She’s your mother.”
Her mouth gaped as she stared at me, her brown eyes wide and glistening with tears. When one streaked down her face, I pulled her to me and held her close, letting her cry. Rubbing her back, I murmured words of comfort, not letting her go until she pulled away slightly.
“What does she want?”
My thumbs wiped the tears off her cheeks. “She claims she just wants to see you.”
“You don’t believe her.”
“No, I don’t. I think she’s after money.”
She placed her hands on my hips. “I don’t know what to think.” It killed me to hear the anguish in her voice, but I couldn’t only tell her half the story.
“I’m so sorry, sweetheart, but there’s more.”
“Tell me.”
“She has another child. You have a half-sister, Helena. She’s nine years younger than you. I don’t know who her father is. Janet was also married, but the husband died a few years ago. She appears to have a pattern. She attaches herself to a rich man who’s much older than her, and either waits until he dies or fleeces him for as much as she can and disappears.”
She stepped closer to me and I put my arms around her, holding her tightly. I couldn’t protect her from the truth, but there was no way in hell I was going to let this woman, or her daughter, do anything to harm Emilia.
I’d die to protect her.
Once her tears dried up, she pulled back far enough to look at me. “Where’s the file?”
“File?”
“The file you had Connor put together on them.”
I couldn’t stop the smile from spreading across my face. She knew me too well. “It’s in the office.”
