Page 122 of Wild Blades

Since I learned Marcus was Wade’s biological father, I realize how similar Wade looks to Marcus. Zane has his mother’s genes, blonde hair, brown eyes. Pity he didn’t inherit his mother’s sweet personality.

“Did you ever have any intention of telling him you were his father?” I ask, curiosity getting the better of me.

He shakes his head. “I honestly don’t know.”

“And is that why you put a support team together for him? To help him? Was it guilt or genuine concern?” I silently pray it’s the latter.

“I care about him.” His brow knits together in confusion. “I really do care about him.”

I want to believe him, I really do. And I can see the effort he went to putting together a support team to save him. Maybe he’s telling the truth. I hope so for Wade’s sake.

“How did Lola get Zane’s DNA?” he asks, staring at the results in front of him.

“Lola used Wade’s toothbrush to collect his DNA and sent it off to cross reference it with her DNA as well as Zane’s blood from the shirt Wade wore the evening Zane attacked me.” Still yellow and green in places, my bruises haven’t fully disappeared.

I admire Lola. Biding her time, she waited for the opportunity to present itself. Zane attacking me was a blessing in some ways, allowing her to gather the sample she needed.

“This will kill my wife.”

“I wish you had thought about that before you had an affair.” I hate cheaters, but I really like Marcus. I feel so conflicted. “I thought you were a good man with high morals. I’ve always admired the way you run your business. Please tell me it was only Miranda.”

“It finished a very,verylong time ago, and it was only ever Miranda.” His voice is indignant and then he continues, “Ritchie couldn’t accept Wade as his own. Once he knew he was mine, it was game over for him. He hated me, which made him hate Wade and Miranda. Lola is Ritchie’s. I know this because Miranda and I stopped seeing each other for a while after Wade was born.” He swallows hard and stares off into blankness. “Thethree of us signed a non-disclosure agreement. We agreed to keep their divorce under wraps, and I gave Ritchie my shares in the businesses we owned as part of the agreement. Miranda walked away with nothing.”

“She didn’t leave with nothing. She had Wade,” I say.

“That’s not what I meant. Stop twisting my words. I meant she didn’t have any money, so I looked after her financially—for years—to make sure Wade got everything he needed. Ritchie and Miranda came to an amicable agreement: Ritchie fought to keep Lola and Miranda took Wade.” Splitting the family in two. How awful.

“Why did Miranda give Lola up so easily?” I can’t understand any of it including what made her the way she is with Wade. She’s a spineless, heartless woman.

“She never wanted children, told me so herself, but I thought it was just something she said, because she was so flippant. Wade was a mistake and then she only had Lola to shut Ritchie up. It’s what he wanted.”

A mistake?His words make my stomach roll.

“It seems she wasn’t that interested in either of them,” he says as if everything is starting to click into place. “She always maintained she wasn’t made to be a mother. I thought she was simply struggling with being a new mom and adapting. But I was wrong. I didn’t know how badly she treated Wade until recently. I promise, Kali.” He pauses for a beat. “I genuinely thought Wade was well looked after by Miranda. I didn’t see the full picture. I was wrong. I fucked up.”

“Ritchie was your business partner and your best friend. What made you do it?” I still can’t believe it.

“I don’t know. Miranda was fun, uncomplicated, sexy.” That’s a shitty excuse, and he knows it. “A very good actress it would seem.” He loosens the tie around his neck as if it’s strangling him.

“And your best friend’s wife. I call that complicated.”

“We fooled around before she married Rich. I was sworn to Nicki long before then. Because our fathers owned the Eagles, it was just sort of expected that we would get married without question, which we did.”

This is so messed up.

My heart aches for that three-year-old little boy.

And like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle all coming together to give me the whole picture it suddenly dawns on me that Wade’s recurring dream was really a memory. He witnessed his mother crying on the doorstep of the house.

It’s the same scene that plays out in his nightmares... Only the screaming woman, who I assume is his mother, isn’t crying from the loss of her child. She was crying for the loss of the lifestyle she thought she was going to lose out on. Only she didn’t because her father bailed her out by providing a roof over her head, while Marcus provided the money she needed to keep the lifestyle she had become accustomed to.

Marcus runs his hands through his hair, messing it up. He looks riled.

They are all to blame for their actions. Although they did it to save their businesses and their reputations. There was so much at stake. If the press had found out or if Marcus’ father had found out what he did, he may never have inherited the Eagles or any of the other family businesses.

Nicki and Marcus come from wealthy families. As did Ritchie, but Miranda was a disposable asset as such.

And poor Wade was caught up in their cover-up.

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