Page 180 of Push

“It’s true,” he said. “Isn’t that right, Mother dearest?”

Sarah flinched.

Tanya started making some sort of choking noise. “That’s not—that can’t be—” I pushed a glass of water across the table, and she grabbed it, gulping down huge mouthfuls, her eyes wide.“Mother!You…you…hussy!”

Toby burst out laughing.

“The Cooper rat isn’tmyson.” The look on Sarah’s face was nothing short of horrified. “He was your father’s mistake and his alone.”

Tanya paused, frowning, processing everything she’d heard. “But…you knew?” Her gaze flicked to me and Toby. “And you two knew?”

Toby shook his head. “We only just found out.” He pointed to his mother. “She’s known all along.”

Sarah was defiant and completely without remorse. “I won’t apologize for shielding either of you from that opportunistic bastard.” Her prickly gaze narrowed on me. “Orthatone.”

“Don’t you say one word to my wife,” he warned.

“How about two?” Sarah said with a simpering smile. “Gold. Digger.”

“It’s just like Christmas lunch,” Tanya muttered. “And I’m not drunk enough for this. I can’t even believe what I’m hearing… Dad…and…Ian…” Her hand speared into her hair. “Ian’s a problem.”

Sarah scoffed her agreement.

“The problems with Ian are bigger than just him having Dad’s DNA,” Toby said. “I’ll spare you both the full rundown of the shit he’s put me and Gwen through over the last few months, but we think it’s all a smokescreen because he’s been stealing money from the clinic.”

Sarah sucked in a sharp breath. “Your inheritance?”

“Some of it,” Toby admitted. “But only what we invested to get the clinic up and running and the revenue since. Honestly, I’ve got no idea how much money is missing, but we reported it to the police yesterday and handed over everything we had for the investigation.”

“Tobias…” Sarah’s hand fluttered to her throat. “Everything your father worked for…”

“The rest of the inheritance is protected,” he reassured her. “Gwen made sure of it.”

Sarah’s simpering smile was back. “I’ll just bet she did.”

This again?I rolled my eyes. “I’m a lawyer—”

“You’ve certainly used your legal skills to land a very nice windfall for yourself,” she said.

“I haven’t landedanywindfall,” I snapped. “Securing Noah’s future was what Toby wanted, too.”

“Noah?” She snorted. Her reaction didn’t surprise me. She’d never believe I wasn’t trying to steal Toby’s money. “I find it all very convenient that you and Ian are so close—”

“We’renotclose,” I said through gritted teeth.

“Oh, please. I’ve seen the two of you whispering in corners.Books.” She rolled her eyes. “I’m sure the two of you had plenty ofconversationsaboutbooksbehind my son’s back—”

“Just stop right there,” Toby interrupted his mother. He paused for a second, waiting for my trembling hand to squeeze his back before he battled on. “This is not a path you want to go down again, Mother. You have no idea what Ian’s capable of—”

“Of course I do. Why do you think I fought your father on this so many times? Why do you think I wanted you to take the university offer in Melbourne? I would have done anything to keep you boys apart. By the time Ian convinced you to start the clinic with him…” She shook her head and pressed her palm to her heart. “I knew we’dneverbe rid of him.”

“Then point your anger at him,” Toby said. “Leave Gwen out of it. She’s done nothing but suffer.”

“Tobias, are you so clueless that you believe that?” His mother’s laugh was mocking. “Truly?”

“Mum,” Tanya said. “Give your vendetta against Gwen a rest for ten minutes, okay? Can we focus on the important facts here? One. We’ve got a half-brother who’s an absolute shithead. Two. You kept this from us forthirty years.”

Sarah squared her shoulders. “I should have been more careful with my words when that one”—she pointed at me—“tried to best me. I owed it to Teddy to take his mistake to my grave. It’s what he wanted.”

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