Page 68 of Down Knot Out
A muscle twitches in Gregory’s jaw. “That’s not how it happened. I sent money to your mother, at first. But she spent it all at our competitor’s casinos.”
The Santaro pack.
“I kept watch from a distance. I knew about your depression in high school. About your scholarship to Western State. Your job at the bookstore.” His eyes fix on mine. “About your courtship with Louie Santaro. Vivian was a conniving woman, she figured out a new angle to get what she wanted.”
Bile rises in my throat. The idea of him observing my life from the shadows, cataloging my struggles while doing nothing to help, sends a chilling anger through me that settles in my marrow.
Dominic cuts through the tension. “You knew and did nothing?”
Gregory’s dismissive gaze flicks to him. “As far as I knew, Chloe was not mine. I did more than I was obligated to, for a mate who was unfaithful twice over. How do you think Vivian could afford to keep Chloe in her high school without the Sinclairs’s financial support? I made anonymousdonations, ensuring certain opportunities were available.”
His attention returns to me. “You did not ask to be born. It was not your fault you were a pawn in your mother’s machinations. But if Augustus had found out I was still helping, he would have destroyed both of you.”
The justification rings hollow. He could have stopped so much of what happened to me. He chose not to.
“When the Santaro pack began courting you, I became concerned.” Gregory taps his pen on the desk. “Their sudden interest was suspicious, given your mother’s gambling debts and their historical land disputes with the Sinclairs.”
Dominic stiffens beside me. “Is that why Louie wanted Chloe?”
“I believe so. And it is my understanding that the new head of the Santaro pack seeks the same arrangement. With no heir for the Sinclair pack, the position will pass to our uncle’s line. But if an heir suddenly steps forward…” He spreads his hands. “You understand the issue.”
I understand too clearly. I’ve been a pawn from birth.
Chapter Nineteen
Chloe
My ears ring with my supposed-father’s words.
All my life, I never had a choice in anything until Grady helped me make a life of my own, which led me to my true pack. They threw me out when it was inconvenient for them, and now that they’ve suddenly found a use for me, they’re threatening the life I managed to create for myself in spite of them.
“And you discovered Vivian had been telling the truth about you being my father when I re-registered my DNA to enter a courtship with the Misty Pines pack,” I say, my lips numb.
He inclines his head. “I had the results run against my brother and myself to confirm who in the pack was your father, though by then, I wassure you wouldn’t be Augustus’s. After years of failing to produce another heir, he went in for testing and discovered the sterility.”
“And where doeshecome into all of this?” Dominic jerks his chin toward Simon, who gives him a slow, creepy blink.
“I hired Mr. Sullivan to monitor the situation when the whole Santaro courtship started.” Gregory doesn’t acknowledge the Beta, speaking as if he’s not in the room. “I needed to know what Vivian was scheming.”
“Monitor?” Simon leans forward so eagerly that his bolo tie swings. “I did more than monitor. I protected her.”
He turns to me, eyes fever-bright. “I watched over you, Chloe. Kept you safe. When thatBetaconvinced you to stop writing your series, I hacked your accounts to show you how much your fans still wanted more from the world you created. When those Alphas started circling you, I knew they would lead you further astray.”
I shudder at how proud he sounds, as if he expects gratitude for his obsession.
“I documented everything.” Simon’s words tumble faster. “The Sterling Alpha’s abandoned pack duties. The Harris’s launder money. The?—”
“That’s enough, Simon.” Gregory cuts him off with a sharp gesture. “Stick to what’s relevant.”
Simon’s mouth snaps shut, but not before I catch the flash of rage that crosses his face and the dark, murderous glare he directs at the back of Gregory’s head.
It vanishes as quickly as it appeared as he focuses on me again. “I only wanted to help bring you home where you belong.”
Home. As if this cold room with its mahogany and leather could ever be home. As if these people who want to use me as a commodity, who stood at a distance while I suffered, could ever befamily.
No, my real family is waiting for me. Dominic beside me, Blake, Nathaniel, and Holden back at home. My chosen family, not one built on secrets and calculations.
The lawyer clears his throat, pen poised above his legal pad. “Now that the matter of parentage is settled, shall we discuss the terms of Ms. Richardson’s return to the pack?”
