Page 8 of Hidden
His question caused Miles to shift, Damen’s glare to darken, and Titus to focus his attention on him.
None of them were in any position to talk, so I did. “No one knows who her parents are—she’s adopted.”
Bryce rolled his eyes. “Iknowshe’s adopted. You think I haven’t been able to figure that out? I’m talking about her adoptive parents. Doyouknow who they are?”
Finn—who’d been seated between Bryce and Brayden—shot the other man an almost panicked look. “Hey—”
Damen leaned over the table. “No,” he said. “There’s no record of her parents. We assumed that she took their name, especially since she was a foundling. There was so much going on with Aine’s house that the research was secondary. We didn’t even ask.”
Bryce scowled at the broken glass. “Her adoptive parents are Jonathan and Abigail Geier.”
Miles jerked up, his face a picture of shock. I didn’t blame him. I knew that mine was as well. Even Damen expression had lost his anger, and Titus stirred.
“What did you say?” Miles’s words were barely discernible through the tightness of his jaw. His eyes shot to Brayden, who stared at his brother in the same manner as the rest of us. Apparently, Bryce hadn’t let his sibling know. “How did you not know this?”
Finn covered his face with his hand.
“I-I…” Brayden’s gaze turned from Bryce to settle on Finn. “How?”
“Have you spoken to Hanah about what’s going on?” Miles growled, his voice a bit scary. “Call her here,” he said, pointing to Brayden.
Brayden was still stunned, so it was Bryce who responded. “Why don’t you call her? She’s your Jiangjun; she’ll listen to you.”
“Don’t start with me,” Miles snapped. “I’m not an idiot. I know Icouldcall her. But that was my phone that Damen broke.”
Brayden, once more, glanced at his brother before pulling out his phone. “Okay…”
At least we wouldn’t have to wait long for her to arrive. Hanah’s shop,The Ivy Garden, was just down the street from Dean Abernathy’s home.
While Brayden typed, Finn shifted beside him. My focus zeroed in on him. We already knew he had been hiding things from us, but he clearly had also known Hanah was involved.
Of course she was—it washerparents who had adopted Bianca.
This was worse than I imagined. “Who else knows?”
Finn froze, his gaze turning toward Damen. Damen was still beside me, his body tense and his breathing labored.
“Don’t look at him,” I snapped, annoyed that he was still trying to hide behind his brother. “Is there anyone else besides Hanah who knows about Bianca?”
Finn’s mouth pressed in a line, and the tension in his frame was tangible. But still, I couldn’t relent. My focus was intimidation. Damen was on his own; I had no remaining resources to control him. After a second, Finn looked away, responding. “Yes.”
Damen slammed his hands against the table. “Who?”
Miles had gone silent, which was almost as frightening as Damen’s fury. Because if he snapped, it would be a terrible thing. Only Bianca would be able to stop him.
And Titus… He hadn’t moved since Finn’s admission.
Finn continued speaking. “We were only following orders. There are a lot of reasons why it had to be this way—”
“I don’t want to hear your excuses!” Damen snarled. “And you don’t follow orders from anyone other thanme. Who is involved? Is Norman?”
Finn grimaced. “No, not Norman. Just Kayla, Do Yun, Jiayi…”
My heart raced.
Both KaylaandDo Yun? That meant my only loyal officer was Anthony.
Even so, at least my situation was better than Damen’s. His own brother was a traitor. His brother and his Tongjun. How did Jiayi come into the picture?
