Page 77 of His Haunted Desire
“You think this is about money.”
“In my experience, more often than not, it is. Please think hard. Call me back if?—”
“Shit,” I mutter.
“Mr. Blackwell?”
“I’ll call you back.”
The runt of the litter…
He was always so close to Grandma.
I return to the limo but keep the door open. Aurora looks at me with confusion etched on her beautiful features.
I lean forward, looking closely at Grandma, watching her for her reaction. “Sebastian is my brother.”
She gasps, tears filling her eyes. “What?”
“You heard me. Tell me I’m wrong. Tell me I’m talking out of my ass.”
She stares out the window and wipes the tears from her cheeks. “Oh, Lord help me.”
“Grandma–tell me the truth. Please. You owe me this. If I’m wrong, just say it.”
There’s a long pause.
“Think back to how he’s been behaving. You know him better than I do. If you think there’s even aonepercent chance he was behind this, you owe me the truth.”
“I just… He’s…” She wipes her cheeks again. “Your father was so careful.”
The words hit me like a punch to the chest.
I massage my forehead, a headache pulsing. “This is why you’ve always been so close to him. This is why you put up with the rumors about you two being in a relationship. This is why you allowed him to be so intimately involved in our lives.”
“Your father was ashamed of his affair. Your mother knew, and they agreed to raise Sebastian in secret.” Her voice trembles.
“You’re only telling me because I guessed it.” I try to keep the anger and resentment out of my voice, but it’s difficult. “If the detective hadn’t called, and I didn’t make the connection, you wouldn’t have said a word. Would you?”
Aurora places a soothing hand on my arm.
I lower my voice. “All this time, he’s been my goddamn brother. They think he was behind the murder, Grandma. That this is about him getting the inheritance. Is he in your will?”
“Well, yes, but after you and Julian.”
“There’s his motive,” I snarl.
“I can’t, don’t, believe he would do this.”
“I’m sure he’s learned how to charm you and play on your guilt and your good nature. He’s probably hidden his dark side from you. But he’s a human being who was forced to grow up in secret,an ignored non-member of a powerful family. From where I’m sitting, it’s easy to believe he’d do it.”
Grandma takes out a handkerchief and dabs at her eyes. “He’s always been angry about being left out. I’ve tried to do right by him, tried to treat him better than his father did. But he’s always felt unjustly treated.”
“But you still can’t believe he’d do it?”
“I don’t know,” she whispers bitterly.
“You should’ve told me this a long time ago. I’m calling the detective back. If you’re right, if he had nothing to do with this, they’ll get to the truth.”
