Chapter 2 - THE GRANDFATHER WHO WAS SUPPOSED TO BE DEAD
The fastest way to empty a Manhattan ballroom is apparently to have Gabriel Cross decide his children are in danger.
Within three minutes, Adrian's security team had surrounded us.
Within five, the boys were bundled into a black armored SUV.
Within seven, I was arguing with my ex-husband in the back seat.
“No.”
Gabriel stared at me.
“Claire.”
“No.”
“You and the boys are staying at my estate tonight.”
“We have a home.”
“Your building has one doorman, two cameras, and a fire escape accessible from the alley.”
I blinked.
“How do you know that?”
He hesitated.
Wrong answer.
“You've been watching us?”
“No.”
“Then why do you know where we live?”
“I found out tonight.”
“That quickly?”
His expression said yes.
Of course.
Men like Gabriel could probably learn someone's blood type before dessert.
Lucas sat between us, fascinated.
“Are you guys fighting?”
“No,” I said.
“Yes,” Gabriel said.
Lucas nodded.
“Mom usually wins.”
Eli whispered, “She does.”
Gabriel looked at them.
For the first time that evening, his mouth curved.
Then Noah asked quietly,
“Why didn't you know about us?”
The smile disappeared.
My chest tightened.
I had been afraid of that question for five years.
Gabriel looked at me.
I didn't rescue him.
He had missed five years.
He needed to answer.
“I didn't know you existed.”
Noah frowned.
“Mom didn't tell you?”
Gabriel was quiet.
I expected blame.
He surprised me.
“Your mom had reasons.”
I looked at him.
Noah considered that.
“Were they good reasons?”
Gabriel's eyes met mine.
“At the time, probably.”
Something inside my chest shifted.
The Cross estate in Westchester looked exactly as I remembered.
Stone walls.
Tall iron gates.
Old trees lining the driveway.
The house where I'd once believed I'd grow old.
The house I'd left with two suitcases and a broken heart.
Gabriel watched me as we entered.
“You can have the east wing.”
“We're leaving tomorrow.”
“We'll discuss it.”
“No discussion.”
Lucas tugged Gabriel's jacket.
“Do you have cookies?”
Gabriel stared at him.
“What?”
“Cookies.”
“I don't know.”
Lucas looked horrified.
“You live here.”
“I don't spend much time in the kitchen.”
“That seems irresponsible.”
Adrian turned away to hide a smile.
Gabriel sighed.
“Adrian.”
“Yes?”
“Find cookies.”
“Yes, boss.”
My children had been in their father's life for less than two hours and had already sent his security chief searching for snacks.
I should not have found it funny.
I did.
After the boys were settled in a guest room together, Gabriel and I stood in the hallway.
“You kept their last name?”
“Cross?”
“Yes.”
I folded my arms.
“It was legally mine after the divorce. I never changed it.”
His eyes softened.
“Why?”
“Paperwork.”
He almost smiled.
Then his expression became serious.
“We need to talk about my father.”
“You told me he died.”
“I believed he did.”
“How?”
“Car accident in Sicily.”
“You saw the body?”
“No.”
I raised an eyebrow.
“You've built a criminal empire and never learned that no body means no certainty?”
His mouth tightened.
“Apparently.”
“What would he want with the boys?”
Gabriel looked toward their door.
“My father believed blood was ownership.”
A chill moved through me.
“What does that mean?”
“When my older brother refused to take over the family business, Victor nearly killed him.”
“You have a brother?”
“Had.”
Again that word.
“What happened?”
“Daniel disappeared seventeen years ago. Six months later, my father supposedly died.”
“And you think they're connected?”
“I've always thought so.”
Before I could ask more, Serena appeared at the bottom of the staircase.
I went still.
Gabriel's face turned to stone.
“How did you get in?”
She held up both hands.
“I came to explain.”
“You are not welcome here.”
“Gabriel, please.”
Adrian stepped forward.
Gabriel raised one hand.
“Let her speak.”
Serena looked at me.
“I wasn't the only person who knew.”
My stomach tightened.
“About the pregnancy?”
“Yes.”
“Who else?”
Her eyes moved toward Gabriel.
“Your father.”
Gabriel froze.
“What?”
Serena swallowed.
“Victor contacted me after Claire left.”
Gabriel's voice dropped.
“When?”
“Five years ago.”
“You knew he was alive for five years?”
“I didn't know who he really was at first.”
“What did he want?”
Serena looked toward the hallway where the boys slept.
“He wanted proof.”
“Proof of what?”
“That Claire was pregnant.”
My skin went cold.
Gabriel stepped closer.
“And you gave it to him.”
Serena began crying.
“He threatened my sister.”
“You gave him Claire's medical information?”
“Yes.”
I felt sick.
Gabriel's hands curled.
“Why didn't he come for the children then?”
Serena looked at me.
“Because he thought the pregnancy ended.”
I frowned.
“Why?”
“I told him it did.”
Silence.
That was not the answer I'd expected.
Serena wiped her face.
“I lied to him.”
Gabriel stared.
“You protected them?”
“For five years.”
I looked at the woman I'd spent half a decade hating.
Nothing made sense.
Then Serena opened her purse.
She removed an envelope.
“I received this yesterday.”
Gabriel took it.
Inside was a photograph.
The boys leaving school.
My breath stopped.
Written across the bottom:
I KNOW THERE ARE THREE.
Gabriel's face became terrifyingly calm.
But Serena wasn't finished.
“There was another photograph.”
She pulled it out.
This one showed a man standing across from the school.
Younger than Victor.
Dark hair.
Familiar eyes.
Gabriel stared.
His face drained of color.
“Daniel.”
I looked at him.
“Your brother?”
“Yes.”
May you like
Serena whispered,
“He's alive too.”
