Page 59 of Bad Duke

“No.” I shake my head. “She killed herself three weeks after she left. I know this because I was counting down the days until I saw her again.” Whatever this is, it’s just a fabricated story.

“Your mum didn’t kill herself, Alex.” Now it’s Will who's touching me, stroking his hand over my shoulder like I’m some kind of invalid, while he lies to me.

“You think my dad had her killed too?” I laugh, I don’t know what the fuck to believe anymore so I stand up and go to leave.

“No, I know your dad didn’t kill your mum.” Will scrapes his chair back and stands up.

“I know that, because she isn’t dead.” His words have me turning around and facing him again.

“That's a lie. And a fucking cruel one.” I point my finger at him, but the guilty look on his face tells me it isn’t.

“And this is why I didn’t want you to find out about her.” Will throws a look at our sister.

“I’m sorry, Alex, but she wasn’t the woman you think she was. She left me when I was three years old with my dad’s sister. It’s what she does,” Beatrice tries to soothe me.

“So, she’s alive?” I let that sink in as tears sting the backs of my eyes.

“I was twelve when my aunt told me about you and Will, and when I was sixteen I came here to meet you both. That’s when your father started paying me.”

“He was paying you to keep this from me?” It all makes sense and is fucking typical of him.

“He didn’t want you to know Mum was still alive,” she sighs

“So he lied, and made her pretend she was dead for all these years.” I suddenly feel a little hope from all this. My mum is alive, I can see her again. I can tell her she’s going to be a grandmother and let her see for herself that I’m nothing like the man she hated.

“No, Alex, your mum wanted you to think she was dead.” My sister comes towards me slowly and places her hand on my arm like she’s expecting me to bolt.

“When my aunt was telling me about you and Will, she told me what happened when Lorna first arrived at their place. Lorna told them her old life was over and that she had to focus on her future. She called your father and asked him to help her make it seem that way too. Not just to you, but to everyone.”

I can’t believe what I’m hearing. My mum would never have wanted me to suffer that.

“I was three when she met André, he was some property developer who was visiting from France. She’d known him for a week before she decided that he was more important than her little girl.” Beatrice smiles sadly. “She left me with them, never gave an address. My aunt tracked her down and Lorna told her she was never cut out to be a mother. She told her to tell me the same story that was told to you.” My arm automatically reaches out to wrap around her shoulders when I see tears in her eyes.

“Neither of us want to hurt you, Alex,” she promises me.

“And I didn’t just come to you for the money. I wanted to meet you just like I did when I was sixteen, but Will was being stubborn about that.” She looks at him.

“How long have you been in touch with each other?” I ask them. Still struggling to believe that me and Will share a sister.

“Since the day I came here. Your dad paid me well to keep the secret from you, he never mentioned anything about Will.” She looks up at me with a clever smile.

“I have to go back to the house and check on Liv.” I suddenly feel overwhelmed by everything I’ve learned. I need time to let it process. Will should never have kept this from me.

“I heard about you and your wife having a baby, and now that we don’t have any more secrets, I’m hoping you’ll let me be a kick-ass, cool aunt.”

I manage a smile for her, but she’s forgetting that I’ve known about this for five fucking minutes.

“We’ll talk some more when you’ve let it all sink in.” Will must pick up on how I’m feeling because he steps forward and pats me on the back.

“I knew how much you loved your mum, Alex. I wanted you to hold on to that,” he confesses, looking regretful and all I can do is nod my head and turn back towards the door. I have to get out of here and somehow explain all this to my wife.

* * *

“So, you're telling me you have a sister?” Olivia stares at me, looking a lot more shocked then she is angry.

“Yeah, and I know I should have told you about her the day she came here but I was still trying to convince you that this was a good idea” I place my hands on both sides of her stomach, “I thought throwing in a sister, who my dad refused to acknowledge, would complicate things.”

“Wait, I’m confused. You said she came here and told you she was your dad’s daughter, but she’s really your mum’s?”

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