Page 44 of Vengeful Secret

“Guess what? My name is gray too, only mine is in Irish. My name is Ciara Liath, so my name is the same as yours.” Her smile is huge.

“Ciara Liath? That’s a beautiful name.” I look over at Sutton, hoping for some kind of explanation.

Anger and confusion rush through me. The girl even has my name.

How has she kept this a secret from me? Didn’t she think I would know instantly?

Ciara is mine. She has to be around four years old.

Sutton’s kept her from me all this time. Lied to me for the past five years.

I look down at the little girl that has my eyes, my name, shell-shocked.

“Thank you.” She sways back and forth, wearing a little flowered dress that looks so adorable it tugs at my heart strings. “Can I get in your pool?”

“Not tonight,mo stóirin,” Sutton says, finally speaking, her voice a bit hoarse. “Let’s go inside, get settled.”

Sutton glances up at me, and there’s clear guilt on her face.

She walks up the steps and past me, following her daughter inside.

Mydaughter.

If she thinks she’s going to get away with not talking to me about this, she’s got another thing coming.

“Marisol!” I call as soon as I enter the living room. Marisol hurries into the living room, a frown on her face as she wipes her hands on her apron. It’s more of a bark than just a simple call, so she’s clearly worried.

“What’s wrong?”

I try to relax my face and my tone. “I was wondering if you could watch Ciara for just a few moments. She might be hungry.”

Marisol’s face softens as she looks down at the little girl. “This must be the little girl I bought chicken nuggets for.”

“I love chicken nuggets.” Ciara smiles widely as Marisol takes her hand.

Sutton watches Marisol take her away, biting at her lip, and I take her arm, ushering her up the stairs and into my study.

I’m a little rough with her, and I feel guilty about it when she wrenches away, looking up at me as I shut the door.

“What the fuck is going on?” I’m unable to keep the anger out of my voice.

“Gray, listen to me?—”

“That’s mydaughter.” I pace around the room, my head spinning, my heart aching. “That's my daughter, and you’ve kept her from me.”

“I know,” she says quietly. “And I’m sorry. But what was I going to do, move in a newborn to the Burke mansion?”

“And why not? You’re moving her in now!” I exclaim, turning to face her.

Sutton looks away and then back up at me. “Can you honestly say you could have taken care of a newborn five years ago? That we could have what, just been a family?”

“We could have,” I say, but it sounds weak even to my own ears.

Things had been different back then. I loved her, but I’m not sure I was ready to settle down and be a father just then. But that’s just the thing. I’ll never know, will I? I was never given that option.

“Could we? Your life is too dangerous with your shipments and your enemies always gunning for you, looking for any way to destroy you. I’m even worried about being here now, but when she was just a baby?”

Sutton’s right, and my anger is slowly changing to something else—to a fierce protectiveness I didn’t know I could feel.

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