Page 97 of Vengeful Secret

I look at her. “What made you suspect?”

“Her eyes. But the truth is, none of us knew, not for sure. Well, maybe Da.”

“Da has eyes in the back of his head,” Declan says with a chuckle. “If it helps, I didn’t know.”

“You wouldn’t,” Bree says, laughing, and Declan gapes at her.

“What's that supposed to mean?”

“No offense, Declan, but you can be a little self-involved,” Kael points out, grinning.

“Don’t make me hit you again.”

“Love to see you try,” Kael shoots back, but it’s all in jest. The worst that would happen is that they would spar together downstairs later.

Sutton starts to slowly relax as we all talk around the table.

“What do you do for a living?” Paige asks.

“I’m a freelance advertising executive,” she says. "I used to work for a big firm, but after Ciara, I needed some flexibility.”

Lara hums. “I've thought about going into advertising. What's it like?"

Lara and Sutton talk for a while, and I look around at my family.

Declan is watching Bree rub her heavily pregnant belly, looking at her fondly with one hand over hers on the table. Kael and Paige are speaking among themselves, probably arguing since that seems to be their love language.

My family, with all their problems, with all the danger that we have in our lives—they’re wonderful.

Tears prick at the backs of my eyes. I’ve been so ready to shut down anyone who asked any questions, but not a single one has been asked.

It doesn’t matter how Sutton and I created Ciara, or where we are now. All that matters is that my family knows that I care about them. They’ve accepted them instantly.

Sutton turns to me, smiling and raising an eyebrow.

“You okay, Gray?”

“Never been better.” I take her hand, bringing her knuckles to my lips to kiss them.

She flushes and smiles.

“This pot roast is delectable, Marisol,” she says, and Marisol smiles and thanks her before exiting the room.

“I was thinking that it’s been a long time since we’ve had a family picture,” Lara says, and I hum.

I don’t think we've had one with the whole family in years, so she’s right, but Ma had been the one that loved pictures. She was an amateur photographer, and that’s why we had so many photo albums.

I can’t help my emotions taking over as my eyes burn with tears, but I manage to hold them back.

“That'd be nice, Lara."

We all crowd around as Marisol holds our phones, taking pictures.

Declan cracks a joke, and Sutton bursts out laughing in one of them.

It’s my favorite picture of her. I want to blow it up and put it on my desk.

For the last picture, with Marisol’s phone, I reach out to grab Marisol’s hand.

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