Page 53 of Best Kept Secret

My hands shook as I put the phone down.

Fucking bitch!She thought she could play me? She had something else coming if she thought that. No one messed with me. No one fucked around with my family. And no one crossed Beau Bodine.

Chapter 21

Mira

Iwalked into Beau's house, my heart light, excitement buzzing under my skin. I'd done it. I'd landed the job at Savannah Lace, and because of it I felt like I was on solid ground. I couldn't wait to tell Beau. This was my chance to prove I could be more than just someone taking care of Pari. I could contribute. I could stand on my own two feet.

The door clicked shut behind me, and that's when I noticed the tension hanging in the air like thick smoke. The house was too quiet, too still. I glanced around, I knew Pari would be in bed, but I expected to see Roxy humming while she tidied up, but there was nothing except Beau. He stood in the center ofthe living room, his back to me, hands clenched at his sides. My excitement fizzled, a cold unease creeping up my spine.

"Beau?" I called out softly, stepping closer. "I-I got the job. Nina hired me."

He didn't turn around.

"Beau?" I repeated, my voice trembling just slightly. I walked to him and put my hand on his back. "What's going on?"

He stepped away from my touch and, when he finally faced me, his eyes were cold. Dark. His jaw clenched tight, his expression unreadable, but underneath it, I could feel the rage simmering just beneath the surface. My heart started to pound.

"You need to get the hell out of my house," he said, his voice low, dangerous.

The words hit me like a slap. "What?"

"You heard me," he snarled. "Get. Out." He pointed to a black trash bag. "That's all your stuff. Take it and fucking leave, now."

My breath caught in my throat, panic rising. "Beau, what's going on?"

His eyes narrowed, and there was no warmth in them, no trace of the man I had come to know. "You think I'm a fool? You think you can live under my roof, take care of my daughter, and keep secrets from me?"

"Secrets?" I whispered, confusion crashing over me in waves. My mind raced, searching for something, anything, to make sense of this. "I…I don't understand."

"Oh, don't play dumb, Mira." His voice was sharp, cutting through me like a knife. "Your parents told me everything."

The floor seemed to tilt under me. "My parents?" I barely got the words out, my voice shaking.

Beau's lips curled in disgust. "They told me about the CPS report, Mira. The investigation. They said you hurt Pari when she was a baby. Shook her. Neglected her. That CPS had to intervene to protect her. And you never told me."

The room spun. I stumbled back, my hand reaching out to the sofa for support. "No. No, that's not true. I never…never would hurt Pari."

He crossed his arms, his expression implacable. "Really?"

"Really, Beau."

He dropped his arms and picked up some papers from the coffee table. He threw them at me. I caught a flying page and glanced through it.

"I've never seen this," I told him.

CPS had talked to me, and they'd said there was no issue. My parents kept complaining about me to them until they'd told my parents to can it. "Did you talk to CPS? My case worker?"

"I don't need to. The reports say it all. CPS thought you were dangerous. Negligent. And you just...what? Thought you could hide that from me?"

I was shaking now, my heart thundering. I couldn't breathe. "Beau, please, listen to me. CPS cleared me. They looked into it, and they found nothing—nothing. I would never hurt Pari. I swear to you."

But the more I tried to explain, the deeper I felt myself sinking. His eyes were locked on mine, but there was no mercy, no understanding. He didn't believe me. He thought I was lying.

It was happening again. I still remembered talking to another CPS caseworker all those years ago and being told, "Little girl, it's wrong to make up such ugly stories about your parents because they won't buy you a doll."

Asha had told me I'd been foolish to complain. "Anil Sen is a pillar of society, you think they'll believe us? No one in the Indian community will, and neither will his CPS cronies."

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