Page 73 of Rockstar Daddy's Second Chance

“Oh, I know plenty,” he sneers, his face inches from mine now. “You left because I made sure of it. No way Cass figured out the truth on his own. You told him about Cassidy, didn’t you?”

I shake my head, refusing to give him the satisfaction. “I didn’t tell him anything.”

“Liar,” Derrick spits, his voice rising. “You’ve been biding your time, waiting for the right moment to weasel your way back into his life.”

“I didn’t tell him!” I snap, my voice shaking now. “He figured it out himself. He’s not stupid, Derrick. He put the pieces together.”

His eyes narrow, studying me as though trying to determine if I’m lying. Then he lets out a bitter laugh. “It doesn’t matter how he found out. What matters is that you’re here now, undoing years of work.”

“Years of work?” I echo, my voice incredulous. “Is that all you care about? His career? His image? He’s a person, Derrick. A father. He deserved to know that he had a daughter.”

Derrick’s expression hardens, his voice dropping to a dangerous level. “I was going to fix it, you know. The paternity test. I had it handled until some idiot lab tech told Cass when he called.”

My stomach twists, bile rising in my throat. “You were going to tamper with a paternity test?” My voice is barely above a whisper, disbelief mingling with fury.

Derrick smirks, unrepentant. “Of course. Cass didn’t need to know the truth. I was protecting him.”

“Protecting him?” I repeat, my voice rising. “You were protecting yourself. Your paycheck.”

Derrick takes a step closer, his towering presence suffocating. “You should have stayed gone, Kendrick. I gave you enough money to raise that kid on your own. You had no business coming back.”

My breath catches, memories of that day flashing before my eyes—the coldness in his voice, the contract he shoved in my face, the check he handed over like I was some charity case.

“I did what I thought was best for Cass,” I say, my voice trembling. “But I’m not leaving again. Not now. Not ever.”

Derrick’s face contorts with rage, and for a moment, I think he might actually hit me. But before he can say or do anything, another voice cuts through the tension like a knife.

“Derrick, what the hell are you doing here?”

I whirl around to see Cass standing in the doorway, his expression dark, his fists clenched at his sides. His gaze shifts from me to Derrick, his eyes narrowing dangerously.

“Cass,” Derrick begins, his tone shifting to something almost placating. “You’re back.”

“Yeah, I live here,” Cass says coldly, stepping further into the room. “Now, answer my question because it looks like you were threatening Kendrick.”

Derrick stubbornly closes his mouth, his lips thinning. Cass turns his attention to me, his eyes softening. “Kendrick, what’s going on here?”

I hesitate, my throat tightening under the weight of the truth. “Cass... Derrick was the one–”

Derrick cuts me off as he turns to Cass. “You made a mistake, Cass. I’m here to correct it.”

“Firing you was not a mistake, Derrick,” Cass says, and I gasp at the news.

Cass towers over his manager, his voice calm but ice-cold. “For too long, I’ve let you call the shots. That’s over. You don’t control me anymore.”

“Cass. You need to reconsider,” Derrick demands. “You’re nothing without me. I made you.”

“You didn’t make me! My success came from my talent and my hard work—not from you.”

Derrick lets out a bitter laugh, his eyes narrowing dangerously. “That’s what you think. Let me tell you something, Cass. I’m the one who made you a star.”

Cass folds his arms across his chest, unwilling to rise to the bait.

Derrick’s laugh deepens, taking on a sinister edge. “You really have no idea, do you? No idea what I’ve done for you. What I’ve sacrificed to keep you on track.” He points his finger at me as he steps closer to Cass, his face twisted with a mix of anger and smug satisfaction. “You think Kendrick left because she wanted to? Wrong. She left because of me.”

The air shifts, heavy with his confession, his words slicing through Cass and me like a blade. My breath hitches at Derrick’s words, and my eyes flick to Cass as he gives a confused shake of his head, not understanding. With a fierce frown, he leans menacingly toward Derrick. “What are you talking about?”

Derrick grins, clearly relishing the moment. “When I found out Kendrick was pregnant, I knew she’d ruin everything. A baby? You were on the brink of greatness, Cass, and she was going to drag you down. So, I did what I had to do.” His finger still pointing at me in accusation.

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