Page 30 of (Un)Spoken

Yet, as I continued walking down the path, Marcus stayed on my heels, not letting us take a breath out of his sight. Cole looked back once before knocking on the screen door. A lead weight settled in my chest as we heard Victoria call out, “One minute” from inside.

But hers wasn’t the first face to come to greet us.

Instead, a little girl pushed open the screen door, scrunching her nose when she looked us over with more judgment than any child should be able to muster. “Who are you?”

“Em, what have we talked about?” Marcus chuckled. “Use your manners.”

I swear, she gave him a look that would rival most teenagers. “Sorry, Pop-Pop.” She smiled sweetly up at us. “How can I help you?”

Pop-pop? As in her grandfather? Wheels that had no right turning were starting to unwind in front of me.No. It wasn’t possible.I’d spentdayswith Victoria, and she never mentioned a kid. There had to be another explanation. As I tried to connect the dots between my memories and the sight in front of me, Cole kelt down to her level.

He smiled softly at her. “Hello, my name’s Cole. I’m looking for my sister, Victoria. Have you seen her?”

She stared at him like he had three heads. As she started to speak, the woman who had haunted my dreams the last few nights stepped up behind her, and the similarities almost knocked me back. The same eyes, the same hair color. Shit, they had the same fucking smile. When she saw us, her face went white, and her eyes widened in fear. “Wh—what are you doing here?”

She posed the question to Cole, but Victoria’s eyes kept darting toward me, making it clear he wasn’t the only unwanted one. Her hand clenched on the little girl’s shoulder, pulling her closer to her legs.

Victoria’s mini-me stared up at her, the same quizzical look on her face. “Mommy, who is that?”

SEVENTEEN

Mommy.

The little girl’s words crashed into my mind, breaking apart every memory I had with Victoria. I prided myself on being able to read people, but I had no idea she was hiding something like this.

“Emilia, give us a minute,” Victoria said, ushering the little girl behind her.

Emilia. It was a strong name. Her great-grandmother’s name, if my memory served correctly. And shit, I could see so much of her mother in Emilia.Tori is a mother.I stepped back, running my hand over my mouth. Holy fuck. Victoria,my Victoria, was a mother to a beautiful, apparently strong-willed little girl who inherited her eyes and her bright smile.

I started to say something when Cole pushed past me, storming toward the car. Victoria stepped forward, but I held my hand up to stop her. “Give us a minute.” When she opened her mouth to protest, I stopped her again. “Please, Tori. Just give me a minute to talk to him.”

She nodded, turning to brush a couple of tears away from her eyes. As much as I wanted to stay to comfort her, Iwas also battling with my anger. How could she not tell me? I told her everything and showed her the darkest parts of my life, and yet, she’d hidden a significant part of hers.

As I took off after Cole, Marcus gave me a stern look, probably picturing a thousand ways to cause us bodily harm after our exchange with Victoria.

And his granddaughter.

Fuck.

Questions pelted my mind, trying to figure out how I missed this—how we all had missed it, if Cole’s reaction was any indication. Besides, if he had any idea of Emilia’s existence, he would have been here every chance he got. There was no way he’d choose not to be involved in his niece’s life, not after the way he doted on Tori growing up.

My feet stalled, and understanding crashed through me. Of course, Tori wasn’t open about her daughter. It had taken months to convince her to visit, and even then, I saw how guarded she was when she first came to town. When it came to Cole, her defenses were a mile high, and no doubt, she wanted to see him for herself before letting her child get involved.

But that didn’t explain why she hadn’t told me.

Was it because of Emilia’s father? Marcus’ words from earlier came back to me, assuming we knew his son. That must be the guy—the one Cole would probably kill if he got his hands on him. Were they together long? Were they serious? When did things end between them?

Didthings end between them?

My chest ached at that thought. Maybe that was why Tori pulled away so suddenly, not wanting anything more with me. She wanted one night only. Was that because there was someone else here waiting for her?No.I shook my head. That couldn’t be true. The girl had a golden heart andwould never hurt anyone like that. If she crossed that line with me, it was because she was available, even if I was the last person she should have been with.

When I caught up with Cole, he was already seated in the truck, slamming his hand against the steering wheel. “Fuck, fuck, FUCK!” he exclaimed as I climbed into the passenger seat. He continued to grip the leather in his hand, squeezing until his knuckles turned white. I just sat there in silence, knowing there were no words that could help him through this fog.

After a long time sitting there, Cole finally exhaled. “How could she do this?” He pushed out a short breath. “How could she hide something like this from me?”

“I don’t know,” I answered honestly. “But I gotta assume there’s a reason.”

“Yeah, she fucking hates me.”

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