Page 19 of Hacker Betrayed

None of this made sense to me. Even after my marriage, my father and the Calhoun family were not on the best terms. "He was only doing what my father wanted."

Donovan took a deep breath. He rested his arm over the back of the couch and played with a piece of my blonde hair. "Your brother came to me a year into your marriage and begged me to get you out. At the time, I wasn't in a place to take over. Many of my father's men were still loyal to him. I needed time. So, I had Clarise put birth control in your vitamins. I knew if my father couldn't get you pregnant, he would send you to my house like his other wives and ultimately try to have you killed. You should hate me for how long my plan took for you to escape, but dad was infatuated with you." His eyes closed for a brief second before he continued. "He wasn't the only one. I loved you, Dalia. And I would have done anything for you. That included walking away, but this story only gets worse, and you will hate your brother and me by the end."

It might have been love I felt for him years ago, but I never wanted to live that life or subject my son to it. "Is your family coming after my son?"

My instincts told me the person behind Tabitha's death was linked to my family. I couldn't get past the bomb-making. Ted Norwood might have died four years prior, but someone close to him made the bomb.

My brother helped rescue me years ago and tried to do something when my marriage was bad, which should make me feel better, but I still had an uneasy feeling, and my gut was never wrong.

"It's not my family. I've never said a single word about Lucas, not even to your brother. He never knew about our relationship. Sebastian promised me it's nobody on his side. Which makes me wonder if Tabitha crossed someone."

"Tabitha was only a friend to the outside world," I pointed out. "Why kill her?"

"Because she was your only close friend." He tugged a piece of my hair, and for a second, I felt like we were sitting in his living room talking about the mundane.

"Not true. I'm friends with Kat, Jessica, and Sophie. Hell, I'm close with a lot of men as well."

"I've had eyes watching you for years, Mia. Those are your superficial friends. They don't see the side where you let your guard down. Mia and Tabitha were your only true friends," he asserted.

I rolled my head to the side and tried to release the stress kink in the muscles of my neck. "Then you know about the attempts on my life."

If he had stepped in, I might have figured out I had to run a lot sooner or hid Lucas. Instead, he shifted to the side and crossed his arms over his chest. "No. I don't have someone on you all the time. But there is something else I need to tell you."

All these years, and Donovan was the reason I didn't die. I wasn't sure how I could ever repay him for helping me. There was a good chance I would have died out in the ocean the night of the explosion, but those were all what-ifs, and one thing I learned a long time ago was that you can't change the past. The past also shaped the person I am today.

"I owe you everything. You saved our son and me. No way I will be mad at you. Just tell me," I replied.

Donovan nervously bounced his leg and sighed. "Sebastian and I talked. Neither of us wanted you in the life, and when your family only gave you the option to marry again, we figured you would turn to Mia and Tabitha. There isn't anything I wouldn't do for you. I paid Mia ten million dollars for her to give you her identity."

I spent almost every waking hour at Mia's bedside for months as she became weak and could barely eat. "She was dying."

Donovan’s expression softened. "Mia had cancer, but she didn't die. The ten million was for her to build a new life under a new identity so you could take hers. I still talk to her. She lives in France and works at an art studio."

"Did Tabitha know?"

"No." Donovan reached for my hand, but I pulled away.

"This is a lot to take in. Jesus, I would have done anything for them growing up, but I would have found another way. I spent years without my friend, and she left everything for me. Her friends, her job. God, she left the man she loved." My voice must have grown louder, because Paxton stepped into the room.

"Is everything okay?" Paxton frowned at Donovan.

Donovan stood. "I'll always be here for you, Mia, even if you don't want my help. As for you." Donovan turned toward Paxton. "Take good care of her. She deserves the world, and I've looked into you. You're a good man, but you're trusting the wrong people."

"Hey!" I jumped up from the couch. "Brock and his team are the best. I can guarantee nobody in his company is bad."

"Never said the people he shouldn’t trust was Blackwood's security." Donovan tilted his head to the side. "If you want to know more, here's my number." He pulled a card from the pocket of his jacket.

The Calhoun family worked with the scum of the earth and didn't care who they hurt. I thought that was the case for years, but if so then Brock wouldn't have allowed him nearby. Donovan was the only kind man to me years ago. Was I being selfish for withholding his son? "Do you want to meet him?"

Donovan’s feet froze. For once, I was the one to give him shocking news. He quickly blinked before nodding. "I don't know what to say."

"Talk to him." I shrugged. "I'll go get him and be right back."

I walked toward Paxton, but he didn't follow; instead, he stepped into the room and lowered his voice. I left them to their conversation.

Sebastian, Brock, and Eric were around the table inside, talking. I found Kat and Lucas drinking sodas on the back patio. A very pissed-off Antonio stood to the side with his arms crossed. He had on his signature jeans and a black T-shirt.

"Hey, Antonio."

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