Page 87 of Scarred Sins
“And… we can’t tell for sure because we don’t know who my father is.’’
Arlo halts for a moment, his grip on my hands tightening. He swallows harshly, his Adam's apple bobbing a few times.
“About that…’’
“Arlo, if you tell me that you’ve known who my biological father was all along, I’ll lose my fucking shit.’’
He shakes his head furiously. “No! Not all along, no.’’
I take a deep breath, trying my best not to get pissed. “Speak.’’
“Back when I took you to my place, my father and I went to this casino of sorts. It’s illegal and filled with wealthy people all the time. Adams was there, and as a warning that the De Santis’ are coming for him, I handed him a small USB drive with the recordings of the day he killed my aunt. While we were there, Dad spotted a man and ended up following him. Later on, he had his men tail him just because he looked awfully familiar and suspicious. The man ended up being your father.’’
It feels like all air gets sucked out of my lungs. My ears are ringing a little, and I try my best to process the information. I never dared to know who my father was, and now, Arlo’s telling me that he found him, by accident no less.
“How…’’ I start speaking, my throat dry. I swallow and force the words out. “How could you be so sure?”
He takes a deep breath. “There was no way of confirming it via DNA tests, because Dad didn’t want to risk getting too close to the man and end up doing something he’d regret. And you are quite literally his spitting image.’’
“That’s not proof. As you can tell, Amy and I look the same but aren’t related.’’
He nods. “Which is why Dad did something.’’
“What did he do?”
“He found out about the man’s routine and one evening sat next to him at a bar. Dad kept buying him drinks until he was drunk enough to talk, because drunk people tend to overshare. The moment Dad mentioned your mother’s name, the man’s face fell.’’
“What’s his name?”
“Alexander Hawke.’’
As silly as it sounds, the last name just confirms it for me. Though, it’s not nearly enough. The more Arlo speaks, the more questions I seem to have. None of this makes any sense, and the more I try to realize how and why this twisted fate is against me, the fewer answers I have.
“Continue,’’ I whisper.
“To cut a very long story short, Alexander and your mother, Sabrina, were briefly involved after he graduated from university. From what he told Dad, it was an affair, and he apparently had a lot of those, which made his wife leave eventually when she found out. Anyway, when Sabrina told him about the pregnancy, she requested money for an abortion. He wasn’t exactly thrilled about being a father, especially to a child that didn’t come from his wife, so he complied with the request.’’
“So she took the money and still kept me,’’ I conclude, to which Arlo nods.
“Yes,’’ he sighs. “Dad didn’t mention you to Alexander, in case you didn’t want him to know.’’
“I’m an affair child,’’ I sigh.
“And from Alexander’s story, Sabrina firstly tried convincing him to leave his wife, but he refused, and afterward she came requesting the money for the abortion. And he let it slip that the affair with your mother wasn’t his first affair, either. Lord knows if he has any more children running around.’’
I take a deep breath and close my eyes. It’s a lot to process, and my stomach is churning. I always thought my biological father never wanted anything to do with me and that he purposefully let Sabrina raise me alone. I’m not sure if it’s better or worse that he never knew about me, given the way I was conceived.
“Tell me everything you know about him.’’
Arlo nods. “I’ve found more information by digging through his past. He divorced his wife around four years after you were born. Sabrina reappeared and told his wife, with evidence of their affair. I’m not sure why she did that, but you were never mentioned, so he still believed Sabrina had an abortion. That’s when Alexander confessed to numerous affairs that were before your mother. To my knowledge, the reason he stopped cheating was because of your mother’s pregnancy. It probably scared him shitless. Nevertheless, his wife left him.’’
I nod. “Anything else?”
“He remarried and has a son with his current wife; he’s about fifteen now. He owns successful businesses all around, from restaurant chains to a large security company. Definitely loaded,’’ he snorts. “He was born rich, too, so half of his wealth has been passed down through his parents. He has no siblings, and his father is in a nursing home; his mother passed away when he was in high school.’’
“Does he cheat on this one as well?” I scoff.
“I wouldn’t know,’’ he shrugs. “So far, there hasn’t been anything to indicate that.’’
