Page 20 of Sinful Skulls
His smile makes the hair on my arms stand on end.
“I do.” He nods and then pulls out a file, dropping it on the desk in front of him.
He steeples his fingers over his mouth, deep in thought before his eyes rise to meet mine. “He was my brother.”
Was?What the fuck am I missing here. I feel like I’ve stepped into the twilight zone. My dad doesn’t have any brothers.
“Um, I’m sorry, but you must have mistaken me for someone else.”
The dean pushes the folder across the desk. “My brother’s plan was to deliver this news to you himself, but unfortunately he was involved in an accident and is no longer with us.”
My hand trembles as I pull the folder onto my lap and open it. Inside I find a copy of adoption papers. My adoption papers. I swallow hard. “I’m … I’m adopted?”
I flip through the pages, finding a DNA test in the back. If this information is accurate, I’m the biological daughter of a man named Theodore Baxter.
“This can’t be true. My parents would have told me.”
“It was a closed adoption, as you can see. It was kept quiet because your mother was a student of his.”
My mouth falls open slowly.
“He … he was a teacher?”
Dean Baxter nods. “He taught science. It was his first love, but painting was his true passion.”
I’m silent as I stare at the papers on my lap. The world as I know it is crashing down around me.
“I’m sorry to be the one to tell you, but maybe this answers some questions you may have about yourself.”
My gaze snaps to his.
“I’ve got to get to a meeting, but why don’t you stop back by tomorrow? We’ll talk more then.”
I stand up, hugging the file to my chest.
He doesn’t ask for it back as he walks me to the door. “I’m sure this comes as a shock, but I felt you deserved to know the truth, Daisy.”
Internally I’m having a full-blown meltdown, but outwardly I remain calm. “Thank you. I’ll … um … yeah, we’ll talk tomorrow.”
I rush out of his office before I lose my shit in front of him.
Chapter Nine
Daisy
Ilie in bed, staring at the ceiling, with the folder tucked safely under my pillow.
I’ve spent the entire night analyzing every moment of my life. I knew there was something different about me. I knew it.
A few years ago, my parents both did one of those online DNA tests. I wanted to do one too, but they told me my results would be similar to theirs, and it would be a waste of money. I didn’t think anything of it, because it made sense. Their ancestors were mine.
But how did this guy, my biological father, get my DNA? Did he have access to my medical records? Did he bump into me and steal one of my hairs? The thought makes me shiver.
Dean Baxter said my mother was his student. That in itself is creepy.
I looked him up as soon as I got back to my room. I prayed my search was going to bring up that he was at least a college professor. That would have made this a little easier to wrap myhead around. Unfortunately, that’s not what I found. He taught high school.
My roommate’s alarm goes off, and I realize it’s already morning.
