Page 17 of Wrathful King
“Not here,” I gritted.
“When did Phoenix disappear?” Dante demanded, straightening on the leather cushion. “Amon took Reina, not her sister.”
Romero stood in front of the desk, legs shoulder width apart and temper steaming. Even in his declining state, he strived to exude strength, but nothing could mask the dark shadows under his eyes or the paleness of his skin. He looked as bad as I still did, but that had everything to do with cancer and nothing to do with bullets.
“He forced my daughter to marry him,” he exploded. “Her sister probably went after her.”
“Phoenix is not here,” I deadpanned.
“Then where the fuck is she?” he roared. “She disappeared the same night that you kidnapped Reina.”
“I don’t fucking know.” My jaw clenched in annoyance. “But she’s not here and never has been.” It was obvious Romero never had a handle on his daughters’ whereabouts. “And I have no time for your theatrics. I’m waiting for Kian to get here, and then we’re heading for Brazil to get Reina.”
He paled. “Cortes has her?”
I nodded, my jaw clenching. My mind bubbled with horrific images of how my wife might be hurt, and judging by Romero’s expression, he was picturing the same.
“I plan on annulling this marriage, Amon. You have no fucking idea what you’ve done.”
The fire in my veins turned to ice and I shot to my feet, finding myself towering over Romero with a lethal smile. “Try taking her from me, old man, and it’ll be the last thing you do.”
It wasn’t a very effective threat, considering the man was dying.
“Since when do you care for the daughter of your enemy?” he asked, suddenly calm, but a hint of dread lurked in his dark eyes. “And don’t fucking bullshit me, I know your mother well enough to know she poisoned you against me and my children.”
“You’d know all about it, since you’re still legally married to her.” I heard Dante suck in a sharp breath. This was unfolding quicker than even he expected.
Romero stilled. “Choose your next words carefully, son.”
It was ironic that he used that word when he didn’t even know the truth. Unless… realization struck through me.
“You knew,” I hissed, crossing my office and slamming his body against the wall, a pile of books crashing to the ground from the movement. “Youfuckingknew. All along, you knew I was your son. It’s why you orchestrated this entire goddamn arrangement with Dante in the first place.” I heard Dante muttering my name in warning, but I was too far gone. Too furious to stop. “How long?”
“How longwhat?”
“How long have you known I’m your son?” I accused, bitterness lacing my voice. “You put Reina and me through hell.”
“And you went after your own half sister.”
Did he not know Reina wasn’t his? Well, he’d learn. Right the fuck now. “She’s not my half sister.” A range of emotions skidded across his face—surprise, resignation, acceptance. Then I came to the only plausible conclusion. This man knew one of his daughters wasn’t his, but it didn’t matter to him. Or he was too weak and pathetic to find out. “You knew one of them wasn’t yours,” I said with conviction. “You just didn’t know which one.”
He flinched. “They’re both mine.”
“That’s where you’re wrong,” I spat. “Reina is mine. My wife.” Meeting his furious gaze, I challenged him to contradict me. As we glared at each other, I couldn’t help wondering what had caused him to end his marriage to my mother and how in the fuck I’d found myself fighting both my mother and him. “Either stay and help me find my wife or get the fuck out of my way. But know one thing, you will never—fucking ever—take her from me.”
I let go of him and took a step back.
“How did you find out?” The stillness in the air contrasted the turmoil lingering in Romero’s eyes.
I reached inside my desk drawer and pulled out the birth certificate—the original one—and handed it to him. I watched his Adam’s apple work as his eyes scanned the paper.
“I always wondered which man she’d run to,” he muttered bitterly.
“What do you mean?” I gritted. “You didn’t know who she had an affair with?”
He raised his head. “No, Grace left me in the dark about it. She also refused to say whether it was Reina or Phoenix who was my child.” He pushed his fingers through his thinning gray hair. “She ended the affair and the man, who I now know was Angelo, refused to accept it. He…” He gulped audibly, struggling to continue. “He wasn’t pleased when she chose to end things.”
“What are you saying?” Dante hissed, his jaw clenching.
