Page 13 of Torment

Once they stepped into James’s office, he closed the door behind them. Hunter was slightly surprised to see that Riggs had also joined them.

“Does soldier boy have to be here?”

James walked over to a dark mahogany desk. “Colton here plays a very big part in the operation we run. He is also well informed on the whole Brent situation.”

Hunter lifted a brow. “Colton Riggs, huh? Sounds like a stripper name.”

Coltonjust snorted, and Hunter was slightly disappointed in his lack of verbal retaliation.

“Please. Have a seat.” James indicated to a brown leather couch, but Scarlet stomped toward him and leaned over his desk.

“Let’s cut the bullshit and get right to it, shall we? I don’t have all damn day. You say you’re my father, but can you prove it?”

James reached inside his jacket pocket and pulled out the picture he’d held in his hand earlier before placing it on the table, face up, in front of Scarlet.

She stiffened before slowly reaching for it. “My God.”

Chapter 4

It was a picture of her mother holding a tiny little baby girl in her arms. The baby had a delicate little ribbon tied around her head, sleeping peacefully in her mother’s arms. The baby was her. Scarlet…Blanchette.

“Turn it around.”

Scarlet glanced up at James before turning the picture in her hand. On the back was a message in a handwriting Scarlet would recognize anywhere.

My beloved J,

She’s perfect.

A beautiful reminder of our love.

I only wish I could share her with you.

All my love, always.

K.

P.S., I named her after your mother.

“Blanchette was your mother’s name?” Scarlet kept staring at the note on the back of the picture.

“It was, yes.”

She closed her eyes, trying hard to push back the ache that was slowly making its way up inside her chest. The kind of ache only a daughter could feel over losing a mother. The day her mother died so unexpectedly broke the young girl inside her. She could remember that day like it was yesterday. Denial was her friend then—and for three days after that. It was only at the funeral, when Scarlet saw Willow bent down over their mother’s casket, that reality hit her right in the gut.

She never made it to the casket that day. Her legs were unable to carry her all the way down the aisle. Uncontrollable sobs wracked her body as she fell to her knees, crying like she had never cried before. There was so much pain inside her, and all she could think about was how badly she wanted to claw through her own skin, to reach deep into her soul and rip out the pain just so that she could breathe. All she wanted was to breathe…but she couldn’t. That day was one of the worst days of her life.

Feeling dangerously close to crying as that familiar pain of loss started to consume her, Scarlet tossed the picture on the desk.

“This doesn’t prove anything.”

James walked to the other side of his office, and carefully removed a painting of a lake with birds flying above it from the wall, revealing a hidden vault.

“I had a feeling you would say that.”

He turned the lock and the vault opened.

From the corner of her eye she saw Hunter move closer to her. She’d be lying if she said there wasn’t a part of her that was glad he was there. His presence somehow comforted her—calmed her.

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