Page 103 of The Innovator

She was right. I met with the oldest mistress who cried in gratitude when the assassin I’d hired sniped him while he was beating her. The sharks fed on his body. But I kept all the dark stuff from Natalie. I didn’t want her tainted by my deeds.

“I have more to tell you,” I said. “The reason your father was in Providence was because he bought The Prism for you to start your own fashion label. He wanted something that truly belonged to you.”

CHAPTERFIFTY-FOUR

NATALIE

My heart bloomed with joy and sadness. I was so thrilled to hear my dad had noticed my passion, took it to heart, and tried to make my dream come true. But I was sad he didn’t get to witness what I’d done with that dream. I created my own fashion label.

Dad knew I’d always wanted to explore other designs, but my duty was loyalty to my family’s name. To know that he’d bought the property specifically for my dream meant the world to me.

Tears spilled down my face. I wiped them away with the back of my hand. “How could you possibly know this?”

Was this why he’d been working and traveling so much?

“Time, patience, and luck.” Grayson peeked at his watch. “Someonewill be here to explain things to you.”

He handed me a folder. “This is the reason your aunt isn’t fond of your family.”

The emotions that filled my heart today ranged from shock and sorrow to love and hope. There was nothing left to surprise me.

But when I opened the folder, my heart skipped a beat, and I gasped at the copy of the birth certificate. “She’s not a LaRue.”

“No, she’s a Hickson. Her father was a Navy officer.”

Grayson told me about the affair. Apparently, he met Andrew Hickson’s widow, and she confirmed he had an affair with a French woman—my grandmother. Aunt Estelle had paid the widow to keep quiet with threats of consequences if she didn’t comply. The widow didn’t like threats and had reached out to my dad. He discovered the information two years ago.

“But he said nothing to the family.”

Grayson lifted a shoulder. “Maybe it didn’t matter to him. Maybe he loved his sister because he grew up with her.”

“She didn’t love him.”

“I think she wanted something she couldn’t have. It turned her into a bitter woman who wanted to eliminate your father so no one knew about her bloodline. She wanted House of LaRue, but the truth of her lineage threatened that, so she wanted to sell it.”

I sighed, trying to absorb the family drama.

“Also, your dad never had any affair. I think your aunt fed that information to the media.”

I could see that.

“He was meeting an acquaintance here in Providence regarding the building.”

The doorbell chimed, and Grayson went to open it.

Nerves stirred in me. I stood up from the couch, following him to the door. But I stopped in my tracks when none other than Dolores Kennedy stepped into view.

“Sergeant Kennedy, what are you doing here?”

“You can call me Dolores. ‘Sergeant Kennedy’ is my alias at work.” The stern face she usually wore at work softened on me. “Yes, I know what they say about me behind my back, but I don’t care. Someone needs to maintain law and order in there.”

“You sure do,” I said.

“We all miss you in the office.”

“Please send my best to everyone.”

I’d never received so much information in one day. It overwhelmed me. I didn’t know which news I should try to absorb first. It was as though the universe was dumping everything all at once to prepare me for something else.

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