Page 96 of Titan

“Yes, it is. What’s Arianna’s mother’s name?”

There was no fucking way my brother didn’t know the answer to this question. Zayn knew everyone’s secrets. It was how he’d become so powerful and taken over London. He used his knowledge to manipulate everyone into seeing things his way.

“What?”

“You heard me. What is her mother’s name?”

“It’s Julia McDonald.”

“Thank you.”

“Why do you want—”

I hung up on him before he could finish his sentence and stuffed my phone back into my pocket. He would no doubt try to call me back, but I’d put it on silent before we’d boarded the boat. I might have been pissed earlier I’d be stuck here the whole night, but now I was glad of it. She wouldn’t be able to escape a conversation with me.

The woman was standing with two men, one of whom looked very similar to her, leading me to believe he might be her brother. If this was Julia McDonald, she was the eldest of five siblings. The headlines had been full of her youngest sister, Chelsea, recently. It was reported she’d committed suicide at her Knightsbridge residence. Who the fuck knew if that was the truth. I wasn’t one to pay much attention to the wealthy, but it was hard to avoid it when stories like this were all over the news.

I didn’t approach the trio, merely watched them from nearby. She caught my eye a moment later and frowned when she noticed I was staring. I nodded over at the double doors to the deck before retreating towards them and walking outside. My feet carried me over to the back of the boat. I leaned on the railings, staring out over the murky water. The sun was setting on the horizon, bathing the city in an orange and purple glow.

It took a few minutes, but she joined me with her back to the railings as she stared out over the party.

“Do we know each other?” she asked, her voice betraying her upper-class upbringing.

I turned to her. She was in a dark green dress that fell to her knees, and she looked to be in her late thirties.

“No.” I stuck my hand out. “Gil.”

She looked down at my hand for a long moment before taking it and giving it a shake.

“Julia.”

I dropped her hand and looked out over the water again. There was no point in me beating around the bush since we were alone.

“Your father owns McDonald hotels, does he not?”

“Yes.”

“This is going to sound like a personal question, but did you give up a daughter twenty-two years ago?”

I watched her stiffen out of the corner of my eye. It wasn’t the most tactful way to ask her, but I didn’t care. She leant closer, her brow furrowed and her eyes darting about the place to check if anyone was listening.

“Who are you? Is this some sort of plot to blackmail me? Because I won’t stand for it.”

“Blackmail? No.” I flicked my hand out. “Let’s just say I know your daughter.”

“I do not have a daughter.”

It was quite obvious she was lying by the way her face reddened and her brow twitched.

“I suppose that’s true, considering you gave up the right to be her mother.”

She let out a little sound of outrage before she reared back and stared hard at me.

“What do you want?”

I shrugged before turning to her.

“I don’t want anything, Julia.”

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