“Thank you,” Olivia said, blushing.

“Well, our Alex here is quite the musician, as well,” Colleen interjected. “He was so insistent on learning to play when he was a little boy.”

Alexander glared at his mother, regretting all the wine he had poured for her throughout the evening.

“He was in love with this girl. Her parents were close family friends so they practically grew up together. Anyway, her mother was an accomplished musician and taught her to sing and play all these musical instruments at such a young age. And poor Alexander over here had such a crush on the girl, but he thought that the only way she would love him was if he learned to play and sing. So he secretly had her mother teach him. It was so cute.”

“Mom, stop,” Alexander interrupted.

“Oh, Alex. Hush. It’s not a big deal.”

“So you learned to play to romance a girl?” Olivia smirked. “Whatever happened to the girl?”

Alexander stared into Olivia’s eyes, a solemn look on his face. “She was taken from me.”

Olivia looked around the table, tears starting to form in his mother’s and sister’s eyes.

“Oh, I’m sorry, Alexander. I didn’t realize you were talking about you-know-who.” The table grew silent. “Excuse me. I’m going to go freshen up.” Olivia stood up, as did Tyler, David, and Alexander, who motioned to Marshall to accompany her.

When she was out of earshot, Colleen immediately spoke. “Darling, you need to tell her.”

Alexander stared at his mother, dumbfounded. “How do you know? Did Carol say something?”

“Oh, Alex. I had a feeling something was going on. Women are much more perceptive than men are. After the DeLucas were involved in that horrific car accident, your father became so distant. He let slip that someone was after them. He said that Olivia died in that crash, that they all did, but I didn’t believe him. We had gone to their funerals and, at the viewing the night before, all the caskets were closed. You couldn’t even open them if you wanted to.

“Then all the summers he left to go to Charleston, I had a feeling that he knew more than he let on. I just had a feeling he was protecting that little angel from whatever killed her parents.” His mother looked into his eyes with a look of remorse.

“So you knew all this time that she was alive and you watched me struggle with it?” he said in disbelief. “I’ve made myself go mad at times, debating whether I lost my mind. I would see her everywhere I went. And when I finally gave up hope and had moved on, I met this girl. Why didn’t you say something sooner?”

“I don’t know. I guess I was hoping that I was wrong because if I was right, I knew that someone else could figure it all out. If that’s the case, she could be in a world of danger. I’m scared for her. Your father wouldn’t fake medical records if it wasn’t necessary. You know that.”

Alexander looked around the table at the faces of his family and knew that his mother was right.

“Open the letter, dear. Stop trying to blame your father for everything. I know you like to retain control over everything and you think ignoring that letter is your last big act of defiance, but is it worth it? If I know your father, that letter won’t just contain apologies because that wasn’t his style. I can assure you that it contains information. You need to know. She needs to know. You need to come clean.” Colleen reached over the table, placing her hand on top of his. “For her.”

“Yes, Ma. For her.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

AN AGREEMENT

OLIVIA WAS REALLY STARTING to hate the constant security escort. Marshall wasn’t too bad, but at least with a male agent, she had some semblance of privacy when she went to the restroom.

“I’ll be fine in there, Agent Marshall,” Olivia said, pushing open the door to the ladies’ room.

Marshall held the door for Olivia and followed closely behind. “I’m sorry, ma’am. I have my orders. I could lose my job if I don’t follow them.”

Olivia exhaled loudly. “Controlling bastard.”

Agent Marshall laughed. “Yes, ma’am. He certainly can be.”

Olivia smiled at her, surprised at her response.

“I’ll just wait right here, Miss Adler,” Marshall said, pointing to a vanity sitting area in the posh bathroom.

“Okay. Thank you.”

Olivia went about her business. When she exited the stall, she was met with a tall blonde woman, Marshall close behind her.

“I’m sorry, Miss Adler. I tried to stop her. I’m under strict orders that she is not to come near you.”

Olivia looked at Marshall. “It’s okay.” She turned back to the blonde. “What do you want, Adele?”

“Just to have a little talk about my Alexander.”

She exhaled loudly. “Are you really this delusional, Adele? And, seriously, what is it about bathrooms that scream confrontation?” She was feeling rather snarky.

“Just take this as a warning from someone who has been in the same position as you. He will leave you. It may not be for me, although that would be great. I could really put his bank account to good use. But, regardless, he’ll toss you aside, just like everyone else. I’m sure he told you when you first met him that he doesn’t date. He only fucks. I mean, look at what happened to poor Chelsea. He left her at the fucking altar.”

“It’s different with us, Adele. We actually care about each other, not just the size of the other person’s bank account. We have something real.”

“I’m sure you do,” Adele said, raising her eyebrows. “It feels that way when he’s fucking you, telling you that your pussy and ass are his, right?”

Olivia looked at her, wide-eyed.

“And then all you can do is whimper out, ‘Yes, Mr. Burnham, all yours’, as he’s pounding into you.” Adele batted her eyes. “It certainly does feel real, doesn’t it?” She turned, leaving Olivia completely speechless.

She looked at Marshall through her water-filled eyes, unsure of what to say. “Excuse me, Miss Adler. I’ll deal with her.”

“Thank you,” she said, finally finding her voice, her chin quivering slightly. “I’ll just be another minute.”

Marshall followed Adele out of the ladies’ room, walking through the hotel lobby and catching up to her in the corridor leading to the banquet hall.

“Miss Peters,” she called out.