Gant
I have to get in the ambulance.
I have to.
I can do anything for my little dove.
Can’t I?
“Gant!”
I’d know that voice anywhere. That build anywhere. Broad shoulders, a tailor-made dark suit, a coiffed head full of dark silver hair streaked through the sides in moonlight silver.
I straighten and try my damndest to compose myself. “What are you doing here?”
I know it’s damn sure not because he wanted to see me prance around in tights.
My father turns around without a smile or a greeting after a year apart, barring phone calls. “Don’t ask stupid questions. You bought the girl here.”
Surprisingly, he doesn’t seem livid that I’d wasted six figures.
I don’t think I could’ve ever made a better investment.
“Only as bait.”
“I don’t see what you’ve caught.” He lifts a brow.
“I haven’t reeled him in yet. I need more time.”
Bart’s expression shifts from stony coldness to smug amusement. “There’s nothing to reel in.”
My eyes snap to his.
“I’m Bart Auclair. Do you really think I need the help of a brand-new adult?”
“You haven’t been able to locate them for years.”
Bart looks at me piteously. “I could locate a dust mite if I wanted to.”
I pause. “You didn’t want to.” It’s not a question because it all makes sense now. “This whole time you didn’t want to find her.”
Bart just stares, his eyes twinkling as if watching two things finally click for an absolute idiot.
“Finding her would only benefit me. Not you, because she couldn’t help you find Jarett…she couldn’t help me find Jarett because you already know where he is.”
“That trap with the newspaper article and her pathetic mother was a good idea. Just two years too late.”
Two whole years...
“Why? If you’ve known his whereabouts this entire time, why not just tell me? Why not intervene in my plan?”
“Because even I can admit when I need help. The girl’s legal but too young for my tastes, so who better than a younger version of me?”
I’m nothing like him.
“I knew the girl would fall for you, Gant, no questions asked. It’s a part of the Auclair charm.”
I don’t feel charmed. I feel revulsion.
“Why?”
“Because stupid little lovebirds sing, and sing and sing. Make her sing.”
“About what? She doesn’t know anything about her father—”
“But she can find out.”
“I don’t understand. Why not get the answers straight from the source? You know where Jarett is.”
“I’m afraid I’ve broken him.”
“Elle can’t put him back together.”
“She can put him back in a familiar environment with a familiar face. Maybe it’ll trigger just enough to give us the answers we need.”
Back in a house with Jarett? With Jaime?
Never.
“Why? Why does it matter Mum’s reasoning? Why does it even matter why she chose Jarett anymore?” I ask, knowing damn well the question’s been plaguing me this entire time. “She’s dead.”
“But she’s still hiding something that could affect our company and your inheritance.”
My spine grows stiff, my blood coming to a standstill. Who could have a say on my inheritance? I’m an only…
“You mean?”
“There’s another player. Approximately one year older than you.”
I shake my head slowly. “It can’t be Elle. She’s younger than me.”
“Relax, you aren’t fucking your sister. Not like that degenerate you insist on hanging out with.”
I ignore him. I don’t give a fuck what he thinks about my friends. He has none.
“How do you know Mother had another kid?”
“Sealed documents from her vault.”
“You mean my vault,” I hiss, unable to keep the venom from my tone. “You opened it?”
“Before she was cold,” he says matter-of-factly. “You want to help find this bastard? Then get the girl back on your side.”
My eyes flash to the car park. The ambulance is gone, but the flashing red and blue lights still dance in front of my vision like little orbs. “Elle will never forgive me.”
He shrugs. “That’s nothing. I’ve done far worse.”
“And you’re alone.”
“By choice. As for the girl, don’t give her one. She’s yours, isn’t she? Make her come home. Bring her to the penthouse just like I know you planned. Baby her to death. Let her think she’ll have a happily ever after.”
I intend to give her a real one.
“I’ll play nice and allow it for now. Get what we need and then dismiss her to some rinky dink college in the fall. She’s temporary, Gant. Keep her on the side if you want, but girls like Stassi Beaumont, you’ll keep. She’s finally getting thin enough to become a consideration.”
I clench my jaw as he turns on his heel, ready to disappear for another few months.
“When we find this heir, what are we going to do?”
He turns to me, a smile stretching his lips at the ‘we’. “Have a tea party. I’ll even let you wear my hat.”
Ten over six.