Chapter 63: Family Secrets

I stared at my phone. Read the text again.

"File nineteen. Insurance Prime. About your father."

My father. I hadn't thought about him in weeks. After my mother died, he signed everything to Victoria and disappeared. No calls. No visits. Nothing.

Like I never existed.

"Lita?" Cole touched my shoulder. "What's wrong?"

I showed him the text.

His eyes narrowed. "Who sent this?"

"I don't know. Same unknown number from before."

"Check the drive," Stacey said. "See if there's a file nineteen."

Andres was already looking. Scrolling through files. "There. File nineteen. Labeled 'Insurance Prime.' Dated six months ago."

"Play it," I said.

"You sure? If it's about your father, it might be bad."

"Play it."

He clicked the file. Audio started.

Brian's voice again. But different this time. Excited. Happy.

"This is gold. Pure gold. I can't believe I got this."

Another voice. Female. Older. My mother.

My breath stopped.

"You can't tell anyone," my mother said. Her voice shaking. "If this gets out, it destroys everything."

"That's exactly why I'm recording it. Insurance. You try to stop me from seeing Lita, I release this. Simple."

"Brian, please. This isn't just about me. This is about Lita. About James. About the family."

"Should have thought about that before you lied for twenty years."

"I was protecting them!"

"From what? The truth? That daddy dearest isn't who everyone thinks he is?"

Silence. Then my mother's voice. Quiet. Broken.

"Richard isn't Lita's father. He knows. He's always known. That's why he treats her differently. Why he favors James. James is his. Lita isn't."

The room went silent.

I stood frozen. Can't move. Can't breathe.

Not his daughter.

My father. Richard Dillard. Successful businessman. Cold. Distant. Always preferred James.

Now I knew why.

"Who's the father?" Brian's voice on the recording.

"I won't tell you that. Not ever. That secret stays with me."

"Fine. Keep your secret. But I have enough. Richard raised another man's kid for eighteen years. The great Dillard family built on a lie. That's worth money. Lots of it."

"Brian, I'll give you money. I'll give you whatever you want. Just don't release this."

"Too late. I'm keeping this recording. And if you ever try to keep me and Lita apart, everyone finds out. Your husband. Your family. Everyone."

The recording stopped.

I couldn't move. Couldn't think.

Not his daughter.

Everything made sense now. Why Richard never hugged me. Never said he was proud. Never looked at me the same way he looked at James.

Because I wasn't his.

"Lita." Cole's voice. Distant. Like underwater.

I sat down. Or maybe I fell. Everything felt wrong.

"I need to know," I said quiet. "Who's my real father?"

"Your mother never said?" The Elder asked gently.

"Never. She never told me anything." I looked up. "She made this recording six months ago. Right before everything went to hell. She knew Brian had this over her."

"That's why she changed," Stacey said. "Why she got more controlling. More desperate. Brian was blackmailing her."

"And she couldn't tell me because it would destroy the family." I laughed. But it wasn't funny. "So she let me think I was crazy. Let Richard treat me like garbage. All to keep a secret."

"We can find out," Andres said. "DNA test. Find your biological father."

"How? I don't even know who to test."

"Your mother had a life before Richard. Friends. Relationships. We can dig." Andres typed fast. "Give me a few days. I'll find something."

"Days. Okay." I stood. Wobbly. "I need air."

"I'll come with you," Cole said.

"No. I need to be alone. Just for a minute."

I walked outside. Around back of the gym. Sat on the ground against the wall.

Not his daughter.

Eighteen years of feeling like I wasn't good enough. Wasn't wanted. Wasn't loved.

Because I wasn't his.

My phone rang. Not unknown this time. A real number.

I answered. "Hello?"

"Lita. It's Richard."

My father. The man who raised me but isn't my father.

"What do you want?"

"I heard about the police investigation. About Margaret's death." His voice was cold. Always cold. "I'm calling to tell you I won't be involved. Whatever you did, you face it alone."

"Whatever I did? I didn't do anything."

"Margaret is dead. James is dead. Brian is dead. You're the common factor." He paused. "I always knew you'd bring trouble. From the day you were born."

"Because I'm not yours."

Silence. Long. Heavy.

"You know," he said finally.

"I know. Brian recorded mom confessing. So yeah. I know."

"Good. Then you understand why I never loved you. Why I couldn't." His voice didn't change. Still cold. "You were a reminder of her betrayal. Every day. Every time I looked at you."

Tears came. I didn't stop them.

"Who's my real father?"

"I don't know. She never told me. Said it was better that way." He laughed. Bitter. "I stayed because of James. Because he was mine. But you? You were never my responsibility."

"Then why did you raise me?"

"Because leaving would have looked bad. Would have hurt my business. My reputation." He paused. "But now Margaret's gone. James is gone. There's nothing keeping me tied to you anymore."

"So that's it? You're just done?"

"I was done eighteen years ago. I just played the part." He cleared his throat. "Don't contact me again. Don't use my name. As far as I'm concerned, you're not a Dillard. You never were."

He hung up.

I sat there. Phone in my hand. Tears on my face.

The man who raised me. Who I called dad for eighteen years. Who I tried so hard to make proud.

Hated me. Always hated me.

Because I wasn't his.

Cole came around the corner. Saw me crying. Sat down beside me.

"Heard?" I asked.

"Yeah. Pack bond. Your emotions. I felt them." He pulled me close. "I'm sorry."

"He hates me. Always has. And now I know why."

"He's a coward. A weak man who blamed a child for adult problems."

"But he's right. I'm not a Dillard. I don't know what I am."

"You're Lita. Luna Alpha. My mate. That's what you are." Cole lifted my chin. Made me look at him. "Blood doesn't make family. Choice does. And we choose you. Every day."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

I leaned against him. Let myself cry. Let it all out.

Not his daughter. But maybe that was okay.

Maybe being a Dillard was never what I needed anyway.

Maybe being Luna was enough.

But still. I needed to know.

Who was my real father?

And why did my mother keep it secret for eighteen years?