PART 4 — The Secret His Family Buried
Declan moved before I could react.
He stepped between me and the front door.
“Stay here.”
My heart was pounding.
“Who is it?”
He didn't answer.
The knocking came again.
Three slow knocks.
Then the woman spoke.
“Declan, I know you're there.”
His entire body stiffened.
He looked at me.
“Do you recognize her?”
I nodded.
He reached for the door but stopped.
Instead, he checked the security camera.
A woman stood outside beneath the porch light.
She was wearing a long black coat, her face partially hidden by a scarf.
Declan stared at the screen.
Then whispered:
“Mom?”
I felt the blood leave my face.
His mother?
The woman who had threatened me?
He opened the door.
Aurelia Rowan stepped inside.
She looked elegant despite the snow, her silver-blonde hair perfectly styled and her expression completely calm.
Her eyes immediately found me.
Then James.
For the first time, her composure cracked.
“You weren't supposed to have him.”
My arms tightened around my son.
Declan slowly turned toward her.
“What did you say?”
Aurelia looked at him.
“I said you weren't supposed to know.”
His voice became dangerously quiet.
“Know what?”
She sighed.
“I tried to protect you.”
“By hiding my son?”
“By protecting the family.”
Declan laughed once.
There was no humor in it.
“The family?”
“Yes.”
“You knew she was pregnant.”
“Yes.”
“And you made sure I didn't find out.”
Aurelia looked at me.
“You have no idea what this woman would have done to you.”
I stepped forward.
“What did I do?”
She didn't answer.
“Tell me.”
Declan's voice sharpened.
“Tell her.”
Aurelia closed her eyes.
“Your father left behind enemies.”
Declan frowned.
“That was six years ago.”
“Not all of them disappeared.”
“What does that have to do with her?”
“Everything.”
She looked at James.
“The moment you married her, she became part of the Rowan family.”
I stared at her.
“That doesn't explain anything.”
“It does if you know what your father left behind.”
Declan stepped closer.
“What did he leave?”
Aurelia looked toward the window.
“A ledger.”
Silence.
“A financial ledger?”
“No.”
Her voice dropped.
“A list.”
“Of what?”
“Names.”
Declan's face hardened.
“Whose names?”
“People your father paid. People he blackmailed. People who worked for him.”
I felt a chill.
“And you thought I was in danger because of that?”
“Yes.”
“Then why didn't you tell me?”
“Because your father made enemies even after his death.”
Declan shook his head.
“You could have trusted me.”
“I did.”
“No. You didn't.”
Aurelia's eyes filled with tears.
“I knew what would happen if you knew about the baby.”
“What?”
“You would have protected her.”
I stared at her.
“And?”
“And that would have made you vulnerable.”
Declan looked at me.
His mother continued.
“Your father had a rule. Family comes first. If anyone threatened the family, he eliminated the threat.”
Declan's expression became cold.
“I'm not my father.”
“I know.”
“Then why did you make decisions for me?”
“Because I was afraid.”
“For what?”
Aurelia looked at James.
“For him.”
She pointed toward our son.
“Your enemies knew about the pregnancy.”
Declan froze.
“How?”
“Someone inside the company leaked it.”
“Who?”
“I don't know.”
“You're lying.”
Aurelia flinched.
“I wish I were.”
Declan grabbed his phone.
“I want every file connected to my father.”
“You can't.”
“Why?”
“Because the ledger disappeared.”
“When?”
“Two months ago.”
He stared at her.
“And you waited until now to tell me?”
“I didn't know where it was.”
“What changed?”
She looked at James.
“You did.”
I frowned.
“What does that mean?”
Aurelia's eyes met mine.
“The moment Declan learned he had a son, the people searching for the ledger would know too.”
Declan's phone suddenly rang.
His security director.
He answered.
“Yes?”
The color drained from his face.
“What do you mean the house was accessed?”
I froze.
“My house?”
“Someone entered the rear property,” he said.
Declan looked toward the kitchen.
“Is James safe?”
“Yes.”
“Are you certain?”
“Yes.”
Then I heard a sound.
A soft click.
From upstairs.
Declan looked at me.
“Stay here.”
“No.”
He moved toward the staircase.
I followed.
Aurelia came behind us.
The upstairs hallway was dark.
Nothing appeared disturbed.
Then Declan stopped outside the nursery.
The door was slightly open.
I hadn't left it that way.
He pushed it open.
The room was empty.
But the window was open.
Snow had blown across the floor.
And sitting on the baby's crib was a small envelope.
Declan picked it up.
His hands tightened.
“What is it?”
He opened it.
Inside was a photograph.
My photograph.
Taken five months earlier.
I was standing outside a clinic, visibly pregnant.
On the back, someone had written:
You should have listened.
I couldn't breathe.
Declan turned the photograph over.
There was something else written underneath.
The child belongs to the Rowan bloodline. The debt belongs to you.
Aurelia covered her mouth.
Declan looked at her.
“What debt?”
She shook her head.
“I don't know.”
“You're lying again.”
“No.”
Then she whispered:
“Your father made one promise before he died.”
Declan waited.
“He promised someone that the Rowan family would pay for what he had done.”
My stomach twisted.
“Who?”
Aurelia looked at me.
Then at James.
“I don't know.”
Suddenly, my phone buzzed.
Unknown number.
A message appeared.
You have ten minutes. Bring the baby to the old Rowan estate. Come alone.
Below it was a photograph.
A man standing beside a grave.
I recognized the cemetery.
It was where Declan's father was buried.
And beside the grave stood someone I knew.
Evelyn Hart.
Declan read the message.
His expression became terrifyingly calm.
“We're going.”
I shook my head.
“No.”
“I won't let you go alone.”
“Declan, this could be a trap.”
“It is.”
“Then why would you go?”
He looked at James.
“Because whoever sent that message thinks they can threaten my son.”
He picked up his coat.
“They're about to learn something.”
“What?”
His eyes met mine.
“I don't run from threats.”
He paused.
“I destroy them.”
But as we reached the front door, Aurelia suddenly grabbed my arm.
“Wait.”
I turned.
She looked terrified.
“There is something I never told Declan.”
“What?”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“James isn't the only secret your marriage produced.”
Declan stopped.
“What did you say?”
Aurelia whispered:
“Before your divorce, someone tried to kill you.”
And then she revealed the one detail that made Declan's face go completely white.
The attack had been ordered from inside his own company.
