CHAPTER 123

TRENT'S POV

I sighed deeply as I collapsed into the leather chair behind Dad's desk, utterly deflated. For hours, I've been meticulously scouring every nook and cranny of this study, desperate to uncover some clue, some hint about the dark secret he was so hellbent on keeping buried.

But my search had proved fruitless, yielding absolutely zilch.

Typical, really. Of course the old bastard would be extra careful in concealing anything incriminating about his past misdeeds. He was nothing if not a calculated, diabolical son of a bitch.

Raking a hand through my disheveled hair, I swiveled the chair to gaze out at the imposing shelves of books and files lining the walls. So much for my harebrained idea of somehow cracking this case wide open through some miracle discovery. Fat chance of that happening now.

There has to be a better way of prying those ugly truths from Dad's tightlipped grasp.

My mind drifted back to that fatefulday at the hospital, mulling over his ramblings about a food