Chapter 89

Xavier

I should have been working. I had papers to sign, orders to make. But I could not take my mind off of Valerie. Off of the tears in her eyes. The pain on her face.

The way she wouldn’t look at me. Couldn’t look at me.

Certainly, a resentment was growing in her heart. A hatred for me. For the blood of my father, pumping through my veins. I could not blame her.

I had kept it from her. The real reason why I’d chosen her in that dingy shop.

But truly, I did not know if my father was the one responsible for their deaths. And I did not know how I found manage to unearth the reality of what happened without any official documents on the matter. Valerie was right; I had tried once before and failed. Why did I think I could change things now?

I had been so deeply lost in my thoughts, I was jolted when my study door swung open.

Alyssa appeared first, Ralph and Amelia at her heels.

I rose, surprised by the intrusion. More surprised even, by the sight of Amelia. “Amelia, what are you doing