Broken Wings (Dark Legacy #1)

Smiling sweetly at my birth mother, I politely accepted Richard’s offer and sat down for breakfast.

She scowled at me like she was plotting my death, and it only made me want to piss her off even more. If I’d been a more callous person, I’d have asked about Oscar. But I sensed that Catherine didn’t care much for her son as anything more than the Deboise legacy. A title I now held. No, bringing up my dead brother would only hurt Richard and so far I didn’t see how he deserved that from me.

“Riley,” Catherine started, clearing her throat and folding her hands in front of her. “I don’t know what sort of loose morals your adoptive parents raised you with, but you’re part of a very respected company now. That comes with certain expectations of behavior.” She said this last word like it was distasteful, and I suspected she was talking about my less than subtle fuck session with Beck this morning.

Ordinarily, I’d have been mortified. Or, I would have been if my real parents had heard me getting my freak on. I shuddered even thinking about it. But Catherine’s insinuation that my parents were irresponsible or just generally shitty parents, made me see red.

“Insult my parents one more time, Catherine,” I spat at her. “I fucking dare you.”

My cursing made her jaw clench, and I watched her fists tighten on the table. She wanted to hit me so badly, but was holding back for some reason. Because of Richard? Or because I’d fought back last time?

“Regardless,” she hissed. “No heir of mine will be gaining a reputation as the town bicycle, nor will she be giving birth to some illegitimate bastard before graduating high school.” Her words were laced with venom, and I wondered what she’d say if she knew it had been Beck who was riding this bicycle.

“Not to worry, mommy-dearest,” I replied with sickly sweet sarcasm. “If that happened, I could just dump the baby and pretend it never happened. You know all about that, don’t you?”

Her face turned a splotchy red, and her lips parted in fury. Before she could respond, though, Richard cleared his throat.

“Don’t you have a meeting with Langham this morning, dear?” he reminded her, taking an innocent sip of his coffee.

Catherine glared daggers at me for another beat then sucked a sharp breath and turned back to her husband. “I think you mean we have a meeting with Langham, Richard. They expect to see both of us.”

Richard just shook his head. “I’m not ready. You go on without me and give me the abridged version later.”

It was a clear dismissal, if I’d ever heard one. Catherine huffed, but threw down her linen napkin and stormed out of the kitchen with a sharp clicking of her heels.

“I apologize about her,” my biological father said softly when she was gone. “I’d like to say this is a result of Oscar’s...” His voice broke over the missing word—death—but he cleared his throat to continue. “But in truth she’s always been a cold bitch.” He dabbed at his mouth with a napkin then pushed back his chair. “I don’t mean to cut your breakfast short, but I wondered if I might show you something? I’m so rarely here and time ... time is just not on our side.” His words dripped in melancholy, and my heart broke for him.

“Of course,” I agreed. I hadn’t even touched the food, but whatever he wanted to show me must have been important. This was the longest he’d ever spoken to me, which I knew was because of my resemblance to Oscar. The son he’d loved, and the one he’d lost.

Richard led me through the house to a room which was quite obviously his office. It was all leather bound encyclopedias and heavy furniture. So old-fashioned-rich-man. He gestured for me to sit on the chesterfield and wandered over to the huge oil painting behind his desk. It was of a severe looking old man and based on the clothing it was from a generation long past.

Richard flipped the painting forward on hidden hinges, and spun the combination dial of the safe behind it. He took out a manila folder from inside, and left the safe open while he returned to me.

“Riley,” he started, then cleared his throat and perched on the other end of the couch. He placed the folder on the leather between us and laid his hand over it. “I wanted you to know...” He trailed off with a sigh, and I sensed that this was causing him pain. “Catherine ... when she was pregnant with you, we had a falling out. I left her, moving into my apartment in New York City. I regret it more than I can say, but I wasn’t there when you were born. “

He fell silent, his gaze fixed firmly on the packet between us.

I took a wild guess at what he was trying to tell me. “She got rid of me before you arrived?”

Richard nodded, and my opinion of Catherine dropped even further.

“She told me you were stillborn. That it almost killed her as well. She had a body…” he broke off, clearing his throat before he continued. “I’m telling you this now, because I have been trying to distance myself from Delta ever since. I might have been born into this legacy, but it was always something Catherine wanted. More than me.”

Catherine was a right old gold digging bitch.

“Why did you marry someone as toxic as her?”

Richard closed his eyes for a beat, like a bad memory had taken him by surprise. “In the very beginning, she was different,” he said when he recovered. “We actually met at a board meeting with Huntley, and I thought she was charming and funny and beautiful.”

I gasped at his casual use of our enemy’s name. He met my stare with a hard one of his own. “The drama between our companies didn’t used to be so drastic and deadly. We’ve actually done a lot of business together. Catherine is the daughter of one of Huntley’s CEOs.”

I gasped again, and it almost sounded comical. “Have you stopped to think that maybe she’s just here to sabotage Delta?” I asked bluntly.

Richard let out a sad laugh. “She’s proven her loyalty to us time and again. She rejected her family when all of the underhanded bullshit started.”

Yeah, right. I knew women like Catherine. She was playing both sides, there was almost no doubt of it. “I wish that she’d never come back into my life,” I told him bluntly. “Not only did I lose my parents, but I’m now stuck with a legacy I never wanted.”

“Just like me,” he said with a nod.

He nudged forward the folder that had remained between us, and I hesitated to pick it up. Part of me was scared to see what was inside. Like, it might be information that would destroy the tenuous happiness I’d found in the last few days.

Unable to control my curiosity any longer, though, I reached out and gripped the edge, pulling it toward me. My hands were shaking as I flipped it open, and I blinked when the contents came into view.

“What is this for?” I asked, flicking through each piece.

“Riley…” The pain in that word drew my attention. His eyes were filled with a sadness that almost drowned me. “I can’t lose another child,” he whispered. “You need to run. Now. Run and never look back. Leave the country; everything you need is inside.”

The tremble in my fingers increased as I opened the passport, finding my photo but none of my correct details inside. There was also a license, birth certificate, bank cards, cash, and a few other pieces of paper, all with the same fake name: Chelsea Smith.

“It’s top of the line,” Richard said. “If you keep your head down, no one will find you.”

A week ago I would have been all over this, even with the shitty reality that I’d have to run and hide my entire life, but now…

I would be leaving my guys. I would be leaving Beck.

Like Richard had heard that thought, or at least read the resistance on my face, he leaned forward. “You can’t trust him, Riley. You can’t trust any of them.”

I blanched, sucking in a deep breath. “What … why?”