Bastards and Scapegoats (Twisted Legacy Duet #1) - CoraLee June Page 0,22

from Hamilton’s house, and Jack was all too happy to tell me every single detail he could recall about Greenwich University, his alma mater.

The opulent campus was timeless. The sprawling manicured lawns were filled with lounging students wearing preppy designer clothes, even though classes didn’t start for another two weeks. I immediately felt out of place at this private university, but Jack proudly boasted how he always felt at home when visiting.

“Over here is the new Beauregard Business Building,” he said while pointing at a statue of...holy shit...himself. The bronze statue was tall and imposing.

“Whoa,” I said.

“You like? I made sure they shaved some of my stomach off. Didn’t want to be eternally fat, you know?” He chuckled at his joke and turned down another street. I didn’t even want to think about how much money you had to donate to have a new building named after you and get a statue erected in your honor.

“My wife and I first met outside the chemistry building. She wore a plaid skirt and was clutching a mountain of textbooks to her chest. She dropped them all, and I helped her carry them to her dorm,” Jack recalled with a secret grin. “She made me work for a first date but oh, it was worth it. When she died, I had her favorite park bench here moved to the gardens at our summer home.”

“I bet you miss her.”

“Every day,” Jack replied.

I chewed on my lip, not sure what to say. Jack continued his tour, pointing out sentimental spots while groaning about changes to the campus. He was a traditionalist and made it obvious how much he hated the new buildings being built—aside from the one named after him, of course.

“So, you want a degree in social work, yes? What exactly do you want to do?” Jack asked.

“I want to be a child welfare specialist,” I replied while looking out the window.

“What made you want to do that?” he asked while turning down a side street toward a collection of apartment buildings.

I bounced my knee in the car, my fingers tingling as I tried to come up with my answer. “I guess you could say I was born wanting to be an advocate for children,” I whispered.

Jack nodded and let out an, “Ahh. Your mother.”

I snapped my head to the left to stare at him as he pulled into an unfamiliar parking lot. “What do you mean?”

“I, uh, I just mean I know about your mother. She was in an abusive situation, yes?” I knotted my fingers in my shirt, desperate to get out of the car. Jack must have seen something in my expression, because his eyes widened. “I’m so sorry, honey. It’s not my place.” I was fiercely protective of my mother, and Jack Beauregard just dropped that bomb as if he was talking about the weather.

“How do you know about that?” I asked.

Jack let out a sigh. “My team did a background check on your family when Joseph announced that they were dating. I didn’t mean to be intrusive. The report was very enlightening. I’m shocked your mother managed so much at such a young age.”

I scoffed. Didn’t mean to be intrusive? What the fuck? “And what exactly did your report tell you? Did you find out that my father was actually one of my grandmother’s boyfriends?”

Jack pulled over, then looked down at his lap. A white-hot anger burned through me. “You both are very tenacious. You’ve overcome so much. It’s honestly impressive how far you’ve come. I didn’t mean to overstep. I’m just protective of my son. You have to understand that. He’s wanting to get into politics, and he’s going to inherit a lot of money. I didn’t want any scandals. I mean, goodness, Joseph mistakenly got her pregnant. I understand why he wanted to do the right thing and marry her, but we had to be smart about it.”

I gaped at him. “So how did your people decide to spin it to the papers, hmm? Charity case or a redemption story?”

“Neither. I made sure your mother’s abuse was sealed in court records.”

“So, a shameful secret,” I said softly in disbelief.

Perhaps it was the intensity of the last few days, but I didn’t bother holding back. “Thanks for the tour, Jack. I can handle it from here.” I unbuckled my seatbelt with a huff of frustration.

“Vera, when you’ve been in the public eye for as long as I have, you learn that you have to be careful. I’m just