“It was custom made and cost a fortune. Only two necklaces exist in the world. One is Rachel’s and the other is Jason Jr.’s.”
“W-where’s… Jason Jr.’s?”
He lifts a shoulder. “Probably lost in the fire.”
This can’t be happening, but I ask anyway. “How long has it been since that fire?”
“Thirty-five years. It was a rare snowstorm that day. I can never forget it.”
“No, no, no…” I curl my fingers around my necklace and a hand around my stomach as nausea explodes in my mouth.
I’m going to faint.
Thirty-five years ago, Nonna found a newborn baby in a rubbish can during a snowstorm. He only had a replica of Rachel’s necklace around his neck. Mum wasn’t heartless enough to burn him, but she was monstrous enough to throw him in a rubbish can as if he were nothing.
Jason Jr. is Shadow.
And he’s… my brother.
I fall over. President Joe clutches me by the arm, brows furrowing. “What’s wrong with you?”
“My brother… he’s my half-brother… Oh, God.”
“Jason Jr.?” President Joe shakes his head. “I don’t know why you’re mourning him when you never met him, but he wasn’t your brother.”
“He is! We share a father.” No wonder he always looked so familiar. He’s a carbon copy of Dad. The blond hair. The grey eyes. Even the smile and the build.
“Jason wasn’t your biological father.” President Joe’s voice cuts through the chaos. “I did a paternity test for him two or three years after you were born because you had none of his traits. I wanted to save him from that wench. God knows who your biological father is, but Renee being Renee must’ve picked anyone on the streets to get pregnant and corner Jason”
Air goes back to my lungs. I don’t know why I believe everything President Joe says, but I do. The alternative will be believing that Shadow is my half-brother, and I’d rather die a horrible death before thinking about that.
“If Dad had proof that I’m not his daughter, why didn’t he leave her?” I ask, puzzled.
“He didn’t want to leave you.” President Joe’s eyes soften. “His exact words were ‘Even if she’s not my biological daughter, I love her like one.’”
A sob tears from my throat. What did I do to deserve him in my life? All that time, he knew I wasn’t his biological daughter, but he never gave up on me. I can still feel the caress of his love on my skin. Dad is the only thing that made sense in my childhood.
President Joe tries to sit me down on the sofa.
The door swings open. The guard turns abruptly.
Shadow.
He stands on the threshold with squared shoulders and overcast robotic eyes. Blood stains his white T-shirt and mars his face and hair.
His gaze falls on President Joe clutching my shoulder, and I see the moment he makes the snap decision to kill.
“No, don’t!!” I scream.
He shoots.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Pain explodes in my shoulder. I wince as I fall to the carpeted ground.
I throw a frantic glance behind me to President Joe. His face reddens to his bald head, but he’s not injured. I release a small breath. Shadow wouldn’t have forgiven himself if he killed his grandfather.
Or maybe he would’ve. I’m not sure. But I’m not ready to have him carry the burden of murdering his grandfather.
Shadow looms over me like a piece cut from the darkness. Concern contorts his handsome features and slams into me.
His hand presses against my wound, and blood soaks his palm and slips from between his fingers to drip to the ground. “The fuck, Zoe? Did you just sacrifice yourself for President Joe?”
I clutch his arm and smile. “I did it for you.”
He curses low again as he searches for something in his surroundings. “If I didn’t aim higher, you’d be fucking dead!”
President Joe offers him a handkerchief. “Did you kill my guards?”
“You’re lucky I’m not snapping your skull in two.” Shadow throws him a dark scowl but he accepts the handkerchief and does quick work of wrapping it around my upper arm. “I don’t even know what the fuck to do with you, Zoe.”
“It’s only a graze.” And I mean it. The wound burns, but it doesn’t hurt as much.
“Do you want to die?” He bites out. “Is that it?”
“I didn’t want to do this, you arsehole.” I lean into him. Even though President Joe is beside us. His guard remains on standby as if waiting for an order from his boss.
“Then why did you do that?” Shadow’s eyes bore into