You could hear a pin drop with how quiet it gets. Everyone in the room stops what they're doing and stares at Declan and me. My cheeks heat and I push my hair behind my ears. Jordan and my mom know about the marriage but none of the men do.
Declan’s father’s eyes go wide. “You’re wife? You’re married?” he asks softly, shock written all over his face.
He sounds hurt. His reaction is a far cry from how I expected it to be. From everything Declan has told me, his father is self-centered and doesn’t give a shit about his kids. I can tell by his facial expression, though, that he’s taken aback by this revelation.
“Yeah. My wife,” Declan tells him.
“You guys are fucking married?!” Becca chimes in. Loudly.
“I’m pretty sure we all know,” my dad says a second later, eating a grape like he doesn’t have a care in the world.
My gaze snaps to my mom and she looks guilty as hell. Jordan has the same look on her face. I thought they were both good at keeping secrets. I guess I was wrong.
“Why am I always left out of everything?” Becca throws her hands in the air dramatically.
Declan’s father looks to the floor and then back at us. “Congratulations, you two.” He gives each of us a warm smile, and I return the gesture. It’s weird, seeing the man you’ve heard nothing but bad things about, act like he cares. I’m not sure if it’s a front or if he really does have a heart. “You told me over the phone you had another big problem. What is it?” he asks, changing the subject.
I have no idea what information Declan told him, but it doesn’t sound like much. I’m not exactly sure why he’s here in the first place. It’s not like he can help us.
Declan lets out a breath before saying, “Penny’s daughter was kidnapped.”
Phillip looks at me, shocked. “You have a child?”
I nod my head. “She’s five.”
“I don’t understand. What do you mean she was kidnapped? I’m not sure I can help you with that.”
Declan looks at me and then at his dad. “Senator Elias’s son is Autumn’s biological father, and he took her from her school today. It’s been hours, and the police haven’t found any leads.”
Phillip’s eyes turn hard, and I nod my head in confirmation.
His nostrils flare, and he looks to Carlisle. “Let us make some more calls. We’ll get this figured out.” He doesn’t say anything more as he and the lawyer walk out the door, both with serious expressions on their faces.
I turn to Declan, who runs a hand through his hair.
“Does he know the senator?” I ask, more than a little confused.
He looks at me like he’s guilty of something, and then grabs my hand and pulls us to the bedroom with everyone staring after us.
Once the door shuts, he blows out a breath. “My father has a bunch of contacts because he owns The Regal Grand Hotel chain.”
I blink once. Twice. And a third time before my brain processes what he just said. “I don’t think I heard you right. Can you repeat that?”
He scratches the back of his neck. “My great-grandfather opened the first hotel, and my grandfather and dad made it into what it is today.”
I stare at Declan in shock. The Regal Grand Hotel has numerous locations all over the United States. It’s an exclusive hotel. Expensive. Now that I think of it, neither he nor Kate told me what their dad did for a living. Kate only said that she worked for her father, never mentioning anything else. I try to wrack my brain for any other clue that would have led me tobelieve that his family was rich, but I come up with nothing. Declan lives a humble life and has never once mentioned any of this.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. But I haven’t talked to my dad in a long time. His lawyer is in-house, so I thought it would be the best bet to get him here to help with everything. He knows a lot of powerful people.”
I start to pace the room and rub my forehead. “Okay. Besides the fact that in all our conversations you left out that your father is the owner of one of the most exclusive hotel chains in the U.S., do you really think he can help find Autumn?”
“I know, and I’m sorry. He hasn’t been a part of my life for so long that I didn’t think it was important. It’s been years since I’ve spoken to him, and our last conversation didn’t end so well. But Kate seems to think he’s turning over a new leaf, and if I know one thing, he’s highly connected. I took a chance on if he would even show up, and it paid off. And I think he’s going to try his hardest to help us.”
I sit on the edge of the bed and stare up at Declan. This is a lot of information to take in. I just assumed I would never meet my mother or father-in-law because of how Declan spoke of them. And now Declan’s father is here in my apartment, helping us. The last twenty-four hours have been a whirlwind, and I’m not sure what to think at this point.
“We can trust him?” I ask.
Declan takes a seat next to me. “Yeah. I think we can. Kate trusts him, so I do too.”
