Page 118 of Speak No Claim

You couldn’t hide from the truth. Eventually, secrets come out into the light.

Cocking his head to the side, the council member who was holding a knife to my face grabbed the dagger out of Onyx’s grasp and announced, “On this day, Hennessy Belladonna is one of us.” He sliced his hand, grabbing mine and mixing our blood before continuing with…

* * *

“Welcome home, Hennessy.”

Chapter

Thirty-Eight

Onyx: Welcome home, Hennessy.

To say I thought it’d end up this way would be an understatement. I never imagined it’d be like this. If Hennessy proved anything to me, it was that she really did have no fucking sense, but at least more lives were spared. My father coming to my defense wasn’t something I ever thought could or would happen either.

It was a whirlwind of what the fucks and emotions I didn’t know were possible to experience, especially when it came from my own flesh and blood. I didn’t know where my father and I would go from here, other than it had to be better than where we’d been for the past twenty years.

Once we were back inside the estate, Caspian was seen by the doctor in the banquet hall. It was the farthest room from Deja’s, and the last thing we needed to happen was for her to find out the truth. She was the reason I was following orders in the first place. I never wanted her to find out who her father truly was. She knew about their affair or at least she assumed, despite my father’s attempts, rumors and myths were carried out for life.

She already had a fucked-up life with barely remembering our mother and having an arranged marriage. Those were enough crosses for her to bear. The rest could be kept a secret. I trusted Caspian to know that too. It wasn’t like they could stand being in the room together in the first place, and I was grateful for that fact. They hated each other. It had been that way since we were kids.

As soon as I could, I helped him sit up, apologizing, “I’m sorry they punished you because of me.”

“Not everything is about you.” He half smiled, waiting for Jones to drive him home.

“In this case, it is.”

Hennessy appeared, sitting beside him on the couch. “Looks like you’re going to have some wicked scars there, Caspian. Were you jealous of Onyx’s scars? You had to go get your own?” She smirked. “Don’t worry, I have some medicine I can make to help you heal faster. Now, can I ask why they whipped you too?”

With confidence in his expression, he remarked, “Don’t worry, Amazon princess, you fucking owe me, and trust me, I’ll collect when the time is right.”

Her eyebrows pinched together. “You saw me tonight too?”

“Apparently, so did the council.” He winked at her. “You’re welcome for whatever time I did buy you.”

Her face softened as she carefully leaned forward, kissing him on the cheek. “Thank you.”

“Come on, sir,” James chimed in, grabbing hold of him.

Hennessy locked eyes with Alfred. “You knew this whole time, didn’t you?”

He winked at her too before helping Caspian leave with him. When they were out of sight, my father and her uncle appeared in the banquet hall. We hadn’t had a second alone since everything came to light, and I expected there was only more to come.

My father and her uncle didn’t walk in here to say good night and tuck us in.

She didn’t waver, not that I expected her to. Looking up at her uncle, she interrogated, “Am I allowed to ask questions now?”

Her uncle nodded, answering her question from earlier, “Yes, mi niña. Deja’s your half sister. She’s the product of a love affair between your father and their mother.”

Our gazes shifted to my father, who was standing below our last family portrait, staring up at it, lost in memories that would forever haunt him. The irony was not lost on me.

The only reason I knew the truth was that they needed me to watch her, and they were aware of how much loyalty I had to my sister. I wasn’t surprised my mother had an affair. My father was a difficult man to love. I didn’t involve myself in things that didn’t concern me, and this sure as hell didn’t.

Nothing changed about how I viewed Deja. She’d forever be my sister. Who gave a fuck who her biological father was? Mine was the one who raised her, and that was all that mattered to me. I never blamed Hennessy for her father's sins. I was just protective of my sister, and I wasn’t sure what she remembered about the day her mother confronted them on our estate.

The only thing I remembered was the screaming, but how much could you truly recall when you’re that young? My mother often yelled at my father. It wasn’t out of the ordinary for them to be fighting about something. It all made sense once I found out the truth.

Without looking at us, my old man openly shared, “Your father and I grew up together like most legacy children. My wife and I had an arranged marriage. Except she didn’t fall in love with me as I did with her.” He faced Hennessy now. “She fell in love with your father instead. I wasn’t… I’m not…” He gathered his words. “I’ve never been a loving man. I just wasn’t raised like that, but it didn’t mean that I didn’t love her. She was my weakness, and she knew that too.”