Vengeful in Love (16 page)

How did he know Emily and Charlie had asked her to help them?

“How much are they paying you to sell me out?”

“
What?
”

“Don’t pretend. You’re the one who’s been spying for them all along. You gave them the bid figures.”

“No!” She couldn’t believe this. “Is that what this is all about? Of all the stupid things to—”

“Don’t lie to me!” He pushed her away from him, making her stumble. “The NSA bid file you worked on wasn’t even real! We know the bid Rodale submitted. It was just enough to beat the numbers you gave them.”

Suddenly, it was freezing in her condo, and Natalie hugged herself. Alex thought she’d betrayed him. She remembered Ethan giving her the manila folder right after Alex had gone to Hong Kong, how he’d insisted that she work on it alone. Humiliation suffocated her as she recalled how she’d given herself to Alex so wantonly. “You faithless bastard! You were planning this even before we slept together!”

“
I
’m the faithless one? You’re a good actress, and a hell of a lay, but don’t think that’s enough to fool me.”

She pointed at the door with a shaking finger. “Get out!”

“Oh, I’ll go. But before I leave,” he said, his face contorted with rage. “There’s something you should know. You weren’t a foundling. Your lofty father
won
you. On a bet. In China.”

Blood roared in her ears, and she could barely hear anything over the pounding of her heart. “Wha—what? How…how do you know?”

“Brian’s been in my way one too many times, protecting the Rodales. Nothing would make him back off. So I had to find something bad enough that he’d have to abandon them.”

Stop siccing your nasty boyfriend…

“I had several investigators dig into his past,” Alex continued. “They finally found something I could use against him—winning you on a bet. Imagine the scandal it would cause—‘Senator Wins Daughter in Game of Chance’. He’s been blustering, but I know he’ll stop protecting the Rodales. He’ll be lucky to avoid jail. Is there a statute of limitations on human trafficking?

“Still, raised by a man like that…” Alex shook his head. “I should’ve known you’d think nothing of sneaking around, spying for money. I want your resignation first thing tomorrow morning.”

His eyes raked her, left her raw and bleeding. Then he left, slamming the door shut behind him.

* * *

Stumbling along the sidewalks, Alex let out a few choice words. He needed to call a cab. Even if he hadn’t been drinking, he was in no condition to drive. He was too angry…too emotional. His whole body was shaking uncontrollably.

God. He hated her and the way her chocolate eyes seem to draw him in, even when he knew her for what she really was. He hated himself for wanting her despite all she’d done to him. He’d wanted her to tell him the truth. Everything. He would’ve covered it up. Pretended nothing had ever happened, no harm done. She would have had to resign, of course, but he could’ve still been with her, found it in his heart to forgive her.

He hadn’t intended to tell her about the adoption, but when she’d ordered him to get out, acting like some kind of queen, something had snapped inside his heart. His face twisted into a snarl.
Where were the damned cabs?

He would ruin the Rodales and take the Halls down too, for good measure. He wanted them all to burn in hell, especially Natalie. That way, he’d have some company.

* * *

Breathe in. Breathe out.

Natalie put a hand on her churning stomach and then, covering her mouth with the other, ran to the bathroom and threw up until there was nothing left. When she was finished, she half-knelt, half-sat on the floor next to the toilet, the cool porcelain under one elbow, her head in her hand. Finally she stood and stared at herself in the mirror. Her eyes were red-rimmed, her face blotchy. She began cleaning herself up.

Your lofty father won you. On a bet. In China.

Tears of frustration and anger welled in her eyes. All it had taken was an instant for her life to be completely destroyed. Her lover, her career, even her identity—nothing was ever going to be the same. For a time, despair threatened to overwhelm her. But then another emotion began to well up from deep inside, from the strongest and most resilient part of her. Slowly, then more quickly, anger took her over, pushing the despair aside.

She wanted answers.

She threw on some clothes and rushed out, her feet so quick that she almost tripped. Her car beeped as she disabled the alarm and climbed inside. The Halls’ house wasn’t that far, and traffic would be light this time of night.

The halogen lamps over the highway blurred into bright orange streaks as she sped onto I-66, then the Beltway. The speedometer was close to triple digits, but she didn’t care. She needed to see Brian.

Now.

And then what? Could she accuse him of
winning
her like she were a…a thing?

Her car lurched to a stop in front of the opulent mansion. A few windows were lit, including Brian’s study. Louise’s Mercedes wasn’t in the driveway. Good. Natalie didn’t want to deal with her right now.

Natalie rushed to the house, still holding her car keys. She pounded on the door until it opened.

“What are you doing here at this hour?” Belle’s eyes flashed. “Are you out of your mind?”

“I just might be.”

Natalie pushed past her and moved to climb the staircase to the second floor, where Brian’s study was, but Belle ran and got in front of her.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

“None of your business,” Natalie said. “Get out of my way.”

Belle put her hands on her hips. “You want to see Dad. You won’t bother to help out with the campaign, but you don’t mind coming over in the middle of the night. What makes you think you can just barge in and demand to see him whenever you want?”

Something snapped inside Natalie.

“Why should I be part of the campaign? You and Louise made sure I wouldn’t feel welcome anywhere around this family. I can’t even come and go freely here, because I had to give my house key back when I moved out! Seriously, you don’t really consider us sisters, do you?”

She felt a small satisfaction as Belle’s jaw dropped. Capitalizing on her temporary shock, Natalie ran around her and up the stairs until she reached Brian’s study. She didn’t bother to knock, just opened the door and walked in.

“Natalie.” Brian looked up from his desk with a hint of a smile on his face, the patrician forehead wrinkling up above his glasses. “What a surprise.”

He was the only one in the family who indulged her infrequent lapses in social propriety. Was it because she had been won and he felt she couldn’t do any better?

“Have a seat. What brings you out at this hour?”

She closed the door but didn’t sit down. Now that she was face-to-face with Brian, she hesitated. There was the heavy smell of books and wood. His boldly carved mahogany desk dominated the area near the off-white bay windows, and floor-to-ceiling bookshelves groaned under the weight of leather-bound volumes. This was his inner sanctum and the seat of his power, a place Natalie had rarely visited.

“I was just about to have a nightcap. Would you like something?” he said.

When she didn’t say anything, his smile slowly shrank. He stood behind his desk, peeling his glasses off. “Is something the matter?”

Seeing the stolid bulk of her father standing there, Natalie knew Alex was wrong. He had to be. He must have said those horrible things because he thought she’d betrayed him.

“Did you…” Natalie shook her head. “Tell me how you found me,” she said, her voice hoarse.

Brian frowned slightly. “I’ve already told you that, sweetheart.”

She stared at him. She knew his face as well as her own—the compassionate blue eyes, the mouth that could convey friendliness or steadfast resolve, depending on the situation. It was a perfect politician’s face, and looking at it, she decided that she would never be able to read it if she gave him time to prepare.

“Did you win me on a bet in China?”

A fine tremor went through his body, and his features seemed to freeze in place.

“Oh my God,” she whispered. “How could you? You
bought
me?”

Brian started to come around his desk. His hip hit the edge, and he almost tripped. “Natalie. That’s not how it happened.”

“Then tell me!” Natalie put a hand over her mouth, horrified at how hysterical she sounded and how the life she’d known had been a lie.
A wager won.
That was all she’d ever been to the Halls.

“My lord. I never thought you’d find out.” Brian looked at her a moment, indecisive, then went to a small rolling bar and took his time putting a couple of ice cubes into a glass. He poured himself two fingers of whiskey, the ice crackling. Still facing away from her, he said, “Your great uncle was an ambassador to China thirty years ago. I accompanied him because I was thinking of joining the Foreign Service, although the family was pressuring me to follow in my father’s footsteps and go into politics.” He turned to her. “Louise couldn’t come because she was sure that… Well, it’s not important.” He paused and took a swallow of his drink.

Natalie’s lips twisted. She could imagine why Louise hadn’t wanted to go: she didn’t like any place that didn’t cater to her standards—that was to say, elite American standards.

“I met a local man there. He worked in a restaurant many of the expats liked.”

“My real father?” Natalie held her breath. “What kind of person was he?”

“I don’t know if he was your father or not. But he was quiet. Compact. Intense eyes. Looked young for his age.” Brian swirled his drink, his eyes focused on the past. “We called him Chang, but that may not have been his real name.

“Some of the Chinese resented our presence, but he was friendly enough. Showed me the city, taught me about the local customs. His English wasn’t good, but it was serviceable, and we became fairly close. He was taller than most of the others, almost my height, and I gave him one of my shirts as a present once.” He took another drink. “About six months after we met, we went to a bar. We had some drinks—too many, when I think about it now—and played some Chinese games. You know, mahjong, like that. He wanted to bet, said it wouldn’t be fun otherwise. And I agreed. Why wouldn’t I? I figured that I might lose maybe a hundred dollars at the most. It wasn’t that much to me, even back then. And if I lost more, well, it would have been okay. I knew the family would bail me out.” He shook his head. “Except they couldn’t help me out at all. The scandal…God!”

“What happened at the game?”

“I don’t remember. Don’t look at me like that, Natalie, it’s the truth. But the next day, an old Chinese
amah
delivered you to me with a note telling me I’d won and that Chang had to honor his debt. I was never able to find him again. He had disappeared.

“I’m ashamed to say I considered leaving you behind. But our maid told me you would most likely end up dead or sold into a brothel. There were no adoption families; China’s one-child policy made it impossible. Even those families without children wouldn’t have wanted a girl.” Brian shrugged. “Knowing what would happen to you, I couldn’t leave you.”

Natalie stood stock-still. There was just too much to process. It was as though she was on a movie set that she had thought was real, and someone had suddenly started moving the false walls away, revealing an entirely different world. It took all her concentration to listen as Brian went on.

“I returned to America immediately with you.” He was looking at her directly now, searching for something in her face. “I couldn’t tell Louise what had really happened. Just the gambling would have been enough to… Well, I’d never have heard the end of it. I needed some time to think, and so I took you to Emily. She found a poor family that was willing to look after you for several months. Eventually, through intermediaries, I got you back and brought you home. I told Louise I’d found you in DC. The lie was so egregious that it was believable, at least to her. If I tell her the truth now… I don’t know.” He sighed, and his shoulders seemed to get a bit narrower.

Natalie felt sick. “You should’ve told
me.”

“Why? What could it possibly accomplish? We raised you as our own.”

Was that what he really believed? Was he truly blind to how Louise and Belle treated her?

Brian had been the only one Natalie had really liked in her family. But now she couldn’t bear to look at him. She spun around and strode out of his study, only to come face-to-face with a deathly pale Belle.

“Natalie…”

Natalie felt herself go cold, as if someone had poured chilled oil down her spine. There was nothing to say between them.

She pushed past her and went outside. The evening breeze was crisp against her skin. When she finally unclenched her hand from around the car keys, they were slick with blood.

“YOU’RE A MESS.”

Alex jerked his head up. Ethan walked into the office and closed the door behind him.

It had been a week and three days since Alex had stormed into Natalie’s condo, a week and two days since she’d returned the ruby choker and silk robe to him via FedEx. She hadn’t come to the office to pick up her stuff. Not that it had been necessary; she hadn’t kept any personal belongings there. It was as if she’d known that she wasn’t going to be working there much longer. Another sign of her guilt? Had he missed it because he’d been dazzled by her?

“Thank you for your input,” Alex said dryly.

“Not a problem. I think you should get to the gym more often too.” Ethan leaned into one of the plush office chairs. “And not drink so much.”

“Keep it up.” Alex’s heart wasn’t in the banter. He looked pointedly at a pile of documents on his desk. “Did you want something? I’m kind of busy.”

“Yeah, you looked real busy with your head on the desk there.”

There was a knock on the door, and Eleanor walked in. “Sorry to interrupt, but have you signed off on those merger documents yet? I need to get them out today if we’re going to make the deadline.”