CHAPTER14
FLYNN
Iuse my time wisely. When Louisa heads off back to work, I put in another call to Malik who answers sounding weary.
“How’s it going in Seattle?”
“Surprising.”
“I don’t like surprises.”
“Then you’re going to hate this one.”
“Why?”
His voice shifts and the razors cutting through the phone tell me Malik is struggling like the rest of us. He is currently playing the good son to a father who enjoys torture as a hobby. He is the head of security to the ruler of Dubai and the sinister shit he deals with makes Massimo Delauren look like Santa Claus.
“We may have a problem regarding my marriage.”
“Don’t tell me. She hated you on sight.”
Malik’s low laughter makes me smile and I say cockily, “Dream on my friend, we all know I have the golden touch and she is no exception.”
“Her father then. He hated you on sight.”
“Again, you are wrong, which amuses me because of how much you hate being wrong.”
Malik growls with impatience.“Well, someone must have hated you on sight. Come on, make my day because this one is shaping up to be one from hell.”
“Nobody hates me, except you right now.”
My low laugh makes him groan, and he says wearily,“Then what’s the problem?”
“We could be related.”
“How?”
“It turns out my evil uncle told my amazing mother that Massimo Delauren is my father.”
Even saying the words strangles my rational mind and Malik’s curse tells me he is as shocked as I am.
“And you believe him? I mean, your uncle is hardly the truth fairy.”
“My thoughts exactly, which is why Iris Young may have the answers.”
“About that.”
The hairs on the back of my neck stand up and Malik says with a hint of urgency in his voice,“I pulled her medical records. She’s at early-stage dementia and her medication is strong. You might not get much sense out of her, and it may not be the truth, anyway.”
“Fuck.”
I ball my fist and growl, “What else can you tell me?”
“She only has one visitor. Every Friday at two o’clock, Massimo Delauren visits for exactly one hour. He never changes his routine, and they take tea in her room.”
“How civilized. Anything else?”
“He donates several hundreds of thousands of dollars to the home every year and is their biggest contributor. The staff love him because he is very generous. Subsequently, Iris Young is treated like a queen because she is their proverbial golden goose and Massimo has requested that she receive no other visitors.”