“You’re wrong. There’s no way. It can’t be.” Her mother gasped, shaking her head in disbelief while Franklin stood by, without a care. “Who are you?”
“We both know who I am. If you haven’t figured it out by now, you’re dumb as hell.”
“Know what?” Alexandra yelled, trying to get their attention.
“The real reason I left the family. Why I took up with other women? Why I hated you and your mother.”
“Don’t do this.” Her mother put her hand on his arm, her gaze pleading.
“Do what?” he sneered. “Tell her the truth? Why you’re so upset the test is negative? Why shouldn’t I tell the girl who’s been riding the coattails of the Kane name for years, as though she has a stake in the fortune, that she’s not a Kane. She gets nothing.” He shook her mother off as though she were an insignificant gnat before turning his rage back on Alexandra. “Your father is dead. Your problem was assuming Marcus Kane was your biological father.” Her mother choked out a sob, her head hanging low while she ignored everyone else in the room. “It’s why she won’t look at you. She thought I was your father.”
“Who is…Franklin,” Alexandra said, the pieces from the article locking into place. If he was to be believed, standing in front of her was her assumed dead father. The man she’d put on a pedestal from the beginning, who she clearly meant nothing to. They weren’t even be related by blood. She felt Roman’s hand squeeze her hip, and she put her hand over it. She needed his strength more than ever. “How did you survive?
“It’s easy to survive if you don’t get on a plane you know will fail.”
“You let those people die? For what?”
He leaned toward her, his finger jabbing toward her. “No, I let Franklin die. The asshole who was trying to wreck my family. Do you know what it’s like to stare at the child your wife is trying to pass off as your own and see your biggest rival? I wanted him gone. It wasn’t hard. He didn’t have any family, so I just made him disappear.”
“So you’ve been what, hiding out? For twenty years?” Roman asked from beside her because Alexandra was finding it hard to speak. She should go to her mother, who was still crying, but couldn’t find it in her to comfort the woman. Not now. She felt too raw.
“It was a lot easier to hide out twenty years ago. I simply waited for the right time. For the surgery, to build my company, everything. I used money I had socked away and created a new life for myself. It’s not very hard when you’re determined.”
Her mother flew at him, beating against his chest as she screamed. “You killed him. You killed the love of my life. I hate you. How dare you try and come back as him?” Franklin, or Marcus, whoever the hell he was, grabbed her hands and squeezed until she bent down in pain. Roman intervened, shoving Franklin back while he got her mom to safety.
“How could I kill the love of your life? You really want to level that accusation here? In this house?” Fear shone in her eyes when she looked back at Alexandra and Roman. “Why don’t you tell them what you did?” Adelaide bit her lip, shaking her head.
Alexandra came up beside Roman, lending her strength, something telling her they were talking about Trina. Roman held her hand as though his life depended on it while Franklin relayed everything that happened the day Roman’s mother killed herself. She hadn’t been alone as everyone suspected, but had been visited by Adelaide Kane.
“What did you say to her?” Franklin jerked her arm, shaking her. This time, Roman offered no assistance. Franklin shook her again, spit coming out of his mouth while he asked her again what she did.
“What you wouldn’t,” she screamed in his face. “You never loved her; you were just using her. You weren’t ever coming back, and she needed to get her shit out of my house.” She pulled away from him, running her hands through her hair and turning to Roman. “I didn’t know she’d kill herself. I never would have confronted her if I’d known how unstable she was. I thought she would leave; I never thought she’d die.”
Roman went back to the counter, grabbing the whiskey and pouring a huge glass. He assessed them as he drank, saying nothing. Alexandra’s heart broke for him, but she needed to deal with the two psychos she had in the kitchen.
“Your penance,” Alexandra said. She felt sick to her stomach, wanting to grab Roman and get out. Adelaide nodded at Alexandra’s statement then turned back to Franklin.
“You are an evil man. You’ve done nothing but try and destroy the reputation of the woman who carried your name. Who tried to build on your reputation.” Adelaide said.
“I would have stayed away,” he argued. “I wanted to see what kind of lawyer she was, but she was destroying whatever reputation she’d built by hooking up with Roman. It wasn’t her legacy to create. She should have never figured out the cases were related, but dumbass Leo Dominic fell apart on the stand.”
“Don’t you dare blame him because you’re an asshole.” Alexandra stood up for the man who had no business being dragged into this whole mess. “And what was your end game? After everything was all said and done?”
“I hadn’t figured it out.”
Roman left the counter to come and stand in Franklin’s face. “Yes, you had. At least have the balls to admit what you would have done if we hadn’t figured everything out.”
He shrugged. “A little insider trading, maybe some conspiracy when all roads stopped at your house. It’s why you were assigned both cases, so we could connect it all to you. I should have left it alone and just let my original plan take its course. But I saw you with him, Trina’s son, and couldn’t resist fucking with you.”
Roman swung, his fist meeting Franklin’s jaw with a thump. Franklin fell and Roman followed, hitting him several times, each time telling him why.
“That’s for Alexandra. That’s for my mom. And that one’s for me, you asshole.” Franklin covered his nose, howling in pain, but Roman gave him no time to react. He grabbed him under his arm and dragged him from the house. Franklin rolled over, groaning as Roman slammed the door, breathing heavily.
“Roman.” Her mother reached out for him but he stepped back. She turned to Alexandra, who offered her no more sympathy. Roman needed her. She walked toward his open arms, thankful for his strength.
“I want to go home,” she whispered into his shirt. He nodded, kissing her on the top of the head and leading her out to his car. Franklin was writhing on the porch, so she stepped over him. She waited in the car while he ran back inside to get their bags. Once the car started, the heat began to warm the chill that had settled in her bones after their conversation. Roman laid his head back against the seat.
“What the fuck was that?”
“I don’t know. I need to leave. We’ll have to talk about it later, but can we table this conversation?”
He nodded, putting the car in gear and leaving.
“Where does this leave us?” she asked when she couldn’t take the silence any longer. He put his hand out for her, and she gripped it. He was her lifeline, and she’d never let him go.
“Together.”
She nodded, leaning back and closing her eyes.
“Alexandra?” he asked right before she fell asleep.
“Hmm?”
“We’re tearing down the damn house.”
“Okay.”
EPILOGUE
Three Months Later
“Here you go, babe.” Roman handed her the margarita from the bar. They were hosting a dinner for his family and part of hers to celebrate the opening of Alexandra’s newest law firm. After careful consideration, she opened her own practice, taking on the cases she wanted to. It was no longer important to only win, but to work for those who couldn’t fight for themselves, especially after the Davis case. There was something about seeing Corey with his newborn girl, the screaming 8lb, 6oz baby who had her father wrapped around her little finger that melted her ovaries. She had to talk them down from the ledge, because there was no way she was having children at that point, although it solidified her need to work with people who didn’t have the resources needed for representation.