Page 10 of Redemption
I can’t ignore the facts staring me in the face. That’s Lachlan’s father. It has to be.
I click on the link, and it takes me to an article about the Giordano family. I scan it quickly, feeling like I’m an archaeologist discovering the truth about an ancient civilization.
I gasp when I read a line in the middle. The family became even more well known when one of the twin sons was kidnapped over forty years ago. He has been presumed dead for years, but rumors claim that the family has never given up hope of locating him. The Italian authorities were never able to identify a suspect in the disappearance.
Instantly, my fingers fly across the screen, typing in a new search. Alessandro Giordano son’s kidnapping.
Article after article appears. I click on the first one and almost drop my phone at the shock of the photo on the screen.
“It’s Rory. Oh my God. He looks just like Rory.”
“What did you say?”
I spin around, and my phone falls from my suddenly nerveless fingertips. It lands on the carpet as I stare at my husband.
My lungs heave as I point at the floor. “It looks like a picture of Rory. The picture of their son who was kidnapped. It was you. He wasn’t lying, was he?”
Lachlan comes toward me, Aurora still in his arms.
My whole body trembles as he crouches down to pick up my phone. His gaze locks on the screen, eyes darting back and forth as he reads it. A tremor rips through him as he digests it.
“No, he wasn’t lying,” my husband whispers.
I rush forward to take Aurora from him before his knees go weak, and he takes a stumbling step toward the bed, sliding down to the carpet beside it.
“That’s me. I was that kidnapped baby.” A tortured breath leaves his lips as he drops the phone and jams both hands into his hair. “They didn’t abandon me. I was kidnapped. They didn’t leave me. They wanted me.”
Tears—the kind I’ve never seen before from him—pour down his face.
It’s like watching a scene from a movie, because it surely doesn’t seem real.
“They didn’t leave me. They wanted me.” His body sags as years of pent-up grief and longing erupt into sobs from the strongest and most dangerous man I’ve ever met. “I have a family.”
Lachlan’s sobs trigger Aurora to fuss and cry.
“No, baby, it’s okay,” I say to calm her. “Daddy’s fine. He’s okay.”
As if struck by lightning, Lachlan jolts to his feet, shaking off the emotion that just weakened his knees. “Daddy’s fine, baby girl. Don’t cry. There’s nothing to cry about. These are happy tears, sweetheart.”
Together, the three of us drop onto the coverlet of the bed.
I let out a long breath. “So, he was telling the truth. Someone had taken you, just like that man took Rory.” I shake my head in disbelief. “It’s like it’s all coming full circle. How is this even real?”
Aurora snuggles into her daddy’s arms, and long moments pass before either of us speaks.
In a hushed whisper, I say, “We should go. You need to meet your mother.”
Lachlan lifts his gaze to mine. “I need to go meet my mother. Because I have a family.” He shakes his head with disbelief. “I have a family, and they’ve never stopped looking for me. Who would’ve ever fucking believed that?”
Chapter Seven
Lachlan
With one last kiss pressed to Aurora’s forehead and then Keira’s lips, I leave them inside a safe house that no one but me and V knew about. It’s the safest hideaway I have available. No one will ever find them there, especially with the circuitous route I took on the drive.
As soon as I close the door behind me, my mind is on what’s to come.
My mother.
