Page 3 of Heartless (Scathing Hearts #1)

Sienna

I yanked the door open, but instead of Gabby, an elegantly dressed woman with shoulder-length, brown hair stood on the porch. Her gaze glided slowly over me before coming back to my face.

“You have his eyes. That’s why he’s keeping you,” she said quietly.

I gawked at the bizarre opening while my fingers tightened around the door handle. “Can I help you with something?”

Flicking her curls back, she said, “My name’s Rowena Wheelan, and I’m your half-sister. Can we talk?”

My mind reeled for a few seconds. I blinked and took half a step back. “I’m sorry, but I think you have the wrong address.”

When I pushed the door, she shot out her hand to stop it. “Please, Sienna. Hear me out. I’m Nigel’s first illegitimate daughter, and there’re things you need to know about our father. Can we please talk?”

Wow. That was just... wow. As I stood there, the woman cleared her throat.

“Can I come in?”

“Of course.”

Once we were in the living room, her gaze took in the well decorated space.

“He must really like you,” she murmured.

“Ms. Wheelan—”

“Roe, people call me ‘Roe’.” She rolled her lips together and sighed.

“I’m not supposed to be here. And I could get in a lot of trouble.

” She must have read my expression because she added, “Don’t worry.

It’s nothing that a good lawyer can’t fix.

Kimmy couldn’t stop talking about you, so I had to meet you. ”

“Do you mean Kimberly Morrison?”

“The one and only. Every time another pretender shows up at her house, she comes for a treatment.”

The strange woman wasn’t making any sense. “A treatment?”

She nodded. “She’s one of my customers. I own Every Goddess, the SPA and hair salon on Elm and Prairie.”

The ‘pretender’ thing would explain Kimberly’s dislike of me a little more. But not why this woman, my half-sister—dear God, I had a half-sister—was in my house.

The corner of her mouth curled in a way that reminded me of Gabby when she was sad.

“Do you want to sit down, Roe? I can make us coffee. I also have tea, if you prefer.”

“No, thank you, but we should sit down.”

We settled in the kitchen. After hooking her purse on the edge of the back of the chair, she interlinked her fingers on the small table.

I pulled my chair in and exhaled slowly. The silence stretched, and I offered what I hoped was a smile.

After a big breath, her gaze hooked onto mine. “When I was seven, my mother told me Nigel was my father. Then we went to see him.”

Her voice lowered. “He barely looked at me... I still remember sitting in that big armchair while my mother and he talked in another room. A few weeks after we provided a DNA test, Mom and I moved into a big, nice house she wouldn’t have been able to afford on her salary.”

Her hands were clasped on the table and close enough for me to reach them, but she continued talking, so I curled my fingers into a fist.

“Don’t feel sorry for me. My stepdad is a great guy.

For all intents and purposes, he’s my real dad, and I love my two baby brothers.

When I turned eighteen, Nigel gave us a lot of money and made us sign an NDA barring us from ever claiming anything else from him.

” Her dry scoff grated my ears. “I signed it. If that was all he was going to give me, I figured I might as well take it.”

When she finally paused, I slumped in my chair.

Who was Nigel Morrison?

I took a deep breath. “Why are you telling me this? I’m not asking him for anything.”

She watched me for a few seconds. “Nigel Morrison only thinks about one person, and that’s Nigel Morrison. Always. I don’t know if he keeps you around because he really loved your mother, or because you have the same eyes as him, but—”

“My mother died a month ago.”

She frowned. “Shit, I’m sorry to hear that. But Sienna, trust me, Nigel is not a good person, and you should stay away from him.”

While I gaped at her, she stood up slowly. As my brain stopped imploding, I got on my feet and led her to the front door.

On the porch, she said, “Take care, Sienna.”

Back to the living room, I retrieved one of my favorite pictures of Mom from the unpacked box and pressed her smiling face against my chest.

****

Seated at the back of the chauffeured car Nigel had sent to pick me up, my mind was buzzing with the conversation I’d had with Rowena. I’d just assumed I was Nigel’s only illegitimate child, but the part that niggled at my heart was his treatment of a little girl who’d just wanted her dad.

The car stopped in the driveway of the mini castle. While the driver gallantly helped me out, the heavy front door opened onto the taciturn butler. He was dressed in a black suit with a white shirt and a black tie. The only things missing were the haughtiness and the British accent.

“Good evening, Mr. Munch.”

On a curt nod, he shifted sideways to let me in. “Just Munch, Ms. Winslow.”

“All right, Mr. Just Munch. Do you think you can call me Sienna? Not ‘Just Sienna.’ Sienna?”

He didn’t reply, but I could have sworn his lips had twitched before he reached for my summer coat.

I followed him down the intimidating archway leading to what Nigel called the informal dining room.

Walking past the antique armchairs placed on each side of an ornate mirror, I wondered if that was where Rowena had sat, waiting for her father to reject her.

At the other end of the wide expanse of polished and dark wooden floor, a pair of double doors opened on a vast room where a dining room seating twelve sat on top of a Persian-inspired rug.

The floor-to-ceiling bay windows were draped with matte velvet maroon curtains, adding to the stifling feel of the room.

Nigel, standing beside a younger man by the large bar, strode toward me.

Both men were wearing well-cut suits and buttoned-up shirts opened at the collar.

Once he was near, he greeted me with a kiss on my cheek. “Hello, Sienna. How are you, my little dear?”

“I’m well, Nigel. How are you?”

Nigel curled a protective arm around me. “Have you thought more about calling me ‘Dad’?”

He’d asked numerous times. And I had thought about it long and hard, but as happy as I was to have found people I belonged with, it just hadn’t felt right. But I was hoping that someday, it would.

“Nigel, we barely know each other.”

His eyes narrowed briefly before the pressure of his arm around my shoulders lessened, and his jaw relaxed.

“Come meet your brother.”

After discreetly wiping my damp palms on my jumpsuit, I followed him farther into the room, and toward the other man.

Slightly taller than Nigel, he had a neatly trimmed beard and a kind smile. He proffered his hand. “Hi, Sienna. I’m Joel. Pleased to meet you.”

“Hi, Joel. Very pleased to meet you, too.”

He kept my hand in his and leaned closer as the corner of his mouth kicked up. “Welcome to the family.”

My eyes filled with tears in a surprising rush of emotions. Blinking fast, I quickly dropped my gaze to my feet. Once my tears were under control, I rolled my shoulders back and looked at him.

“I’m sorry. I just—”

“No, I apologize, Sienna.” Joel’s tone warmed while his other hand covered mine. “That was indelicate of me. Dad said your mother was your only family.”

I cleared my throat. “Thank you for welcoming me.”

Slanting closer, he asked, “Will it make it worse if I say that’s what family is for?”

This time my smile was genuine. “No. No, it won’t.”

Releasing my hand, he smiled back. “Crisis averted then.”

As he readied to speak further, the clickety of high heels echoed in the room.

“Oh, she’s here,” Kimberly said from behind me.

“Here comes Mommy Dearest,” Joel muttered.

The quip was so unexpected from this straight-laced man that a giggle spurted out of my throat. I tried to hide it behind a cough, but I ended up snorting, which made Joel grin wider.

I pivoted toward the door just as Kimberly strutted in. Her hips were encased in a tight mini gold skirt paired with an unbuttoned man’s white shirt and skyscraper black heels. The shirt collar was up, standing out against her long red hair. She rocked the daring outfit.

Kimberly touched her husband’s upper arm. “Isn’t your daughter just the cutest?”

After my conversation with Rowena, I really wanted to be more understanding of Nigel’s wife’s feelings, but her condescending tone wasn’t making it easy. When Nigel French kissed her, I focused on the swirly patterns of the beautiful rug.

Joel touched my shoulder. “Sienna, would you like something to drink?”

I rarely drank, but meeting my reassuringly normal half-brother made me adventurous. Peeking at his glass, I smiled. “What are you drinking?”

“Gin and Tonic with BEG gin. Would you like one?”

“Yes, please. And thank you.”

Joel winked. “Coming up.”

****

After dinner, we’d moved to a living room, decorated entirely in whites, creams, and beiges.

The meal had been delicious and more decadent than what I was used to. Mom had been a stickler for a healthy diet, which fortunately had given me a taste for clean and simple food.

Joel had sat in the corner of the loveseat across from the larger sofa where I’d tucked myself in.

Nigel and Kimmy throned in its middle. I pushed my back against the sofa and scanned over our quartet.

My heart pinched, but not in a bad way. It was as if Mom had been so worried about me being alone, she’d sent me a new family. Thank you, Mom.

My half-brother was a cardiac surgeon who lived in Japan, and whose mother, Nigel’s first wife, had moved to Brazil. As I canted forward to hear more about his interesting life, Nigel started coughing. A hacking cough he covered with a hollow fist against his mouth.

Joel leaped from his seat and crouched in front of his father. “Dad, what’s wrong?”

Kimberly had retreated two feet away from Nigel, and her face was pale.

I didn’t know what to do. Frozen, I sat there while my heart stomped against my chest. There was something almost..

. I didn’t know, but it reminded me of those old black-and-white movies when the actresses fainted with a dramatic flourish.

Or maybe I was just scared to lose my other parent so soon after he’d found me.

While Joel pushed firmly on Nigel’s shoulders, urging him to lay back, Kimberly neared my side.

She gave my arm a gentle squeeze. “He’s going to be fine, just a leftover from a bad cold. I’ll ask the driver to take you home.”

When I rose to my feet, Nigel held out his hand. I perched beside him while he wrapped his hands around mine.

“I’m sorry, my little dear. I’m a little under the weather. I’ll send the car, and we’ll have lunch tomorrow.”

I had a lot to think about, and I honestly needed a little distance. “Just rest, Nigel. And I’ll see you when you get better.”

His jaw hardened slightly, and he must have been tired because he hadn’t been as quick at hiding his displeasure.

I followed Kimberly to the front door where Munch was waiting. After he’d handed me my coat and opened the door, I said, “Goodnight, Munch.”

On our way to the car, she shifted to face me. “Sienna, I know I haven’t been...” She sighed. “You wouldn’t believe how many women try to take advantage of him.” She smiled then. “Why don’t we spend some time together, just us girls?”

“I’d like that, Kimberly. I’ll text Nigel next week.”

Her brows furrowed. “But he said tomorrow—”

The driver opened the back passenger door. “I’ll text, Kimberly.”

And I would. When I was ready. I folded into the car, and Nigel’s wife had no choice but to move aside.