Page 149 of Logan

“Shit, Logan, are you stealing Sloane from me too?” Liam shakes his head.

“Yes. But first, she and I will travel the world a bit. I need a vacation. I understand now that I’ve spent the last few years trying to prove that I belong in this family, that I’m part of Valeur, and I lost my own desires along the way.”

Liam furrows his brow. “What do you mean, you belong? Of course, you belong, you’re our brother.” Confusion clouds his features as he tries to puzzle out my meaning.

I glance at Dad, and he gives me a small nod, allowing me to continue.

“That’s the second thing I wanted to talk to you all about. I’m adopted.” I drop the bombshell, bracing myself for the impact. Saying it out loud still feels surreal, like the words belong to someone else’s life.

“What?” Shock ripples through the room like a physical force.

The cries come simultaneously from everyone present. They didn’t guess this was coming. Disbelief etches itself into their expressions, the revelation hitting them like a sucker punch.

“What do you mean, adopted?” Lucas is the first to ask.

“Exactly what it sounds like. I’m not Mom and Dad’s biological son. They adopted me when they thought theycouldn’t have children, which later turned out to be untrue, the three of you are proof of that.”

“And you’ve known you were adopted?” Liam asks. Hurt flashes in his eyes, the betrayal of secrets kept cutting deep.

“Yes. They told me when I was a child.”

“So why didn’t we know?” Cora shifts her gaze between me and Dad.

Dad takes a breath. Weariness settles over his features, the weight of long-held secrets bowing his shoulders. “Your mother preferred it that way. She didn’t want you to think there was a difference between you and Logan. As far as we were concerned, he was a biological son in every way.”

Cora nods.

“I don’t understand,” Lucas says. “So why are you telling us now? What changed?”

“I decided that I no longer want to keep secrets. These secrets give people power over me simply because they are secrets. The fact that I’m the only one who knows does the opposite of what Mom intended and actually makes me feel different. Mom is no longer alive, and Dad agreed that I should tell you.” I spare them the story about Georgina.

Cora rises from her seat and hugs me again. “Nothing has changed for me.”

“Thanks, Peanut,” I whisper into her hair, emotion clogging my throat.

“Not for me either,” Liam adds. “You’re still my big, annoying brother.” A tentative smile lightens his face, acceptance shining from his eyes.

“Mine too,” Lucas says. “And even more now that I know that you fucked at the office. Man, we need to talk.”

Cora shakes her head.

“Great.” I nod. “That’s all the news I had.”

“Good thing,” Lucas says, leaning back, “because I’m not sure I could withstand more news like this. You dropped some bombs.” He lets out a low whistle, shaking his head.

I nod. I know. It will take time until they really digest all I’ve told them. The revelations will ripple through our family for a long time to come, reshaping our dynamics and perceptions of the past.

“But what happened to your head?” Liam asks. His gaze darts back to my injury, curiosity winning out over.

“I tracked down the guy who sent the video and confronted him.” I grimace at the memory, phantom pain throbbing in my skull.

“And you lost?” Liam’s eyes widen. “You’re a Taekwondo champion. How did that happen?”

“I didn’t lose. I was distracted for a moment.” I twist my mouth. I know he will hold this on me forever. I’ll never live it down.

“Lucky you caught the one who filmed you,” Lucas says.

“Actually, I still don’t know who filmed it.” I turn to Lucas. “He admitted to sending the video but claims he got it from someone calling himself ‘The Silent Witness.’ It doesn’t seem like the video is related to Sloane but to me. I still don’t understand what’s going on, but it seems that someone is trying to get revenge on me.”