My Stepbrother Is My Secret novel · Chapter 19 of 32

Chapter 19: The Spoon

I drove to the hacienda with the ledger on the passenger seat, buckled in.

The gate code was still Abuelo's birthday.

The black pickup was in the drive.

Pilar's Lexus wasn't.

The front door was open.

I found them in Abuelo's office.

My father was sitting behind the desk in his robe, his coffee cold in front of him.

Mateo was standing by the bookshelf with his hands at his sides.

It was where he'd stood the day his mother told me to ask him about Christmas Eve.

There was a red mark on his cheekbone.

"Dad," I said. "Did you hit him?"

"No," Mateo said.

"I threw my coffee cup," my father said, and looked at his own hands. "I missed. It hit the shelf. He didn't move."

On the floor by the shelf were pieces of a white mug.

"Where's Pilar?"

"At the office since six." My father's voice was hoarse. "Changing the lock on her desk."

He looked up at me.

"He told me," he said. "January. The papers in Houston. The company waiting for your shares." He swallowed.

← Chapter 18 · All chapters · Chapter 20 →

Want to keep talking to characters like these? Chat with AI romance characters: AI Boyfriend · AI Girlfriend · Dark Romance · Fantasy Romance · BL (Boys’ Love) · Billionaire Boyfriend · Mafia Boyfriend · Possessive Boyfriend · Hockey Boyfriend · Older Boyfriend · K-Drama Boyfriend · Anime Boyfriend · Vampire Boyfriend · Werewolf Boyfriend · Demon Boyfriend · Fae Romance · GL (Girls’ Love) · Anime Girlfriend · Goth & Alt Girlfriend · Gamer Girlfriend · Tsundere Girlfriend · Fantasy Girlfriend