Chapter 96

I took a step away from him, yanking my hand from his grip.

“You’re not my father,” I whispered with a hiss, seething and angry at the mere suggestion of it.

“I am,” He urged and stepped forward with me, an almost pleading look on his face. “Please, Ava, that’s why I came. I found out the other night and I needed you to know.”

I shook my head and started backing away ferociously. I denied his claims three more times and finally turned away to run from him. Part of me, a small part, thought that he may be telling me the truth. We had the same color eyes, the same sort of hair. We could be related, but similar characteristics did not mean that we were.

“Why do you believe that you are?” I demanded once I realized he would only follow me if I continued to run away, “What could possibly have led you to this conclusion?”

“You have my eyes, my hair, my nose shape.” He gestured to my face, “You have my strong will and stubborn nature.”

I shook my head, “That doesn’t prove a damn thing!”

“Ava-” He tried to talk again, but I cut him off. I didn’t want to hear him.

“No!” I raised my voice. I wasn’t shouting, but I was getting close. “You tried to have me killed. You tried to have me kidnapped on the beach. What father does that?”

Andrew actually looked ashamed for a moment. He lowered his eyes and shuffled uncomfortably in place.

“I didn’t know that you were my daughter then,” He admitted. “I didn’t learn the truth until the night before last. After I talked to Ethan on the phone, I decided to do some more research into you and him, see if I could find any information that I could use as an advantage in the race to Alpha Chairman. I know it wasn’t ideal for me to do, but I was curious.”

I listened to him, eyes narrowed and arms crossed. If he was trying to garner pity points in order for me to believe him, it wouldn’t work.

“Then I found out who your mom is-”

At the mention of my mom, at the memory of the man who abandoned her and left her so callously, I turned away. I waved my hand when Andrew tried to call after me, effectively silencing him, and I went to go find Ethan.

There was nothing that could make me believe him or feel bad for him or feel whatever he wanted me to feel.

“I want to build a relationship with you, I want to make up for lost time!” He called out after me, but over the subtle roar of the partygoers, I was able to pretend I didn’t hear it and kept walking. I didn’t care about my real father, and if it was actually Andrew then I definitely didn’t care about him.

I found Ethan after searching for a little bit, he was talking to Mars. Olivia had gone to get some rest in the lobby, and they were thinking about leaving the ball. I couldn’t blame them, I suddenly felt very much like leaving too.

I told Ethan as much once Mars said goodbye, but Ethan said he had another man that he needed to talk to before we could leave.

I sat on a nearby sofa that was up against a wall and watched as Ethan went over to talk to an incredibly important and richly dressed man. Sarah came up beside the man and grabbed his arm. I was a little disgusted at first, thinking it was a similar situation to what Olivia was in: being married off to a man twice her age so her parents could have power.

Turned out, though, that the man was in fact her father. He and Ethan spoke for nearly half an hour until we could finally leave.

I didn’t know what sort of business Ethan had with that man, but I decided there was no harm in him making alliances with powerful men if it needed to be done. I was just glad to leave the party and go home, far away from Andrew and drama.

The next day, Ethan and I went to the children’s home to visit Mrs. Hudson and the children. We handed Mrs. Hudson a check for a million dollars - the entirety of the money that was donated during the ball, and gave her and the children a case of new toys that were from us specifically.

She beamed and gawked at the presents, calling the children in to play with the new items. I watched, pleased, as their faces glowed in delight at the nice new things.

Ethan, during all of this, received a call and was needed at the office immediately. Since I had planned to have the day off, I didn’t follow him. Instead, I went to visit my mother in the hospital.

I laid awake all night thinking about what Andrew had told me at the ball. If anyone would know the truth, of course it would be my mother.

I called the chauffeur and had him take me to the hospital. Once in the room, I sat by my mother’s bed and got right to the chase.

“Mother,” I smiled at her. Her face was far brighter and flushed than it had been in nearly a year of her illness. I thought that she was practically healed at this point, but the doctors said she had at least another month of treatment before she would be free to go home.

“Ava,” My mother cooed and gripped my hand in her own. “It’s so good to see you.”

“Mother, I have more questions about my father,” I hated to cut to the point so quickly, but I wouldn’t be able to focus on anything else until this was done and settled.

“I thought you might,” My mom sank further into the pillows on her bed. Her mouth formed into a firm line, looking older than she had only moments before. “Ask away my dear.”

I blinked a few times, not expecting her to be so forthcoming so quickly into the conversation. She must have been mentally preparing for my next visit with my next wave of questions.

“Do you remember what he looked like? What his name was?” I asked a little hurriedly, maybe a little too anxiously.

She nodded, “I do.”

I bit my lip and looked up pictures of Andrew on the internet. There were several images of him in suits on red carpets, showing him off as the celebrity the world thought he was rather than the antagonist he truly was.

I flipped my phone around so that my mother could see a picture of him. I chose the photograph that was him when he was younger, maybe in his late twenties or early thirties. He almost looked like an innocent guy, but I knew the truth. He was nothing like that.

“Is this him?” I asked, my voice sounded small and weak. “His name is Andrew Cortenta.”

My mother blinked a few times. She looked like she had seen a ghost and that was confirmation enough, but I still needed to hear it from her lips.

“Yes,” She closed her eyes and sighed. “That’s him.”