Glow (Glimmer and Glow #2)(114)
“That was before all of this stuff happened with Kehoe. Kehoe was a member of our board. His arrest and some of the circumstances behind it have gone public. Even though we’ve managed to keep your name out of the papers so far, it’s just a matter of time before that breaks, as well. I’ve had to communicate some of the basic details of what’s happened to the other members of the board. I’m not the only one who has been bothered by reporters. We had to make a unified front. There’s no saying what Kehoe is going to reveal or claim when he’s charged. Kehoe runs a large international department at Durand. We needed to inform some of the people directly under him of some basic facts as well, so they aren’t totally unprepared when this story explodes.”
“So . . . this man, Charlie Towsen, and several other people at Durand Enterprises . . . you told them you think I’m Addie Durand?” she asked with shaky incredulity.
“You think you’re Addie Durand. It’s not a horrible truth. It’s an amazing one. Don’t let what Kehoe’s done take that away from you.”
“I don’t know if I’m Alan Durand’s daughter, and it was his company, not Lynn’s,” she said sharply. The news that other people knew something she’d been hiding for weeks left her feeling vulnerable. She was irritated at Dylan for initiating her exposure without her permission. Panicked.
I’m not ready.
“What was Alan’s was Lynn’s, Alice. But that’s not the crucial point. You are Alan’s daughter,” Dylan said.
“You don’t know that I’m Alan’s daughter, no matter how much you want to believe that I am.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Dylan asked slowly, and she saw anger flicker in his lustrous eyes.
“It means that I know you want it, I know it would justify all you’ve done in finding me. But that doesn’t make it true, Dylan.”
“The trust is left to Adelaide Durand. You’re Adelaide Durand,” he bit out. “The document doesn’t say anything about requiring genetic testing. That’s just something I thought we should do for your peace of mind.”
“You told me that Durand executives would demand it when the time came!” Oh God, that time is now. Why hadn’t she realized Kehoe’s actions would pop the lid off everything so quickly?
“That was before I read Lynn’s journals. I didn’t think it could be a potential sticking point then. But if I tell them that you’re Addie Durand, then they’ll just have to damn well take my word for it. I’m the executor of your trust, not them.”
Alice stared at him, jarred by his outburst. “Is it that important to you? That I’m her? Is that why you’re willing to shove the fact that I’m supposedly Alan Durand’s daughter down the board’s throat? Do you want me to be his heiress that much?”
He looked bewildered. Then his anger returned, redoubled. “Are you implying I just want you for the purpose of claiming the trust? Do you think I’ve done all this because I was motivated by money?”
“No. I don’t think that for a second. But I think you might have done all this because you were motivated by honor,” she said, her voice a choked shout. “And duty. And guilt. And so to admit that I might not be Alan Durand’s real daughter is hard, because then you have to wonder why the hell you did it all.”
He turned his head, hitched his chin, and shut his eyelids briefly.
“It was bad enough having to hear this shit from Sidney all these years. Now I’ve got to hear it from you?”
“Well maybe Sidney and I are seeing something you’re not,” she cried. “I know he was here in the hospital today, talking to you about your guilt.”
“What?” He turned and looked at her, clearly caught off guard. “Sidney wasn’t talking to me about my old guilt—the regret I felt as a kid in regard to the kidnapping. He was talking to me about dealing with my guilt for letting Kehoe hurt you.”
“You weren’t responsible for that! You can’t control everything, Dylan.”
“I realize that,” he replied angrily. “But it’s also completely natural that I’d regret it. Even Sidney thinks so. Do you have any idea how helpless I felt, seeing you slumped in that pantry, covered in blood?”
“I’m tired of being the thing you have to feel guilty about all the time! It’s like Sidney has always told you, guilt isn’t a healthy emotion to base your life on. It’s certainly not the key emotion to build a relationship on,” she exclaimed heatedly.
His eyes narrowed. She gasped back a rush of emotion. She immediately wanted to take it back, and at the same time, experienced relief at finally voicing her worry.
“Is that what you think?” he asked after a billowing silence. “Sidney doesn’t understand the way I feel about you. I don’t really expect him to. I thought you did though. Maybe I was wrong about that.” He stood.
Alice wanted to scream so bad that he wasn’t wrong. But she was so scared Sidney was right. Doubt assailed her, choking off her voice. Maggie came up to the door just as Dylan stalked out. She crossed the threshold, her eyes wide.
“I heard shouting,” Maggie said in a muted tone.
“Sometimes I wish I’d never heard the name Adelaide Durand,” Alice blurted out hoarsely. “No, I wish Dylan never had.”