Morgan walked over to her closet and grabbed a handful of shoes to carry back to the bed. When she looked up, she saw her father lurking in the doorway to her room. She was startled by his sudden appearance. He normally didn’t stray into the children’s wing of the mansion, especially now that they were no longer children.
“Did you need something?” she asked as she dumped the armful of shoes onto the duvet.
Trevor narrowed his gaze at her for a moment and then shook his head. “I was just watching you. I’m surprised you’re packing already. Is this about the explosion? They have the man who did it in custody. It’s perfectly safe to stay.”
“No, it’s not about that.” Morgan shrugged and picked up a pile of folded clothes to put in her suitcase. “It’s just time to go. There’s no reason to hang around. I don’t live here, after all.”
“I forget sometimes,” Trevor said with a rueful smile. “I think it’s easier to let myself believe that you’re still my little girl with your pigtails and baby dolls.”
“It’s been a long time since I’ve sported pigtails, Daddy. I’ll be thirty in less than a week.”
Trevor crossed his arms over his chest and sighed. “I know. And if I hadn’t already realized you were grown-up, seeing you at the key ceremony the other night would’ve made it indisputable.”
She wasn’t sure what he meant by that. “I was dressed up the same as I have been at any of those parties you’ve thrown.”
“It was different this time. Maybe it was seeing you with River.”
She cast a quick glance at her father before reaching for a pair of Jimmy Choo heels to slip i
nto a protective bag for safekeeping. “I didn’t think you’d noticed. There wasn’t any yelling about it, at least. In fact, you’ve hardly mentioned River’s presence all summer.”
“After I ran into him in the lobby and realized why he was here, I decided that maybe this time I needed to stay out of it. Things seemed to be going well for the charity project, and you made it clear to me that my help only hurt the last time. It was the right choice. The project was amazingly successful this year, and you two seemed pretty cozy together at the key ceremony. Watching you dance, I’d dare say something serious had sparked up again.”
“Well, you don’t need to worry about that,” Morgan snapped. She focused on her packing, placing things into her bag at an accelerated pace to avoid thinking anymore about River.
“I wasn’t worried. I’ve actually been giving it a lot of thought. You two seem like you’re in a better place to try a relationship. You’re older, more established. I’m not going to interfere this time, is what I’m trying to say.”
Morgan couldn’t help a bitter chuckle. Of course, her father would finally approve of River once it was over between them. “That’s good to know, but it’s a little too late. That—whatever it was between us—is over and done.”
She heard her father’s tentative footsteps across the wood floor, followed by a gentle hand on her shoulder. “What happened?”
With a sigh, Morgan flipped the lid of her suitcase closed and flopped down onto the bed next to it. “He found out about Dawn.” She dropped her face into her hands and felt the tears she’d been fighting back all day finally breaking free.
“Oh, sunshine.” She felt the bed sink beside her as her father sat down and wrapped his arm around her.
“He was so angry that I’d kept it from him. He said that even if I had believed he extorted money from you to let the annulment go through, it hadn’t been right to keep the pregnancy from him. Especially when I lost her. And he was right. River had a right to know. But this family is so damn worried about appearances. All the secrets and the lies...your lies...just weave a web so complex we can’t help but get caught up in it.”
She felt her father stiffen beside her. Perhaps he felt guilty. He should. Part of this was a mess of his making. Not all of it, but enough. Morgan had done her part by going along with it and keeping quiet. Over the last few days, since River walked away, she’d done a lot of thinking. Some about River and some about the lies and secrets he despised so much. He was right when he said it wasn’t healthy to keep things bottled up like that. Morgan would rather have a scandal than live her life walking on eggshells, waiting for something to be uncovered.
“He was right. And I’m not going to lie anymore, Daddy. Hiding it doesn’t make it hurt any less and I’m not going to pretend like none of that ever happened. I’m going to have Dawn moved to a real cemetery so she isn’t hidden away from the world. I might even start a charity in her name to raise money for NICU facilities that care for premature babies. Since I’m done with Steele Tools, I think that’s going to be my next move. With the latest equipment and research, maybe I can keep someone else from losing their child the way I lost mine.”
There was a long silence. Morgan sat, waiting for her father to protest. To explain why that wasn’t a good idea and how he just wanted to protect her. “Morgan...” he said at last, hesitating for a moment.
“I’m sorry if you feel like this will hurt the family or the company image, but I’m doing it. You can always bring up that I’m not really your daughter if that makes it easier on everyone.”
“Morgan!” he shouted this time, turning to look at her with a stern expression he seldom, if ever, used with her. “Don’t you ever say anything like that, do you hear me? You are my daughter. You are every bit my child, regardless of what a DNA test or anyone else says. It doesn’t matter whether you’re getting into trouble or the perfect angel you’ve always strived to be. It never has.”
The words were said powerfully and they struck Morgan with the impact she needed. She’d always fought to be the child she thought her parents wanted. Since the DNA results had come back, she’d wondered if maybe the real Morgan Steele would’ve been more like the daughter her parents had hoped for. She wished she’d known that she had been loved as-is all this time. It would’ve saved her a lot of stress and heartache over the years. “Really?”
“Absolutely.” He sighed and looked down at the floor. “You’re my little girl. Since the day I held you in my arms, I’ve done everything I could to try and protect you from the world. I realize now that I made some wrong choices along the way and may even have made some situations worse. I’m not perfect. And I know now that I can’t protect you from everything. You have to live your own life and make your own decisions. I’m sorry it took me so long to figure that out.”
Morgan leaned against her father’s shoulder. She knew that he loved her and just wanted what was best for her. Perhaps now they could move forward with a better understanding. There was no way to go back in time and fix what had already gone wrong.
“And if you’re willing to stay around for a few more days, we can talk to my lawyers about setting up that charity for Dawn. I think it’s a brilliant idea,” he said. “And as soon as it’s ready and operational, just tell me and I’ll be the first to write a check. No more secrets.”
* * *
Greg stared at his handcuffed wrists as they rested on the interrogation room table and frowned. He’d made a lot of plans, but he hadn’t really firmed up a getaway strategy. He thought that in the chaos he would be able to slip away. He regretted that now.