Dare to Stay (Dare Nation 4)

Austin nodded. “It gets better. Xander Kingston, the actor, and there’s a sister, Chloe.”

“I don’t believe this. Where the hell have they been all her life?” Braden’s voice rose in anger, and Willow’s heart squeezed tight at his protective reaction that mirrored her own.

“I’ll tell you if you’ll chill out,” Austin said.

It was Willow’s turn to hug Braden back and calm him down.

“We’re listening.”

Austin settled on the corner of the desk, his expression thoughtful as he spoke. “Their father died recently, and as the son in charge of the family business, it was left to Lincoln to go through his paperwork. He found monthly checks to a woman they didn’t know dating back over eighteen years. All had been cashed.”

Braden let out a whistle. “That’s a red flag,” he muttered.

Nodding, Austin went on. “Exactly. He had a private investigator do some digging. They found the woman, and she admitted to having an affair with Charles Kingston and getting pregnant. Charles wanted her to end the pregnancy, but she insisted on keeping the baby, so he paid her to keep it quiet. He didn’t want his wife and family to find out.”

“Wait.” Willow stiffened, feeling herself getting worked up all over again as she thought about the implications of the story so far. “Are you telling me she gave the baby to her mother, Aurora’s grandmother”—because that’s what the young woman had told Willow had happened—“and then she took off but continued cashing the checks? Not giving anything to her kid?” she asked loudly and in utter disbelief.

“Yes.” Austin eyed her warily, obviously waiting for another tirade to kick in, but she wanted to hear the rest, so she drew a deep breath and let it out before speaking. “Did she know her mother had died?”

Austin nodded.

“And she never went back for her daughter?”

She already knew the answer since Aurora said she never saw her mother again, but there was a slight chance there was something she didn’t know about.

“Unfortunately, no,” Austin said.

She felt the weight of Braden’s stare, knowing he watched her carefully, but she couldn’t focus on him right now. Anger rushed through her, but she held on to her temper, knowing getting visibly upset would get her nowhere.

“So this woman just let her daughter end up in foster care.” Willow spun out of Braden’s grasp and stalked to the window overlooking the parking lot.

The cars blurred as her eyes filled with tears, just thinking about what Aurora had lived through while her mother did God knows what with money that could have changed the young woman’s life. Of course, having her mother would have been better, but like Willow’s mom, Aurora’s hadn’t cared.

Willow wrapped her arms around herself and turned toward the men.

Braden took a step toward her, but she shook her head. She wanted the facts, not comforting. “What else did her mother say? And how did they track Aurora to you?” she asked Austin.

“At first they hit a dead end, what with the grandmother passing away and Aurora aging out of foster care and disappearing. She didn’t come up on any of the obvious checks. Driver’s license, social media, credit cards, et cetera, until she took a job with us.”

“Aah. That makes sense,” Braden said.

“Since Bri insisted we pay Aurora a week up-front so she had something to live on, as soon as she opened a bank account and cashed the check, the private investigator had something to go on. And they traced her to Dare Nation.”

If this story was true, then the Kingstons were looking for Aurora, and they wanted her to be part of their family. But they didn’t know anything about these people, and Willow wanted to protect the girl who’d come to mean something to her.

“And you’re sure it’s legitimate?” Braden asked, echoing her thoughts.

“Evie is looking into everything,” Austin said of his and Braden’s sister-in-law and Damon’s wife, who was a private investigator. “But I have faith it’s all true. They went searching for the sister they didn’t know they had. It’s not something a family with money would do lightly unless they cared.”

Willow nodded, her shoulders slumping in relief. “Do they know Aurora is pregnant?” Would that change how they felt about her?

“No. I didn’t think it was my place to tell them.”

Braden inclined his head. “Good call. Until Evie knows for certain their story checks out, we don’t tell Aurora anything about this. Agreed?”

“Agreed,” Willow said. This would be a huge shock, and she wanted to make sure everything was true first. Then they’d sit her down and give her the shock of her life.

“Does Bri know?” Braden looked to his brother.

“Yes, but she won’t say anything,” Austin assured them. “Meanwhile, he’s staying at the W Hotel and is waiting to hear from us on when he can see her. I have to tell you, he didn’t take it well that we didn’t just give him easy access, and I was lucky Aurora was out to lunch with Bri when he showed up. He has every intention of convincing his sister to come back home with him and be part of the family.”