Page 51 of The Rebel Billionaire

"Of course not. I may not tell you everything, Charlie, but I'd never keep a secretlikethis."

"But wasn't Aunt Anna already with Uncle James in July of 1981?" I asked, trying to piece the timeline together inmymind.

"It's hard to say. They all knew each other back then, Uncle James, Dad, Mom, Aunt Anna, William—hell, half of their friends were fromcollege.

I know James and Anna knew each other, and they started dating some time around then because they got married a year later. But the only one who would know the exact timeline isWilliam."

"We’re not going to talk to William about this, are we?" Iasked.

I loved William. I called him Uncle William most of my childhood, even though he wasn't a relative, and he'd done his best since our parents had died to step in and speak for them the way he thought they would've wantedhimto.

He loved us, and we loved him. Lately, though, we'd been clashing. I wasn't there, but I'd heard from Vance, Emily, and Jo that he'd been awful about Abigail when she first got together withJacob.

I was dreading talking to him about Aiden firing me. I knew he'd say something archaic like, "Now you can focus on finding a husband," or something stupidlikethat.

William was all about proper behavior. He was on the board of the country club and expected all of us to behave in a manner befitting theWintersname.

He'd been disappointed a lot in the past fifteen years. I knew there was no way he would support our attempt to find an illegitimate child our aunt had given up foradoption.

"Talking to William would certainly clear things up," Aiden said. "But I think we need to have a family meeting and then bring the Sinclairs in. If anyone can find Anna's son, they can. Once we find him, we can decide what we wanttodo."

"Do you want me to stay quiet about this?" Iasked.

"Not for long. Vance and Magnolia get home in a few days. I don't want to tell everyone elsewithoutthem."

That made sense. A few more days wouldn't change anything. Still, this was huge. It felt weird to just sit on the information. We should be trying to find this mysterious missing Winterschild.

"Okay," I reluctantly agreed. "Wecanwait."

"You look like you need a drink," Aiden said. "I'd offer you one, but someone seems to have absconded with my bestwhiskey."

"That's terrible," I said, trying not to smile. "What kind of fiend would do such athing?"

"Are you still mad at me?" Aidenasked.

"I'm too busy to be mad at you,"Isaid.

I wasn't ready to admit that I forgave him. He didn't deserve to be let off the hook thateasily.

He stood up from behind his desk and said, "Did you find what you were looking for upstairs? Before this?" He gestured at the papers onhisdesk.

"I found enough." I'd lost interest in looking through any more ofthebins.

Aiden rounded his desk and I stood. Slinging one arm around my shoulder, he tugged me into his side, dropping his head to kissmyhair.

"Come on, show me which one it is and I'll carry it downforyou."

I rose up on my toes to kiss his cheek. "You're a pain in the ass, Aiden, but Iloveyou."

I didn't forgive him. But it didn't matter. I loved him anyway and I alwayswould.

CHAPTERTWELVE

CHARLIE

Iwas distractedwhen I got home. I didn't like having a secret. It made me feel like I was lying to everyoneIsaw.

Evers could tell something was off, but he probably thought it had to do with the attack the night before and didn't push. He walked me through the security system, which seemed overly complicated. I was one woman, notFortKnox.