Page 2 of Secret Dynasty

“I told Spencer I would join him.” Another lie. But if all of this were about ensuring the arrangement between the two families, Tod wouldn’t want to keep me from him.

“Spencer has his hands full. He needs to attend to his family and deal with his grandfather’s death. You should respect that,” Tod barked at me.

“That’s why I should be with him.” I crossed my arms, making up my mind to see this through until he either locked me in a closet somewhere or I’d made it out the door.

Tod opened his mouth, but before he could argue, Iris placed a hand on his arm.

“You can’t keep her here,” Iris said.

His shoulders slumped as he looked to his wife. “What if she runs off again?”

The hollow ache in his voice was so pitch-perfect he nearly had me convinced. He deserved an award for his performance. No wonder she believed him. And if she believed him, so would everyone else.

He studied me for a moment before finally nodding. “On one condition.”

“Condition?” I repeated. Now we were negotiating?

“You agree to see your doctor tomorrow,” he said firmly.

A scream caught in my throat. I didn’t have a doctor. He knew that. The lie was all part of his plan. But tempting as it was to fight him on this, I realized it was easier to agree. Once I walked out the front door, I could clear my head. He had control of this room and this house.

“Fine.” I managed to keep my indignation to a minimum. There was no way I was meeting with some doctor on his payroll.

“Giles will go with you,” he added.

“I need a chaperone now?” I planted my hands on my hips, searching for another option. I glanced at Eliza. “I’ll take Eliza. She needs to meet Spencer anyway if she’s going to be my maid of honor.”

Bringing up the wedding was all part of my plan. The more I pretended I was going to marry Spencer, the longer my leash would be. But there wasn’t going to be a wedding. I knew that. Somewhere down-deep, Tod had to know it, too.

Eliza let out a small squeak like she resented being dragged into this. I wished I had another option.

“We’ll discuss that later,” Tod said tightly. “But as long as you have someone with you while you’re so upset.”

Upset? That was the word he landed on? I was somewhere far north of upset.

“Is it a good idea for you to see Spencer right now?” Iris asked. “Perhaps, we should talk.”

“I don’t want to talk to you,” I said coldly, and she flinched as though I’d slapped her. I had trusted Iris, but she had been lying to me since the moment we met. I knew that now. There was no one in this house I could trust, and the sooner I got out of here, the better.

“I’ll call the driver,” Tod said.

“I can drive,” I stopped him. “I’m sure you’ve got all sorts of ways to track me.”

When he didn’t counter my assumption, I knew I was right. All of London was my cage. He could find me anywhere here. No wonder Kerrigan had run to other countries. How had she finally escaped him? Where was she now?

I ignored the tiny voice in my head that told me I knew where she was—or, I had at least narrowed it down to two possibilities. People didn’t just vanish. Something had happened to her. I’d suspected that for a while. Was she dead? Locked away? A tiny voice in my head whispered there was one more possibility.

I ignored it.

I was not crazy. There had to be an explanation for all of this. I would uncover the secrets. I would find the truth. I focused on that as I grabbed Eliza’s hand and dragged her toward the garage, avoiding Iris’s pitying gaze and Tod’s calculated glare. It didn’t matter what he said or what she believed.

I was not Kerrigan Belmond.

Right?

Chapter Two

Like most wealthy families, the Belmonds had several cars in the garage. I bypassed the Maybach, not wanting to call the driver Tod employed and not feeling like it was my right to take it. Eliza remained silent as we walked past the empty vehicles, but her eyes were wide with surprise. I understood how she felt. There was a difference in being told someone had billions and seeing it for yourself. The garage said everything that words couldn’t. I paused and considered Iris’s car, a sleek Mercedes, but before I could ask myself if I was angry enough with her to take it without permission, Giles shuffled in behind us. He cleared his throat casually and held out a Chanel clutch. Judging by the uncomfortable pinch to his features, he had already heard what happened.