Shadowed (Team Zero #4) by Rina Kent

I edge forward and this time, the guard doesn’t shove me down as harshly. “What… what happened?”

His gaze drifts to the window. “There was a fire in Rachel’s house. The police ruled it as carelessness. She was saved but her child… wasn’t.”

Tears stain my cheeks as I choke out. “Mum did that?”

“I’m certain she did.” He grits out.

“Rachel was never the same after Jason Jr.’s death. Even Jason couldn’t do anything to appease her depression. That’s exactly what Renee aimed for. She knew how much Jason Jr. meant to Rachel and she took him away so she could pave the path to take Jason, too.”

I let the load of information fall over me. Dad was married before Mum and had a son. I had an older brother that I never met and never will because like everything beautiful in my life, Mum took it all away.

“Did Dad leave Rachel?” I ask.

“Never. Jason took a whole year off to help Rachel cope with their loss. Maybe he wasn’t enough. Maybe Renee never stopped jabbing a finger in Rachel’s non-healed wound. Whatever it was, Rachel fell from the balcony murmuring Mummy is coming, baby.”

Bile and nausea rise to my throat and threaten to spill on the carpet. I mourn for Dad and his beautiful, pure soul. He lost his son and then his wife. It’s ironic that Rachel died out of missing her baby while Mum died trying to kill me.

President Joe’s face is stone cold, and he seems lost in his own, hand-picked hell. He brought Renee home and allowed her to destroy his family. He must regret that decision with everything in him.

“What happened then? How… how did Mum and Dad end up together?”

“After Rachel’s death, Jason focused on his endless tours. Africa. Asia. The Middle East. Anywhere. We never saw him for years. He should’ve not returned, but he did, and Renee latched on him like a parasite.” He laughs again. “He raped her, she said. The Devil. She raped him. Some witnesses even saw her slip something in his drink. Then, she came crying to me to save her honour. I did what I should’ve done when Rachel was alive and cut her off from the family registry. After a while, she fell pregnant and Jason married her. Worst mistake of his life.”

My head hangs. I can’t say I disagree. Marrying Mum had cost Dad his life — and mine in retrospect.

“You’re right. If I stopped Renee at first, maybe Rachel would’ve been alive.” He reaches into his pocket and retrieves a necklace with a very familiar stone. He caresses it as one would do a pet.

My eyes squint on the dainty chain dangling from his fat fingers. The blue and black heart pendant reflects the light.

No. It can’t be.

I stand, but the guard shoves me down. “Please, I just want to see.”

President Joe nods, and I run towards him. He’s not scared, knowing full well I’d risk my death if I hurt him. I inspect the necklace up close and there’s no mistaking that this is a replica.

“Was this by chance… Rachel’s?” My voice is so small, I’m surprised he hears it.

“It is.” President Joe appears puzzled. “I had it specifically made for her in Italy.”

“Anyone could’ve had it made, right?”

“It was custom made and cost a fortune. Only two necklaces exist in the world. One is Rachel’s and the other is Jason Jr.’s.”

“W-where’s… Jason Jr.’s?”

He lifts a shoulder. “Probably lost in the fire.”

This can’t be happening, but I ask anyway. “How long has it been since that fire?”

“Thirty-five years. It was a rare snowstorm that day. I can never forget it.”

“No, no, no…” I curl my fingers around my necklace and a hand around my stomach as nausea explodes in my mouth.

I’m going to faint.

Thirty-five years ago, Nonna found a newborn baby in a rubbish can during a snowstorm. He only had a replica of Rachel’s necklace around his neck. Mum wasn’t heartless enough to burn him, but she was monstrous enough to throw him in a rubbish can as if he were nothing.

Jason Jr. is Shadow.

And he’s… my brother.

I fall over. President Joe clutches me by the arm, brows furrowing. “What’s wrong with you?”

“My brother… he’s my half-brother… Oh, God.”

“Jason Jr.?” President Joe shakes his head. “I don’t know why you’re mourning him when you never met him, but he wasn’t your brother.”

“He is! We share a father.” No wonder he always looked so familiar. He’s a carbon copy of Dad. The blond hair. The grey eyes. Even the smile and the build.

“Jason wasn’t your biological father.” President Joe’s voice cuts through the chaos. “I did a paternity test for him two or three years after you were born because you had none of his traits. I wanted to save him from that wench. God knows who your biological father is, but Renee being Renee must’ve picked anyone on the streets to get pregnant and corner Jason”

Air goes back to my lungs. I don’t know why I believe everything President Joe says, but I do. The alternative will be believing that Shadow is my half-brother, and I’d rather die a horrible death before thinking about that.

“If Dad had proof that I’m not his daughter, why didn’t he leave her?” I ask, puzzled.