Lowell was driving, eyes on the road but still full of opinions. "Tarquin, you better start stepping up your game. Honestly, I''m worried one day Elysia''s gonna get sick of your nonsense and kick you to the curb. You do realize you''re dating way out of your league, right?"

Tarquin pressed his lips together, not even dignifying that with a response.

Lowell snorted. "You''ve been working non-stop for a month and still look fresh as a daisy. Clearly, you''re not working hard enough. How about I load you up with some more tasks?"

"Don''t you dare," Lowell shot back, hands up in mock defense. "You can run your ownpany, but leave me out of it. I''ve got to take the kids skiing this weekend. Anyway, I''ve actually got something serious to tell you."

Tarquin nced over, curiosity piqued. "What''s up?"

"Yesterday afternoon, someone visited Verity''s secret kid in the hospital. Wanna guess who?"

Tarquin blinked. "Someone visited Verity''s illegitimate son?"

That kid was hidden away in a little town called Karl Town. Hardly anyone back home even knew he existed-Tarquin himself had only found out recently. Who''d bother checking in on him?

Lowell grinned, enjoying the suspense. "You''ll never guess, so I''ll just tell you. It was Lucian."

Tarquin''s brow furrowed. "You mean my dad''s old buddy? That Lucian?" "Yep, that one."

Tarquin''s frown deepened. "When did he wake up?"

"Yesterday morning. By the afternoon, he was already at the hospital.”

Tarquin let out a breath. Lucian had been his father''s childhood friend, the two of them thick as

thieves went to college together, even backpacked across Europe back in the day. Lucian was photographer, and years ago, he and Tarquin''s dad had traveled to Hillshire Vige together. That

meant Lucian knew all about Keith Garcia''s childhood as well.

A few months back, while Tarquin was digging into some old drama between his dad and Keith, he''d ended up looking into Lucian. Turned out, Keith was doing the same They''d both gone to see Lucian for answers, but somebody beat them there-with the intent to silence Lucian for good.

Luckily, Tarquin and Keith got there in time to save him. But Lucian had been badly injured and slipped into aa. Tarquin hadn''t had a chance to question him since.

Now, out of nowhere, Lucian wakes up and immediately visits Verity''s secret kid. How did he even know

connection?

was their

et ne

about the cian had been

Who told him? Was it the same mysterious figure that had tried to have him killed?

Tarquin''s expression darkened at the thought.

Lucian, his father, the mystery man, Verity''s hidden son... There was definitely some web of secrets binding them all together. One thing was clear: Lucian knew something-something big. And someone out there wanted him silenced, no matter the cost.