Maddie hadn’t been lying.

He found the lockbox under the floorboards of the closet. The key attached to the diary opened the box, and inside it were paternity results.

DNA proving that Lucian and Maddie were, indeed, Lawrence’s biological children, and neither Gabe nor Dev were.

It had been a shock to all of them.

Hell, everything had been a shock, even though his brothers never trusted Maddie’s return. He should’ve listened to them.

The last twenty-four hours had been a blur.

Once Dev had woken up, he and Gabe got down to fixing things while Lucian got Julia off that rooftop and to his room to clean up and make sure she was okay.

Besides a few bruises and a set of mental images she’d probably never forget, Julia would be.

While Lucian was with her, one of the brothers had called Richard. Despite the time of night, the man had come and he did what he needed to do.

His brothers did what they needed to.

With Richard’s help, all evidence of their sister having returned home vanished. Everything in their home had been wiped clean of her presence. And the lake house Maddie had hidden away at, well, the lake house was no more.

Then Troy was called, and that night was rewritten. The official story was partly true, partly not. Daniel had broken in and had been threatening Julia and Lucian. Dev had saved the day, but not before Daniel admitted to having financial problems. Police came out. All of them were questioned. Julia, who was introduced to Troy as Lucian’s girlfriend, backed the story up.

More than one person, including Troy, openly speculated about Daniel’s potential involvement in Lawrence’s suspicious death, and none of them corrected it. Lucian knew that when they started digging into Daniel, they’d find financial issues, but they would find nothing regarding Maddie.

To the world, Maddie was still missing and no one would know the truth to what she had been responsible for. That was their burden to carry.

And besides, Lucian didn’t really believe what his sister claimed. Not when Maddie had proven she was a fraud and a murderer who was willing to kill again.

The sun was in high in the sky by the time the police had left and Lucian was finally alone with Julia. He couldn’t talk to her about any of it, and she seemed to sense that. Even after everything she’d been through, she offered blissful comfort with her body, and he took it—took it all, making love to her, slow and meticulously. He stayed with her until she fell asleep in his arms, until he knew he had to leave her to take care of one last thing with his brothers.

Lucian had pulled the blanket up, draping it over her shoulders. Kissing her cheek, he moved away from the bed and pulled on a pair of jeans. Weary to his very core, he grabbed the folder of papers and headed downstairs.

Dev and Gabe where in the study, both silent when he walked in. Neither looked up as he crossed the room. Bending down, he turned on the gas fireplace. Flames roared to life.

“Cold?” Gabe asked.

He didn’t respond as he opened up the file and pulled out the papers. “These are the paternity results. I’m getting rid of them.”

“You don’t have to do that,” Dev said.

He didn’t. He knew that. “These papers change nothing. Lawrence wasn’t my father.” He started to toss the papers into the flames. “He never will be.”

Dev stopped him, catching his arm. Their gazes met. “You could have everything.”

“I don’t want everything,” he said, meaning it. “I don’t want any of it. Never had. That hasn’t changed.”

For a long moment, Dev held his stare and then he clasped his other hand around the nape of Lucian’s neck. Dev pressed his brow to Lucian’s. “I never wanted to be right about Madeline,” he said in a low voice.

Lucian’s throat thickened. “I know.”

Several moments passed, and then Dev let go. Drawing in a breath that didn’t do very much, Lucian tossed the papers into the flames.

The three of them watched the evidence turn to ash.

Feeling heavier than he had in years, Lucian walked to the couch and dropped down beside him. A glass of whiskey was handed to him, and he downed half of it in one gulp.

Discovering what his sister had done, what she’d been doing had altered everything Lucian had known and believed. Their mother? Their fucking father?

Why . . . why had Lawrence treated him the way he had? Treated Maddie the way he had? Maybe—just maybe if the man had been an actual father to them, Maddie wouldn’t have ended up the way she had.

And they’d never have the answers.

He’d never know if Lawrence knew the truth, and if he had, Lucian would never know why he treated Maddie and him like he did.

Man, that was a hard thing to come to terms with. He didn’t even know how.

“I can’t believe that fuck had been in this house when we didn’t know,” Gabe said, breaking the silence. “Jesus.”

The footsteps? The shadow Julia had seen while she’d been in the shower? Some of it had been Maddie. Some of it had been Daniel. If that punk weren’t already alligator feed, Lucian would make damn sure he would be.

“I’m sorry,” Gabe said. “I didn’t mean to take her to the edge.”

“I know.” Lucian closed his eyes. “I could’ve grabbed you both. I only grabbed you. That’s the truth.”

“Don’t put that on yourself,” Dev ordered. “And, Gabe, you did what you had to do to. We all did.”

They did.

Like they had before.

Like they always did.

Didn’t make any of this easier.

“Maybe it’s true,” Lucian said after a couple of moments.

“What?” Gabe turned to him.

A wry smile twisted his lips. “The curse—all of that shit. I mean, look around us. Look what has happened to nearly every woman in our family, to the women we know. This house—this name fucking taints them.”

Gabe stiffened. “Lucian—”

“You can’t tell me you don’t believe that. After everything?” His hand tightened on the glass. “After what happened with you—with what is happening right now with Emma and your son?”

His brother looked away.

“Our sister killed our mother and then hid for ten years. She came back and pretended that she couldn’t walk or talk. You can’t tell me that’s some normal shit right there.”

“It’s not normal.” Dev sat in the chair across from them. “Just like having a family that people believe is cursed isn’t normal.”

Lucian snorted.

Silence fell between them and then Gabe asked, “How are you handling this?”

“I don’t know.” Lucian forced a smile as he stared down at his glass. “Ask me again in five years.”

“What are you going to do about Julia?”

“If he was smart, he’d get her on the next flight out of here.” Dev stared into the flames. “We don’t need her anymore.”

“I wasn’t asking you,” Gabe said, his tone hardening in a way Lucian had never heard it before. “You care about her. I know you do.”

There was a good chance that the glass would crack in Lucian’s grip. Truth was, he still needed Julia. He needed her now more than ever and he did care about her. Deeply.

He knew that he loved her.

And Lucian knew what he had to do.