Secret Heir

by Victoria Pinder

  She was tempted, but her sister had texted last night, asking if they could meet for coffee. Plus, she needed a chance to get her thoughts together. Right now, she wanted more than he offered. She brushed his wide shoulders.

  "I can't. Don’t be mad?"

  He let her go. "Dinner tonight then?"

  “After the service, I’m all yours.” She slipped her dress over her head. Her gaze went to his impressive physique one more time, then regretfully toward the door. "But let's do something low-key. I don't need you to impress me."

  "Pack blue jeans then for after. I have an idea."

  His ideas had been magical. She wanted to ask, but stopped herself. "I'll have my jeans ready..." She buckled on her high heels from last night. "See you this afternoon. Bye, Mitch."

  A few minutes later, a driver pulled up to the curb and she slid into the backseat. Her phone beeped. She read her sister's text

  I'm at your apartment.

  On my way.

  As the car drove into her complex, she used her phone to pay and leave a tip. She stepped out, her phone lighting up again.

  Her sister. Who’s the new guy?

  I'm here.

  She climbed the steps that led to her apartment, where her blonde, blue-eyed sister waited for her on the landing.

  Jess’s smile widened as Tess passed her and unlocked the door. "Is that the same dress you wore last night?"

  Her twenty-two-year-old sister was just experiencing being on her own and making her own rules. Tess felt like she shouldn’t say anything, so she pointed Jess toward the kitchen. "Do me a favor and make coffee while I change, will you?"

  "Then you have to give me the details.”

  She would pick and choose what to share with your younger sister. Tess walked into her bedroom, tugged off the dress, and threw it in the laundry hamper. With a raised voice, she said, "His name is Mitch."

  “Mitch, as in Mitch Morgan?”

  Strange. Tess grabbed a t-shirt. “Yeah.”

  “Mikey?"

  "Huh?" Tess answered as she pulled on her underwear. Her boss had also called him Mikey. She threw on sweats, then returned to the living room. "Why would you ask that?"

  Jess placed her coffee cup in the machine and hit the button for the coffee to pour. Once done, she turned back to face her. "Ohh... I mean, what do you know about his family?"

  "His mother, Fiona, just died and Isabelle Morgan might or might not let her be buried next to Mitch Morgan Senior. From what I understand, Fiona devoted her life to the elder Mitch, even though he was married to someone else and today's the burial."

  “I remember.”

  “Remember what?”

  Jess’s gaze narrowed. "What about the rest of his family?"

  “Well…he has three brothers. One is in a band, Indigo 5. And it’s so sad, but they had a sister who died. I guess she was kidnapped at a park—her shoes were found near the Seine, so one of the theories is that she drowned.” Jess tensed. The coffee machine beeped, but Jess stared at Tess rather than reach for her cup.

  Almost like her question pained her, she whispered, "What are their names?"

  Something was wrong. Her sister’s blue eyes were glued to her in desperation. Tess cocked her head. "Damien, Galen, and Axel. Axel feels super guilty about what happened to Catherine—”

  Jess’s hand covered her face as she stumbled backward. Tess reached out to help steady her. Suddenly, Jess flung her arms around her neck. Tess could feel her wet tears against her collarbone.

  "Tess, I thought they were dead."

  Tess hugged her sister, although she wasn't quite sure what she was talking about. "Who did you think died?"

  "You know I was adopted."

  “Yes?” Tess tried to comprehend what her sister meant as Jessica released her and looked at her with wide eyes, like a child about to open her Christmas presents. "Where are they? The boys. I want to meet them.”

  "They are getting ready for the burial."

  Her hands trembled and her normally calm sister teared up, sounding so young as she said, "Maman..."

  Mother? Her sister sometimes spoke French and threw it in, but this didn’t make sense. Did she believe that the Southern branch of the Morgans was her family? "I don't understand. Axel has been on TV all your life and he’s now in the band Indigo 5—didn’t you recognize him?”

  Jess took out her phone and pointed to a picture of the five guys, correctly pointing out Axel. “This one?”

  “Yes.” Tess looked from Jess to Axel. Was there a resemblance?

  “According to the profile, his name is Harry Banger and Harry was on the Clubhouse Show as a kid. I used to watch and wish he was my brother.”

  “And he is. Maybe.” Tess leaned back against the counter.

  Jessica took Tess’s hands and squeezed. “Mitch, Galen, Damien, and Axel are my brothers. My father convinced me they were all dead."

  "Your father…"

  Tess’s mind raced through facts she knew. Mitch's father had married Isabelle, but kept Fiona as his lover. Fiona loved him. Would he take her youngest child from her? Nothing about the House of Morgan ever made sense. Was Mitch related to her sister? This was too much.

  Jess released her grip and stepped back, allowing Tess to calm the chaos of her mind.

  "How is that possible?” If Mitch was related to her sister, that meant her sister was a Morgan. The hostile takeover Peter planned would affect her too. But all of this sounded so foreign. “Dad wouldn't have gone along with that."

  "Our dad wouldn’t, no. But Mitch Morgan was my father—I was never supposed to talk about it..." Jessica took an audible breath. "He told me I was better off with your family, but I always wondered. I was five and missed them so much. I took the summer intern job at Morgan Enterprises to find out what I could about any of them. If Victoria Morgan came back from the dead and found out our father took her baby from her, I wanted my family back, too. I’ve been researching even more though I’ve Googled them all my life."

  "Mitch was your biological father?" Tess needed to hear it one more time to believe it. The story made no sense. She had to walk through it from the beginning.

  Jessica picked up the coffee cup and pushed it into Tess’s hands. "Yes. It's complicated. Right now, I want to see my brothers. Where are they?"

  If her life was going to implode and tie her to Mitch through her sister, she wanted to be there, too. Tess held the warm drink in her hand. "They’re staying at the Biltmore, but why don’t we go to the burial of your mother, together?"

  Jess nodded, thinking. "Yes. Okay. Good idea. And we should call Mom.”

  “She’s back from Paris?”

  “Arrived last night. She said you might need her.”

  “Ohh.” Tess texted her mother that Jess wanted to go to the Morgan burial. Tanya immediately texted back.

  Meet you there.

  Jessica picked up her coffee and sipped. Tess nudged her hip with her own as she leaned beside her on the counter. "Okay. She's going to come. Jess, after all these years, how can you be sure?”

  "I remember my family. Over the summer, I spoke to Peter Morgan about our father. He told me he'd help me find them."

  “That’s why he asked about you when he sent me to New Orleans to meet them.” Seriously? Her boss knew, but he still wanted Tess to take over Mitch’s company? Peter Morgan knew her sister was his half-sister? Tess tried to remain calm.

  “He did?”

  "You were in the middle of the ocean last week. Peter sent me to meet your brothers."

  Jessica's smile could light up a street. "He knows we’re sisters, Tess. Nothing will change that."

  She held the hot cup of coffee against her temple, and the warmth eased the ache. "I still don't understand how this is possible."

  "Mom and I had a feeling, but it was cemented as truth when my biological dad died and I inherited all that money. I hate him, though. I was five when I was told my mother and brothers were all dead. I believed him."


  Mitch and his brothers had no idea. He had told her about his sister, Catherine. Her pulse quickened. "So your real name is Catherine? Mitch told me they had been looking for you. Axel blames himself for your ‘death’.”

  Jessica’s eyes were puffy as tears started to form. “Death?”

  “Yeah. They were told you died. I told you about the shoes.”

  “I really hate him.” Jess wiped her eyes. "I was told they all died in a horrible fire. Father said he thought it best I use my middle name so I wouldn't be sad."

  Jess set her coffee cup down, walked into the bedroom, opened Tess’s closet, and sorted through the clothes.

  Tess followed her. "Do I call you Jess or Catherine?"

  “Jess is fine.” She brought out a few outfits, clearly intending to borrow something. She studied a plain black dress, wrinkled her nose, and tossed it onto the bed. "As a teenager, I tried to find all the newspaper articles I could on the fire in Paris. I even flew there over the summer. I never found any information on any of them, even online."

  A gnawing feeling grew in her stomach. Tess tried to block out how taking down United Trust Bank might also hurt her sister. To push past the queasiness, she went to her special closet, where she kept her designer dresses. Today was a day for one of Caro's designs. She picked a few for her sister to choose from, handing them to Jessica.

  As she helped Jess sort through them, she held a black on black pinstriped sheath to her waist. "They live in New Orleans now, although they’ve lived all over the world. How about this one?"

  Jess took the dress Tess offered and hugged it. "Thanks—I’m scared to see them again. What if they don’t remember me?”

  “We’ll be together. I’ll help explain.”

  “I need you Tess. I don’t know what to do with myself now. I want to see them, but this feels like a dream."

  A knock sounded throughout the apartment and both of them looked over to the front door. “Mom must be here.”

  “Okay.”

  "Look, I have to go to work, but it will only be for a few hours. And I promise we’ll be together when you see them again. It’s not a dream, and they want their sister. But for now can you get the door? I have to change, so we can get today started."

  Tess walked into the bathroom with her fitted black dress with cap sleeves and closed the door. Mitch the elder was worse than she imagined. Seriously, her sister had only been five when she’d come to live with them. Who was that evil to a sweet little girl? If he was alive, she’d confront him herself on behalf of those she loved.

  Once ready for work, she left the bathroom. She heard Jessica talking and peeked into the living area. Their mom, already dressed for the funeral in a black pantsuit, her brown hair in a bun, met her gaze with a look of concern. "Mom, glad you’re here. Thanks for coming back early."

  “My girls needed me.”

  Good. Her mother had plenty of vacation days left. “Can you stay with Jess? I need to go into work for a little bit, but I promised Jess I’d be there for her.”

  “Of course. We’ll go to my house and meet you later.”

  “Is that okay, Jess?”

  “Yeah.” Her sister nodded as her college apartment was too far out of Miami for her to get back in time. “I just hope my brothers believe me.”

  “They will.” She studied Jess’s features, looking for Mitch. “I’ll be there to make sure they do.”

  Tess’s shoulders felt tight. The House of Morgan surrounded her. It felt like rocks hung around her neck, weighing her down—worst of all was that she had no idea what to do next. If she continued with the hostile takeover, she betrayed Mitch and Jess. Could she handle this? Scooping ice cream hadn’t been this stressful.

  13

  Mitch, dressed in a Michael Kors suit, walked along the buffet of the Biltmore dining room, filling his plate with eggs, a croissant and fruit. Parrots chirped in the tropical heat as he made his way toward a table on the patio.

  When he saw a familiar hand raised high, Mitch said a silent prayer for strength. It was time. His brothers, also in black, and mother, who had decided to wear a yellow dress for her fake burial, all sat there, eating. He took the vacant chair. A waitress followed with a pot of coffee. She filled his empty cup.

  He murmured, "Thank you."

  His mother still seemed weak but she pretended to be fine with a smile as she said, “You look relaxed this morning, Mitch.”

  Damien glanced around the breakfast area. "Where is your Tess?"

  "She'll meet us at the cemetery," Mitch said, picking at his croissant.

  Fiona laughed. “I can’t wait to meet the girl that stole my son’s heart at my funeral service. She must be something special.”

  “We’re not in love, Mom.” Mitch took a bite of eggs and tried to avoid the conversation.

  “Maybe not.” Galen, still not wearing a damn tie, added, "But it is strange that you met at Mom’s funeral."

  Mitch’s body heated. "I wasn't looking. She just showed up.” He concentrated on his plate of food. “Let’s discuss the disaster Mom’s about to unleash."

  Damien leaned forward. "You don't normally bring a girl home to meet the family. Should this be an intervention?"

  Technically, he hadn’t brought Tess to meet his family. His house was supposed to have been empty. His mother’s shoulders sagged. She used to sit straight, vibrant with health.

  He relented. "She's easy to talk to and makes me feel calm around the chaos of Mom’s crazy plan." Mitch thought about Tess’s smile and how her taste lingered on his lips. “But don’t read anything into it.”

  "Wow," Axel finally said, his black jacket unbuttoned to reveal a large silver buckle at his waist. "I never would have thought."

  Mitch didn’t like being under scrutiny. "What?"

  “I guess Mitch can help me write the next love song for my group.” Axel stood and dropped his napkin on his plate. “It’s nice to see you’re human after all. Doing nothing but work has to be boring."

  “I agree,” his mother said and plucked at the collar of her dress. “I can’t wait to meet her. I hope she’s as lovely as I imagine. Now I’m quite nervous about this burial discussion with Isabelle. I don’t know what I’ll do if she refuses to let me be buried with the love of my life. She’s his wife with all the legal rights.”

  Mitch kept his mouth shut. He wasn’t sure if he liked the new conversation any better than the teasing over Tess, but there was no way he could talk his mother out of her plan to surprise Isabelle. She was in too deep.

  They made their way to a limo waiting for them in front of the hotel. A few minutes into the ride, Galen said, "Do you have another date with Tess planned for tonight?"

  Mitch narrowed his gaze. "Yeah... Why all the interest in her?"

  His mother patted his hand. "Galen's still bitter about his divorce. The rest of us just want to know when the wedding is.”

  "No." Tess would want love, and he couldn’t give it to her.

  Mitch had no other answer. If he said more, they would have more questions. He liked Tess and he promised to never treat her like their father had treated their mother—no illusions. Tess deserved to be respected. He glared at his mom.

  Fiona put her arm through his in a hug. "No, as in not right now? Or no, as in I'm not telling you?"

  He untangled his arm from hers. "No, as in we’re not having this conversation."

  Mitch turned and stared out the window as his mother and brothers laughed. One day, they'd each find a woman they found interesting and he'd remember this conversation. The limo turned into a graveyard and stopped. Mitch’s gaze immediately sought out Tess. He remembered the feel of her silky skin beneath his hand.

  As his brothers all filed out, Fiona stayed hidden in the limo. Mitch decided to tease her a little. "There’s Tess now, Mom. Why don’t you come out and meet her?” He stopped, caught by the young blonde next to Tess. He stepped away from the limo door. “She brought someone with her.”

  Fi
ona popped her head out, but hung onto the limo door like it was her life preserver.

  As the brothers continued toward the women, goose bumps grew on Mitch’s arms. Tess’s closeness made him ache, but his hair stood on end as he wondered who she was with.

  Galen said, "Is it just me, or does the woman with Tess look a lot like Mom?"

  The air felt electrified. Axel gasped and his eyes widened. "Catherine?"

  Mitch stared at his brother whose face went white and then turned toward the woman next to Tess. Tess held her arm as if protecting her.

  “Axel?” The young woman answered, her voice shaking. “Axel.”

  Mitch's heart came to a painful halt. The young blonde next to Tess ran over, tears in her eyes—Galen was right, and she looked exactly like their mom when Fiona was younger. She threw herself into Axel’s arms, then hugged Damien and Galen, and at last, Mitch.

  Mitch glanced at Tess as he hugged the young woman.

  “I thought you all were dead,” she cried as she kissed his cheek.

  "Catherine." Mitch kept one arm around his sister’s waist and stared at Tess, who had somehow fixed a wrong and brought his sister back to them.

  "Yeah?" Tess took an uncertain step toward him.

  Nothing could contain his joy. He wrapped his arms around her and picked her up for a hug. "Thank you."

  She hugged him until he put her down. She dropped her arm to her side and stepped away. "I’m so sorry—your Catherine is my adopted sister, Jessica. I didn't know."

  He reached for her hand. She’d put his family back together, although his mother might ruin everything in a minute...

  Axel wore a look of awe as he stared at his sister. "How are you alive, Catherine?"

  "Me? Father told me all of you were dead. In a fire!" She hugged Axel again. He looked like he might faint. “When Tess mentioned her new boyfriend this morning, I finally had answers. Why couldn’t I find you online all these years?”

  “I run security and none of us wanted to be found online as the other Morgans.” Galen shook his head and dug out a cigarette. "Maman is going to be thrilled in a minute."

  Tess blinked and Catherine stared at him, clearly confused. Tess asked, “What did you just say?”