Hull lit a cigarette, not even sparing Derek a nce. He offered no reply, acting as though it was beneath him to exchange words with an idiot. The silence stretched on, nearly driving Derek out of his mind.


    “Mr. Miguel!” Derek''s voice rose, bristling with impatience.


    That finally got a reaction. Hull turned, eyes full of contempt, lips curling into a derisive half-grin. He exhaled a drag of smoke and said with mocking sweetness, "Susanna?"


    The way he dragged out her name dripped with exaggerated affection-enough to fool anyone listening into thinking Derek was the model of a doting parent. But anyone who knew the truth understood Derek was nothing but a cold-blooded snake, heartless enough to turn his back even on his own child.


    Before Derek could protest, Hull''s voice sharpened. “Funny—because when you got her photo before, you had no idea who she was.”


    Hull''s tone was openly taunting. Derek felt his cheeks prickle with embarrassment. No one could have guessed it—when Caden handed him that photo, he genuinely hadn''t recognized Susanna.


    "A father who doesn''t even recognize his own daughter," Hull went on, every wordced with sneer. "Remarkable, isn''t it?"


    He spat out thest word with particr scorn.


    Derek''s face darkened. He tried to muster a defense. "I haven''t seen her in years. I didn''t even know she existed."


    "Didn''t know she existed?” Hull echoed, his disbelief cutting. Then heughed, low and derisive.


    Derek''splexion turned a shade greener. The truth was, he knew better. When Lacey hurried out of his life all those years ago, the signs of her pregnancy were right there. He''d known there was a child-what he never knew was whether she''d kept it, or if it had been a boy or a girl.


    Before the conversation turned nastier, Barnaby came in, carrying a breakfast tray for Susanna.


    Derek opened his mouth, but Hull strode over, took the tray from Barnaby, and disappeared into the next room-without so much as a backward nce. Not a word left for Derek.


    Derek was left standing there, seething. Was he just going to be tossed aside like that? He hadn''t even finished!


    He fixed Barnaby with a look, his irritation barely veiled.


    Barnaby merely addressed him in a neutral tone: "Mr. Murray, perhaps you''d like to head back for now?"


    That only made Derek''s mood nosedive. He hadn''t made any progress, and now he was being dismissed? "What''s that supposed to mean?"


    "I doubt either of them will be out anytime soon," Barnaby replied tly.


    "Excuse me?" Derek bristled.


    Barnaby sighed, as though


    exining to a child. "When Susie wakes up, it takes ages to get her to eat breakfast. She''s impossible if she''s still sleepy. An hour''s coaxing is pretty normal content


    The message was unmistakable: Hull doted on Susanna enough to spend hours just getting her to eat. She obviously mattered a great deal to him enough that, whatever Hull wanted to do for her, he would.


    Derek fell silent, mulling it over. He''d heard all the stories about Hull-not the kind of


    man who''d waste his time fussing over a woman.


    Barnaby continued, "And that''s just breakfast. If she wakes up grumpy, Hull will have to stay with her to get her back to sleep. Realistically? You''re looking at two hours,


    inimum before he''s out again.


    Derek''s re sharpened. Two more hours? He''d already been left waiting all morning—he was starving and his blood pressure was through the roof.


    "So when exactly will Susanna be up?" His tone was clipped and sour now that Hull wasn''t listening.


    Barnaby rolled his eyes and delivered the final blow: “Susie doesn''t get out of bed before two in the afternoon. Not happening."