But Susanna was no fool.


    The sneer curled deeper at the corner of her lips. "You''re iming to be my father?"


    "I am,” Derek replied, his words forceful and heavy.


    "My father, is that right?" Susanna''sugh was bitter. "Funny. All you care about is dragging me back as leverage. What a miserable joke my life''s turned out to be, hasn''t it?"


    Back to cktower? That ce was crawling with people who wanted her dead— those grotesque twins, the scheming stepmother with her crocodile tears, and the likes of Finch and Dan Murray, all of whom had tried to ruin her in the shadows.


    And over it all, a father who''d only ever imed the children born to his favored wife. He wanted her to walk right back into that hell?


    "Do you think I''m stupid?" Susanna shot back, voice icy and sharp. "Or do you honestly believe I''m so desperate for your fatherly affection?"


    Derek''s expression tightened, shadows crossing his face. "That''s not what this is."


    “No?” Susanna''s tone was acid. "Then what about the children you had with Adelle?"


    She''d had plenty of time with Hull to untangle the web of rtionships swirling around Derek. Mentioning Adelle''s children was enough to bring up the memory of the twins''st attempt on her life.


    When Derek stayed silent, Susanna let out a low, mirthless chuckle. "Those twins tried to kill me. What did you do about that?"


    A father, supposedly. When his children turned on each other, where did he stand? Derek had been a nonentity her entire life. If he owed anyone, it was her. So how had he handled it?


    Clearly blindsided by the question, Derek''s face stiffened.


    Susanna raised an eyebrow, her interest purely performative. "You did nothing?"


    Her offhandedness made Derek''s jaw clench. "Leanne was badly hurt," he said atst. "She''sid up in the hospital. She still can''t move."


    Susanna''s eyes narrowed. "And?" So Hull had protected her and Leanne had paid the price. "So your logic is: she came to kill me, but I walked away unscathed and she ended up in a hospital bed, so we''ll just call it even?"


    "That''s not what I meant!" Derek snapped.


    “And the other twin, still strolling around ck Gate like nothing happened-care to exin that?"


    Derek had nothing to say. Ivanna Nelson-the other twin. At first, he hadn''t even known what had happened. When he finally learned the truth, he just kept quiet. Now, with Susanna''s challenge hanging in the air, a wave of frustration pulsed through him. Content befongs


    “Susie, you''re all my daughters. I—” He broke off as her gaze found his, withering and cold. After a long, measured breath, he tried again. “This isn''t the time for exnations. ck Gate is in chaos right now."


    "Pass that along to Mr. Miguel yourself," Susanna cut in. "And don''t call me your daughter."


    Daughter. She felt nothing at the sight of him—no warmth, no pull of blood. People said ties of blood were unbreakable, that you could always sense your own kin. But with Derek, there was just nothing.


    Hull had once told her she had Derek''s eyes, but Susanna knew deep down, instinctively, that she wasn''t his daughter. It wasn''t anger-just an almost undeniable sense in her bones.


    Derek fell silent, his face turning ashen. Susanna, having said her piece, stood up and turned to go.


    "You really mean to cut ties so


    heavy on his tongue.


    Susanna stopped,ughing under her breath, derision sharpening every syble.


    "Cut ties? That''s rich."


    She turned to level a stare at him.


    "You call me heartless? That''s a bit muching from you, don''t you think? You deal your cruelties with both hands and expect warmth and loyalty in return? For a businessman, Mr. Murray you really have a knack for arranging things so at the loss falls on me and all the gainnds in yourp."


    The self-serving calctions could not have been clearer if he''d written them across her face.


    And he dared call her heartless?


    Derek''s jaw set, his shoulders tight as wire. Susanna met his eyes over her shoulder —his gaze was hardening into something unrecognizable and dangerous. There wasn''t a trace of a father meeting his own daughter-not in those eyes.