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Authors: Sherrilyn Kenyon
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army to defend him. Both of them were barefoot, filthy, and bruised, their clothes tattered and threadbare. And as she studied the large black eye and split lip on the boy’s face, she realized it was Syn as a child.
Her heart lurched at the sight of his battered face. How awful. Clenching her teeth to keep her tender emotions at bay, she reminded herself that poverty and abuse were no excuse for criminal behavior.
She’d risen above her childhood and become better. He could have, too.
As she put the pictures back in the box, she saw that there was writing on the one with him and his sister. Masculine and bold, the words were as disturbing as the children’s condition.
Your beloved children miss you, dearest. Send money or I’ll send them for a visit to their mother and her family during your next high-society soiree.
What in the universe did that mean? And how had Syn gotten the photo that must have been used to blackmail his mother?
Most of all, what kind of mother could be threatened by a visit from her own children? The mere thought revolted her.
Putting the photos away, she turned her attention to the carefully stacked documents that were also inside. The first one was a child’s birth certificate for Paden Belask with the father’s name listed as Sheridan Belask.
An alias?
Why hadn’t it been listed on his bounty page? But there hadn’t been a single alias there. Only C.I. Syn. It hadn’t even said what the C.I. stood for, which, while unusual, probably meant Syn had tampered with his records.
She studied the document more closely. By the birth date on the certificate, she knew Syn couldn’t be using it as an alias for himself. The boy listed would only be sixteen.
Retrieving the family picture, she held it beside the child’s birth certificate. The date of the fashions and the registration coincided. Paden must be the boy in the photo.
And Sheridan Belask must have been Syn’s name at some point, which would definitely make the child in the picture Syn’s son.
Where was the kid now?
Had Syn sent his wife and child into hiding to keep them safe from his enemies?
Were they dead?
Had Syn killed them?
The thought chilled her.
Flipping through the documents, she didn’t see either a marriage registration or one for divorce.
What had happened to them?
She scanned through the rest of the documents more carefully. There was an advanced degree in chemistry from the Derridian University of Science also under the name Sheridan Belask—an impressive feat since only the smartest and brightest were allowed to attend. There were also four false IDs, and debit and credit cards with different names, as well as several school report sheets with the name Paden Belask on them.
How strange.
As she started to return the documents to the box, there was one more piece of paper she’d left in the bottom. Picking it up, she unfolded it. Shock jolting her, she scanned the paper twice just to make sure she’d read it correctly.
She had.
It was a doctor’s accreditation issued to Sheridan Belask to practice human, Kiati, and Andarion medicine throughout all of the Ichidian Universe.
And it held a surgeon’s seal . . .
No way.
“You’re a surgeon?” How was that possible? Why, if he’d had such a prestigious and high-paying career, would he have left it?
It had to be a forgery. Some scam he’d been working on. That made sense.
She examined the document carefully, trying to see if it was faked. If it was, it was the best one she’d ever seen. She held it up to the light. The orange and blue fibers intersected in a medical pattern. It was definitely real. But that didn’t make any sense.
Why would a surgeon with three specialties turn to murder and theft?
Why would he have to?
Stunned, Shahara placed the papers back inside the box, knowing she wouldn’t find an answer to her questions. Not that her answers mattered.
Regardless of the reasons Syn, or Sheridan Belask, or whatever his name, had
Her heart lurched at the sight of his battered face. How awful. Clenching her teeth to keep her tender emotions at bay, she reminded herself that poverty and abuse were no excuse for criminal behavior.
She’d risen above her childhood and become better. He could have, too.
As she put the pictures back in the box, she saw that there was writing on the one with him and his sister. Masculine and bold, the words were as disturbing as the children’s condition.
Your beloved children miss you, dearest. Send money or I’ll send them for a visit to their mother and her family during your next high-society soiree.
What in the universe did that mean? And how had Syn gotten the photo that must have been used to blackmail his mother?
Most of all, what kind of mother could be threatened by a visit from her own children? The mere thought revolted her.
Putting the photos away, she turned her attention to the carefully stacked documents that were also inside. The first one was a child’s birth certificate for Paden Belask with the father’s name listed as Sheridan Belask.
An alias?
Why hadn’t it been listed on his bounty page? But there hadn’t been a single alias there. Only C.I. Syn. It hadn’t even said what the C.I. stood for, which, while unusual, probably meant Syn had tampered with his records.
She studied the document more closely. By the birth date on the certificate, she knew Syn couldn’t be using it as an alias for himself. The boy listed would only be sixteen.
Retrieving the family picture, she held it beside the child’s birth certificate. The date of the fashions and the registration coincided. Paden must be the boy in the photo.
And Sheridan Belask must have been Syn’s name at some point, which would definitely make the child in the picture Syn’s son.
Where was the kid now?
Had Syn sent his wife and child into hiding to keep them safe from his enemies?
Were they dead?
Had Syn killed them?
The thought chilled her.
Flipping through the documents, she didn’t see either a marriage registration or one for divorce.
What had happened to them?
She scanned through the rest of the documents more carefully. There was an advanced degree in chemistry from the Derridian University of Science also under the name Sheridan Belask—an impressive feat since only the smartest and brightest were allowed to attend. There were also four false IDs, and debit and credit cards with different names, as well as several school report sheets with the name Paden Belask on them.
How strange.
As she started to return the documents to the box, there was one more piece of paper she’d left in the bottom. Picking it up, she unfolded it. Shock jolting her, she scanned the paper twice just to make sure she’d read it correctly.
She had.
It was a doctor’s accreditation issued to Sheridan Belask to practice human, Kiati, and Andarion medicine throughout all of the Ichidian Universe.
And it held a surgeon’s seal . . .
No way.
“You’re a surgeon?” How was that possible? Why, if he’d had such a prestigious and high-paying career, would he have left it?
It had to be a forgery. Some scam he’d been working on. That made sense.
She examined the document carefully, trying to see if it was faked. If it was, it was the best one she’d ever seen. She held it up to the light. The orange and blue fibers intersected in a medical pattern. It was definitely real. But that didn’t make any sense.
Why would a surgeon with three specialties turn to murder and theft?
Why would he have to?
Stunned, Shahara placed the papers back inside the box, knowing she wouldn’t find an answer to her questions. Not that her answers mattered.
Regardless of the reasons Syn, or Sheridan Belask, or whatever his name, had
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