The Teacher's Billionaire

knows that you’re his daughter.”
    Pain exploded in her chest as anger and betrayal sliced through Callie’s heart. How could her mom kept this from her? Yanking her hands away, she came to her feet and walked away from the table. Without warning tears began to flow down her face and her body started to tremble as Helen’s words reverberated in her head. “Why...” Callie asked as confusion and pain washed over her. “Why didn’t she tell me? Why didn’t she tell him? And why bother now?”
    Helen walked over and embraced Callie in a motherly hug rather than answer right away. At her show of affection, a fresh round of tears erupted. “She wanted to protect you. She thought that if you knew you would try to contact him. And she was afraid you wouldn’t be accepted in his world.” Helen’s voice was soft and loving much like it would be if she was speaking to her own daughter.
    Callie pulled away to find some tissues. “Who is he, and why didn’t she tell him when she was pregnant? Why bother telling him now?”
    Sighing Helen moved back to her chair and sat down. “At the time she wanted to protect him. Sometimes people make bad decisions concerning those they love.” Helen paused and took a sip of tea. “Sit down and I’ll tell you everything your mom told me.”
    ***
    Dylan Talbot loosened his tie as he climbed the wide mahogany staircase - his footsteps muffled by the thick Persian runner. He didn’t know what to expect when he walked into his stepfather’s study. Earlier that afternoon his mother called insisting he come to the family estate in the Hamptons as soon as possible and talk some sense into her husband. Something she’d never asked him to do before.
    Both his mother and stepfather, Warren Sherbrooke, sat in Warren’s study when Dylan entered. After placing a kiss on his mother’s cheek, he moved to the leather wing-backed chair across from the matching leather sofa.
    His mother didn’t waste any time getting to the point. “I’m glad you’re here. Maybe you can get Warren to see reason. He won’t listen to me.” Elizabeth Sherbrooke sat uncharacteristically wringing her perfectly manicured hands. She was normally a cool and collected woman. For something to get her so riled, it had to be serious.
    Dylan focused on the man, who was like a father to him. Warren had treated him like a son from the moment he had married Dylan’s mother after his parents’ divorce when he was six. And if he’d ever had any doubts about how his stepfather felt about him they’d disappeared when Warren handed the reins of Sherbrooke Enterprises over to him when Warren had decided to enter politics. In addition to some charitable foundations, Sherbrooke Enterprises controlled the Sherbrooke Hotel Chain, which was one of the largest hotel chains in the world.
    “Will one of you tell me what’s going on?” Dylan asked when Warren remained silent.
    “I received this in the mail yesterday.” Warren handed Dylan a pale pink envelope. “It’s a letter from a woman I knew a very long time ago.”
    His mother wasn’t jealous, was she? Everyone knew that Senator Warren Sherbrooke loved his wife. Theirs was one of the few true love marriages in D.C.
    “She claims that her daughter is Warren’s child,” Elizabeth added when her husband didn’t continue.
    His mother’s announcement rendered Dylan speechless. People might call his stepfather many things, but an unfaithful husband wasn’t one of them.
    Curious Dylan pulled out the handwritten letter and scanned its contents. “Whoever this woman is must be lying. She must be after something.” He fully expected Warren to agree, but instead his stepfather shook his head.
    “Ruth Taylor wouldn’t lie about something like this.” The conviction in his stepfather’s voice rang out loud and clear.
    “People change, Warren. You haven’t spoken to this woman in over thirty years.”
    “If she was after something, Elizabeth, she would have come forward long before now. I don’t know why she waited to tell me about this, but I plan on finding out.”
    Dylan leaned forward in his chair and rested his elbows on his knees. Despite what Warren said, he had to agree with his mother. In his personal opinion, Warren put too much faith in people. While he wouldn’t disagree that there were good honorable people in the world, he didn’t think there were many of them. At least he hadn’t met many in his thirty-five years.
    “Perhaps she waited for