Pandora's Box (previously Worth the Wait, a Zebra print best seller) by Kat Attalla Page B

it,” Erik replied.
    “You were just a child when he died. You don’t remember what a gentle, caring man he was.”
    Eric snorted. “He was a selfish man who didn’t care about anything but his art.”
    Damian took a step toward his brother. “Easy, Erik. Peter was a good father.”
    “Oh, right. A paragon of virtue.” Erik raised his head and glared coldly. “Ask Mother why she’s so afraid I might be involved with Charlie. Go on, ask her.”
    Damian looked toward his mother’s constricted face. “What’s going on?”
    “I have no idea what he’s talking about,” she murmured, but her words held no conviction. Her breathing was low and heavy, as if her worst fear were about to be realized.
    Tension blanketed the room like a winter fog. The icy chill sent a shiver down his spine.
    “It would be more than indecent to get involved with Charlie,” Erik agreed. “It would be incest.”
    Damian shook his head, unsure he understood the implication of his brother’s words. “What?”
    “She’s Peter’s daughter,” Erik said.
    “Is that want she told you?” Monica had found her voice again. “She’s lying. She only came to you with that story because your father left you a wealthy man. Don’t you see that?”
    His bitter laugh echoed through the room. “She didn’t come looking for me. I went looking for her.”
    Damian didn’t want to believe what he was hearing, but he didn’t doubt it was true. That would explain so many things about Erik and Charlie’s unusual relationship. “How long have you known about her?”
    “About two years ago I came across some journals of Father’s in the attic. He wrote lengthy passages about the daughter he never once found the guts to visit.”
    Damian loosened his tie in the suddenly stuffy room. “How did you find her?”
    “It doesn’t matter how I found her, only that I did. She might not be related to either one of you, but she is my half-sister and I have no intention of losing her again.”
    Damian turned to his mother. “You knew about her, didn’t you?” To his shock, there was a quaver in his voice. He thought he knew his mother and the kind of woman she was, but this was more than he could accept. “You knew, and you let Peter put her in an orphanage?”
    Monica glowered at her elder son. “She was nothing to me.”
    Erik groaned. “No one means anything to you! Peter Lawson was an obsession, and you never gave a damn about anyone else. What really scares you is that Charlie might come forward and destroy the myth you created. The gifted artist, the loving husband and father who died so young. You couldn’t stand it if your friends found out what a selfish bastard he really was.”
    Monica’s face turned a ghastly shade of red and her eyes burned with rage. “I won’t allow you to talk about your father like that. Get out of my house.”
    “I’m leaving,” Erik said. “And don’t worry. I won’t be back.”
    “Don’t you see,” Monica sneered. “This is just what she wants. To tear this family apart.”
    “No, she doesn’t. She never wanted any part of this family. And I’m not really sure I blame her,” Erik said angrily and stormed out the door.
    Monica poured herself a glass of mineral water. When she turned back, her face was once again composed. “Do you honestly think I should have taken in Peter’s little brat?”
    “Why not, Mother? Didn’t it occur to you that he did the same thing for me? Peter treated me like a son at the expense of his own daughter and I don’t know how to deal with that right now.”
    Damian felt physically ill. He walked out of the house and got into his car, driving with no destination in mind. Finally, he understood the secret of this Pandora’s box. The golden tapestry of his sheltered world began to unravel and he felt as if he’d lost a piece of his soul. How was he supposed to go on with business as usual? How could he ever enjoy anything in his privileged life again when he knew