Cross My Tigress Face the Wrath (Stella) novel Chapter 1074

Ever since she was a kid, Susanna had always known one thing for certain: her mother might’ve been a force to reckon with in the world of business, but in life? In everything else? The woman was hopelessly unreliable.

Now here it was, clear as day.

“His last name’s Harlow!” Lacey declared dramatically.

“Lincoln Harlow?” Susanna’s scalp tingled, but this time, it wasn’t just her head—her whole body broke out in cold chills. No. No way. Her mother wouldn’t—would she?

“Mom, do you even know how old Lincoln is? And while we’re at it, do you remember your own age?”

Lacey went quiet, stunned into silence.

Susanna pressed on, exasperated. “He’s about the same age as Hull!” Hull was practically the same as Ronald—thirty, give or take. Her mother had a grown daughter; this was practically a plotline ripped right out of a cheesy soap opera.

“It’s not Lincoln,” Lacey replied, a bit put out.

Susanna let out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding.

“What were you thinking? Am I some clueless teenager? I know exactly how old I am,” her mother huffed.

“Good. Just… as long as you know,” Susanna muttered. A clammy sweat had broken out down her spine. If her mother really had started something with Lincoln, she might’ve fainted right on the spot. Plenty of times she’d seen old men pair off with young women, but this—an older woman with a guy nearly young enough to be her son? Her brain refused to conjure up that mental image.

Thank goodness her mother knew better. If she hadn’t, Susanna would have been on her knees, thanking every god she could think of for sparing her that nightmare.

“It’s Lincoln’s older brother—Elliot Harlow!” Lacey finally confessed.

Susanna’s mind went completely blank.

Wait. Not Lincoln—his brother? Since when did Lincoln even have an older brother? And, honestly, wasn’t that pretty much the same thing?

“Mom, I think—”

“I’ll be in Litamark in three days. We can talk then,” Lacey cut in briskly. “And Derek isn’t your father, so just handle him yourself in the meantime.”

Handle him—she actually used the words “handle him.” That told Susanna everything she needed to know. Even if Derek showed up waving a DNA test, her mother would never admit he was her actual father.

Before Susanna could get another word in, Lacey hung up.

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