Secrets and Lies 3 (The Ferro Family) by H. M. Ward Page A

given me another option.”
    “You have no business with me. Like I said—you have the wrong guy.”
    Peter shakes his head. “Nathan Lucas Smith, born to Adeline Pike and Augustus Smith on March fourth—”
    “What do you want?”
    “When you didn’t attend the meeting, I assumed it was because your letter failed to reach you. Upon his death, two copies of this letter were dispersed at your father’s request.” Peter’s voice is kind, patient. “One was addressed to my father and the other was addressed to you. You should read it.” He hands the envelope to Nathan and steps away.
    Nathan's father died? If there are still meetings going on about it, it must have happened recently. Empathy slithers up my throat and lodges itself midway up, making it hard to swallow. I wonder if that’s the reason he wasn’t in class at the start of term. I wonder if that’s why he acted so weird when I first met him. Was it that recent? Are Nathan’s wounds still raw? I find myself looking across the room, watching Nathan stare at the papers in his hands. When he glances up at me, I see fear flash on his face then vanish. Swallowing hard, he opens the letter, his dark blue eyes sweeping over each line. Before he gets to the second page, he starts shaking his head, saying, “No. This isn’t true. It can’t be.”
    Peter hangs back, but his soft answer drips with pity, “I’m afraid it is. My father confirms it.”
    Nathan’s hands tremble slightly as his eyes widen and he stares at nothing. He remains frozen for a moment, then his hands move frantically, lifting the letter and tearing it into pieces before shoving it into Peter’s chest. He holds his hand there until the other man takes the remnants of the note. “These are lies. Don’t ever come here again. I don’t care how much money your family has or what they can give to the university—you have no right to make such accusations.” Nathan storms past Peter and disappears down the hall.

Chapter 2
    I ’m left in the classroom, alone with Peter Ferro. I know things with Nathan were supposed to be hot, heavy, and unattached, but I want to throw a fist in Peter’s face for making Nathan that upset. I usually try to choose my battles carefully, but this impulse stems from emotion instead of logic. I start spewing words before I have time to consider what I’m doing. “That was cruel. Just because your family owns everything in sight doesn’t mean you have the right to crush people. Nathan is a good guy, and he didn’t deserve that!”
    Peter doesn’t reply right away. Instead, he watches me fume, listens to me curse a little bit, then tips his head to the side and says, “Are you done?”
    “NO!” Yes. I ran out of words and for some reason, I’m huffing like I ran a race. I don’t even like Nathan. Why am I fighting a Ferro for him? My shoulders hunch up around my ears, and my fingers spread wide ready to claw his face off.
    He treats me to an incredibly familiar lopsided smile. It must be because of the newspapers. Everyone loves Peter and hates Sean. The youngest Ferro—Jon, I think?—is a party boy, but recently the paps photograph him with the same woman over and over again. People speculate he might finally be settling down. Not that I read the celebrity news rags. It’s just common knowledge. There’s no way NOT to know what the Ferros are doing. They’re the Ferro family.
    Peter clears his throat and leans his narrow hips against a desk as he forces the shredded letter back into his pocket. “I’m not here to hurt Nathan. He needed to know.”
    “Know what? What’s important and horrible enough to cause a reaction like that?” I point down the now empty hallway. Nathan is long gone.
    “His father’s final wish," Peter says, his eyes boring into mine with an unnerving intensity. "I don’t know what happened to his letter, but I think you'll agree this was the first time he's read its contents.” Peter suddenly closes his mouth and