It’s another truth. A harmless one. But if I play it right, these little truths will pay big dividends. I have Rooney looking into her background, but if I can put Piper at ease and get something out of her now, all the better.
“Sergey needed an heir, and he didn’t want a wife,” I continue. “Having a bastard was an option, but an inconvenient one. Taking in an orphan solved his problem. There was no one else to claim me.”
“An orphan…” she says softly, her voice trailing off. “I guess that means…”
“Dead parents.” I hold up two fingers. “Count ‘em.”
Her face creases into a wince. “Both of them? I’m so sorry. Life isn’t easy without your parents.”
It’s been years. Decades. Still, the question prickles at something sensitive in my chest. The guard I lowered earlier snaps back into place.
