My Son Read online

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  My Son

  by

  Marie Kelly

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or to actual events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  My Son

  Special Kindle Edition

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return it and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of the author.

  Copyright © 2011 Marie Kelly. All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book, or portions thereof, in any form. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical without the express written permission of the author. The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials.

  The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

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  ePublished and Distributed by: Amazon

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  www.romancemarie.com

  Marie Kelly

  Other tittles

  Blackmailed For The Billionaire’s Pleasure

  Captured

  Kidnapped The Wrong Sister

  Mia

  The Wedding Deal

  Blackmailed For Vengeance

  The Unwilling Mistress

  Chapter One

  The ringing doorbell had caused Kelly to start, the paintbrush in her hand jumping from the canvas before her. Stifling a curse which never made it to her soft red lips she had given a small laugh at herself, scolding herself for the way she always jumped when disturbed at her work. Rising quickly from her desk on which was scattered an assortment of brushes and paint pots she had half ran to answer the door.

  “What did you forget this time” she had exclaimed with a laugh in her voice, knowing that her friend Claire was always forgetting something, as she had opened the door with a flourish and a wide smile on her lovely face.

  However, the smile had frozen on her lips as she had seen who actually now stood on the doorstep, her eyes staring incredulously at him.

  The man was tall well over 6 feet, dark haired and breathtakingly handsome and Kelly had recognised him instantly. Staring, her heart had seemed to drop coldly within her stomach, as she had clung to the door, her legs starting to shake, feeling as though they might buckle under her at any moment.

  The man had taken in her panic and smiled coolly down at her.

  “Miss Brown” he drawled

  “My name is Marc De Santo…” he began, before she had finally managed to speak

  “I know who you are Mr De Santo” she had mustered, her voice cold and unfriendly

  Marc De Santo had frowned in return, his dark eyes taking on a harder glint as he had fixed her with as equally a cold look

  “Then..” he had said walking past her into the flat “You’ll know why I am here”, momentarily stopping to look down into her large blue eyes

  “I believe you have my child” he had stated flatly, before walking on.

  Kelly was aware of closing the door as in panic she had watched him move lithely down the small hall way into her living room, and her mind was transported to two weeks previously.

  Sitting in the lawyer’s office she had listened as the will of her friend had been read. Kelly had held back the tears at the loss of Trudy, killed the previous week in a terrible car accident caused by the driver of the car she was a passenger in. Her eyes had grown hard knowing that the driver had escaped with hardly a scratch while her poor friend and cousin, Trudy had been killed instantly. She remembered grimly how the driver had been more worried about his car than he had at having caused a person’s death, or having left a child motherless. Her blood had turned cold remembering how he had tried to blame Trudy for the accident claiming that she had grabbed the wheel “for no reason”, with little satisfaction knowing that the police had proven that he was 3 times over the limit for driving and had been assured that he would face serious charges with the death of his passenger. She had looked down sadly at her hands thinking how Trudy had no luck with her choice of men and wishing that things were different.

  “Now with regard to Max” the lawyer had read, Kelly’s head snapping up, pulled out of her melancholic thoughts. This was the part she was most interested in. Trudy had no real assets and owed more than she had in the bank. However, Max was by far her greatest treasure

  “It is my most ardent wish that my son Max be brought up by my next of kin, cousin and friend Kelly Brown. She has been more of a mother to him than I have ever been, and it is my wish that he stay with the person who will give him the happiest and most stable upbringing”

  Kelly remembered placing her hand to her mouth in a sob full of relief, and how finally the tears had started to roll down her cheek unchecked. Poor, poor Trudy she had cried while promising herself that she would bring up her young son to know his mother.

  She had remembered smiling with relief at her lawyer as she had asked him

  “Does that mean that Max will stay with me” the smile disappearing as he had shifted uneasily in his chair, Kelly knowing that there was a problem

  “Erm…well….” he had said uneasily

  “While your cousin is very clear about her wishes for her son, there is a natural father who needs to be contacted”

  Kelly had looked at him a note of disdain in her voice

  “I don’t think that we have to worry about the father” she had said

  “He doesn’t really care about Max, never has”

  “Never the less” the lawyer had continued

  “He will still have to be informed”. The elderly gentleman had smiled more gently at her and quietly added

  “Until then he will continue to reside with you and if as you say the father is not interested will then permanently live with you”

  Kelly had felt uncomfortable about having to inform him, she had known that Max was the son of the renowned playboy Marc De Santo, but whenever she had tried to bring up the subject to her cousin she had been told

  “He knows………he isn’t interested” by Trudy, who would then always change the subject, Kelly feeling sorry for her and the pain she must have felt knowing this, shocked and saddened as she had wondered sadly how anybody could not be interested in their own flesh and blood, especially a child like Max.

  She had met Marc on one brief occasion, but while she was sure that he would not have remembered her, she had never forgotten him, remembering how he had dominated the room and laughed easily while his breathtakingly beautiful date had clung on to him, as he worked the room.

  Thinking about Marc De Santo had made her angry and she had grown to despise the man who had abandoned her friend and his child, but knowing that he would be contacted about Trudy’s death had made her uneasy. However, as the weeks had slipped away, her uneasiness had disappeared and it was therefore with shock that she now found herself staring in disbelief at his back as he moved further into
her home.

  Closing the door, she had quickly caught up with him, reaching him as he had moved into her small sunny living room with light flooding in from the large bay windows.

  She had watched as his eyes moved around the room, taking in everything from the small shabby couch covered in bright cheerful throws to the many toys which littered the floor thrown there by eager little fingers, before his eyes had finally settled on her. She saw how they had slid over her, openly admiring her slender form.

  Inwardly Kelly had shivered as those dark eyes had bored into hers and held hers captive, remembering how Trudy had often spoken of how alluring Marc had been. Faced once more with him she once again felt the same quickening response as she had on their first meeting. He was the most perfect man she had ever seen. His wide shoulders tapered down to a slim waist, dressed in a suit which must have cost more money than she could make in a month, several months. However, he wore it with the air of somebody who was used to the better things in life, as indeed he was.

  His shining black hair was fashionably cut and tapered down neatly at the back of his neck, and she had swallowed uncomfortably aware of a quickening of her pulse as some of his fringe had fallen slightly over his eye giving him a boyish look which belied his true preditary nature. It was however, his eyes which had her holding her breath, the darkest eyes she had ever seen, framed with long lashes which seemed to glow dangerously, as he had looked around himself. Marc De Santo exuded power and wealth, which made her shiver slightly with an emotion she didn’t fully understand and she had once more thought that he was not a man who could ever be missed in any room.

  Kelly had become aware that she had been staring at him and that he was now watching her too, his eyes holding hers unblinkingly, and she had flushed as she saw the knowing smile on his lips and the mocking look in his eyes.

  “Well Miss Brown where is my son” he had said, his voice dangerously low.

  Kelly had looked around the room in panic, relieved that Max was not there, as she had prayed that her friend would not have forgotten anything, prayed that she would not return please, please, please dear God she had prayed silently.

  “I’m waiting” he had continued a note of impatience creeping into his tone

  “He… he isn’t here right now “Kelly had stammered softly, watching as Marc De Santo had moved over to an armchair and seated himself upon it.

  “And when will he be here” he had asked her calmly.

  “I don’t know” she lied, looking nervously at the man before her.

  Dark eyes had penetrated hers; cold ruthless eyes which she knew would be dangerous to those who crossed him.

  “You don’t know?” he sneered, his voice cold and brittle

  “Miss Brown”, he had punctuated each word with contempt “I was contacted by your lawyer to say that an old……...friend”, she had bristled at the way he had said the word

  “Trudy Brown had been killed.” He paused for a moment to take in the way her body had suddenly stiffened

  “And that she had a son…..my son” he stated still watching her with darkly hooded eyes which portrayed nothing of what he was thinking

  Kelly had nodded her head

  “There was a car accident….” She began before he had cut through her words

  “My son, a son I never knew I had”

  Kelly had looked at him in disbelief, remembering how Trudy had informed him that she was pregnant and had been told that it had nothing to do with him leaving her to raise her child alone.

  Before she could open her mouth he had risen quickly to his feet and stood before her his eyes now blazing down at her

  “I don’t take kindly to people passing off their children as mine” he had said in a low dark tone

  “Then I can only wonder why you are here at all” she had bitten back, anger finally taking hold of her

  “The only reason I am here” he had stated “was because I knew Trudy and wanted to find out for myself. However, if this is some kind of attempt to get money then you will be one very sorry girl” he had finished coldly

  Kelly had felt shaken by his words and confused. How could he deny that he did not know of Max, Trudy had promised her that she had informed him, not understanding his anger, or words of ignorance with regard to his son.

  “I don’t need your money Mr De Santo” she had shouted back at him

  “I would rather that you just left now and left me and Max to get on with our lives”

  He had stood silently for a few seconds his brow furrowed before in a cooler voice asking

  “Then why did I get a letter from your lawyer”

  Kelly still inwardly shaking had sighed

  “As the named father on max’s birth certificate you had to be informed” she had stated, raising her small chin in defiance

  “But we don’t need anything from you”

  Marc De Santo had looked at her for a long while, his eyes openly moving over her, taking in every detail from her honey gold hair which she had twisted into a bun and which was held firmly to her head by what looked like a pencil to her graceful slender neck. His eyes had flitted over her slim but curvatious figure, taking in the way that her young body stood rigid with anger, remembering her from the first time they had met. When she had first opened the door to him it had taken a great deal of self control to keep the surprised look from his face, and he was once more struck by how beautiful she looked.

  Kelly had flushed feeling self conscious and hating the fact that she was wearing an old t-shirt which clung to every part of her body along with old leggings which were covered in paint. She had tried to tell herself that she didn’t care if she looked to him as though she had just been dragged through a hedge backwards; however, something inside her had cringed as he had racked her contemptuously with those dark eyes, and raising her chin she had met his gaze.

  “Show me this birth certificate” he had finally stated, as silently with a last glare back at him, Kelly had turned and moved into her bedroom to retrieve a copy of Max’s birth certificate.

  “How do I know if this child is mine…” a voice behind her had began, as she had gasped, not aware that Marc had followed her into her room, turning abruptly at the sound of his voice.

  To her surprise he was stood transfixed at the door staring at a picture on the wall, a picture of a small boy who had the same dark eyes, dark hair and features of the man before her.

  He had moved closer to better examine the picture in greater detail, before finally speaking, his voice a little cracked

  “Who is this” he asked quietly his back to her, his body rigid, hands balled at his side

  “Max” she had said quietly.

  “How old is he” he had again asked as Kelly had once more answered, her voice softer looking at the picture of her beloved boy

  “11 months”

  Marc had muttered something incoherently under his breath before swinging around to face her, his dark eyes blazing brighter than she had ever thought would be possible

  “Where is he?” he had barked out with barely contained rage, as Kelly had stepped back, a flicker of fear now entering her eyes he had noted with some small satisfaction.

  “Where is my son?”

  “I told you” she had cried back at him “he isn’t here and I don’t know when he’ll be back” glaring back at him with as much courage as she could muster, her trembling hands which were now wrapped protectively around herself giving her away.

  “Is that his birth certificate” he had demanded, grabbing it from her fingers before she could stop him.

  “It’s a copy” she had responded although aware that he was now intently reading the document, shock filling his handsome features before, again he had sworn angrily under his breath before waving the document before her

  “Why?” he demanded “why did she never tell me”

  Kelly had finally found the courage to stand up to him

  “You knew” she had cried back, her f
ace shining with the anger she had always held for him

  “But you just left her to bring him up on her own”

  Marc De Santo had stared back at her in disbelief

  “I never knew. Do you think I would leave my son” he had looked around her flat again “…..here” he had said with no attempt to conceal his contempt

  Kelly didn’t know what to say. She hated this man so much. How dare he look down on her and the home she lived in, and how dare he look at her as though she was dirt under his feet.

  “Get out of my house” she had whispered angrily

  “Not without my son” he had snarled back, holding her angry gaze with his own.

  “I have legal guardianship” she had yelled “And you don’t even know if he is your son yet”

  Marc had looked back at the picture, a look of disbelief in his eyes

  However, glaring at her once more he had moved back down the hall to her doorway, pulling open the door before looking back at her

  “I will be back Miss Brown and next time I will be coming for my son”

  before slamming the door behind him

  As the door had closed with a loud bang, the sound had seemed to knock the wind from Kelly, who from standing rigid, bravely holding up her chin in defiance, had visibly crumbled, falling slowly to her knees, her shoulders slumping forward and the tears filling her lovely eyes.

  Oh God she had thought, please don’t take Max from me … not Max, tears now streaming unchecked down her face. Looking up at the picture of the small child she had so lovingly painted, her heart had beaten so fast with the panic which now swamped her at the thought of losing her little boy.

  Right from his birth it had been Kelly who had looked after him, as although she had loved her son, Trudy had never been overly maternal. She had been happy to let her cousin bring her son up while she continued to live her life the way she always had, attending parties with her many boyfriends. Naturally outgoing and beautiful, people, especially men had been attracted to Trudy and she in turn had enjoyed their attention. However, a rule Kelly had stuck to rigidly was that no men where ever allowed to stay over in the flat, which resulted in many nights and often whole days in which she was left to raise little Max on her own. Kelly had never blamed or judged her cousin for the way she lived her live, but had been thankful for the joy that Max had brought into her world, especially at such a dark period in her life.