The Billionaire Playboy’s Secret Family
Chapter 50

As soon as the door shut Regina felt three pairs of eyes zero on her. She knew this was coming. Gabriella was happy enough and simply accepted Marcus's presence supplying her own narrative. The other three would demand answers. They would want to know who he was and where he came from and if he really was coming back. But she wasn't ready...not yet. "Well...I'm going to hop into the shower," Regina announced. "Finish your breakfast and play nice until I'm done."

She made a hasty retreat earning disgruntled looks from the boys. They didn't believe for a minute that she wanted a shower. She only wanted to escape from their questions but they would bide their time. Their mother couldn't run forever. They looked to their older sister expecting her to have the same determination.

Savannah's expression was pensive. Her mind was racing. How did he know her name? While it was certainly probable her mother talked about her there was something familiar about him, like she met him before...but where?

"Who was that guy?" Carlos asked as the brothers joined their sisters at the table.

"He's our daddy!" Gabriella proudly declared. "I told you he visited me in the hospital."

"Don't be stupid," Tony scoffed.

"He did so!" Gabriella insisted.

"It might not be as crazy as it sounds," Savannah said.

"Seriously?" Carlos asked. "Him?"

"You two didn't notice the resemblance?" Savannah asked. "He looks just like you two...or you look like him technically."

The boys shared dubious looks.

"And I think I met him before," Savannah said.

"Where?" Tony asked.

"Hold on. I'm trying to think."

The brothers were impatient but they knew better than to rush their sister while she was contemplating a problem. She was always thorough when it came to solving an issue. Though she might be slower than they liked she was never wrong.

"It was a place with a lot of people. I think we shook hands...Oh! The science fair!" Savannah suddenly exclaimed. "He was there. He was one of the judges." "The judges?" Carlos asked.

Since they had been running late they missed that portion of the event though it hardly mattered to them. They assumed their sister's project would be the winner so it was no surprise to them when they saw her ribbon and trophy. In fact they would have been more shocked if she hadn't won. That being said they didn't recall seeing any judges.

"Yeah. The judges were the school superintendent, Doctor Schrodin and...Mark-Marcus Ever-Ava-Aviary."

"Marcus Aviary?" Tony repeated. "Sounds like a douche."

"Where's mom's phone?" Savannah asked annoyed by her brother's commentary.

Tony retrieved it from the kitchen counter and handed it over. It was times like these Savannah wished she had her own computer but it simply wasn't going to happen anytime soon. She glanced at Gabriella. Once when she was little and the triplets were still just babies she had resented the fact that they took so much of her mother's time.

She resented it so much in fact she wished that they would go away. Then Gabriella's health began to take a turn and she began falling behind her brothers. Her breathing became harsher. She couldn't run around like the other kids. It was like life was slowly being sucked out of her. Savannah suddenly found herself afraid. What did she do to her baby sister?

Savannah tried every trick she could to take back her wish but Gabriella still got worse. Eventually she figured out it was a medical condition but somehow that knowledge didn't alleviate her guilt for having the wish in the first place. She tried to make up for it by helping her mother any way she could in taking care of her siblings.

This time was no different. If this man really was the triplets' father, if he could help in any way she had to know. There had to be a reason why their mother would keep such a secret. Savannah hated the idea of breaking her mother's trust but there were some things that were more important. Gabriella's health came first. But first she had to figure out who this man was and if he could really help. Luckily her mother's phone was capable of simple searches.

"Marcus Aviary," Savannah said after a moment. "Oh. It's Avery, not Aviary. I suppose that makes sense."

"You mean you actually found him?" Carlos asked.

Savannah showed them the pictures that came up under his name to confirm it was the same person. The photos were not always the best quality and he seemed a bit younger but it was definitely him. Judging by the headlines he had quite a reputation. Savannah frowned. That wasn't exactly the kind of person she hoped her siblings' father would be but the headlines were old so perhaps he wasn't like that anymore.

"So who is he?" Tony shrugged.

"It says he is the only son of Mason and Cybil Avery and the sole heir to the Avery estate."

"Estate?" Carlos repeated. "You mean, he's like rich?"

"I mean very rich," Savannah corrected. "Looks like his family owns a bunch of hospitals and medical research labs...including the Children's Hospital. It says here Marcus Avery was recently put in charge of it. So...he could have visited Gaby after all." "Told you so," Gabriella happily chirped.

She had always possessed an ample imagination which made her siblings doubt her sincerity when it came to reality but now they had no argument. It seemed unlikely such a man would make time to see one little girl even if she was a patient at his family's hospital but Gabriella's insistence gave them something to think about.

"So he was one of the judges at the science fair and he might have visited Gaby when she was in the hospital," Carlos said.

"He did!" Gabriella pouted upset they still didn't take her word.

"So what's his deal?" Carlos asked. "Why would he make time for us? How could he have met mom and have us? And where has he been the last five years?"

"Europe," Savannah answered.

The brothers looked at her in confusion.

"This article says he recently returned to New York after an extended stay in Europe where he was honing his business skills in preparation for taking over after his grandfather."

"That still doesn't explain how he met mom," Tony said.

"I bet it was at a function Aunt Nata catered," Savannah replied. She rolled her eyes when her brothers shared confused looks. "Don't you pay attention to anything? Aunt Nata said she has a bunch of rich clients."

The boys slowly grasped what their sister implied. The Avery family could be one of their aunt's clients and since their mother worked for their aunt that would explain how she would have met Marcus. It still left a lot of unanswered questions but what if he really was their father? Their mother had never spoken a word about him to anyone, not even her sister or mother. All she ever told the kids was that he left and would probably never come back.

But what if their father was rich?

They couldn't help but look around the cramped apartment. Though they never complained there were a lot of things they wished they had a lot of things they did without. Perhaps if their father was around it would change how their grandfather saw them. What if?

And just what should they do with this information?

"Is there any way to prove it?" Carlos asked.

"The quickest way would be to ask mom...but I don't think she'll want to answer," Savannah sighed.

Their mother kept her secrets close to her heart. The only reason Savannah knew so much about her own biological father was because of her aunt and great-aunts gossiping about him. They tried not to talk in front of her but she had sharp hearing and her curiosity spurned her to listen. It was a different story with Carlos, Tony and Gabriella's father. No one knew who he was but their mother.

"If we found out his blood-type we could match it against mom and yours," Savannah said. "That would at least tell us if it was possible. But to actually prove it we would need a paternity test."

"What's that?"

"They take blood from all of you, mom and him and sequence the DNA."

"And that would tell us if he is our father?"

"It would give a percentage of likelihood...like a ninety-five percent chance he is the father or something like that."

"Okay, let's do that," Carlos said.

"Dummy, we can't," Savannah shook her head. "We would need trained technicians and lab equipment."

"So...what are we going to do?" Tony asked.