False Foundation

The first thing he said was unexpected.

Not a defense. Not the opening move of someone positioning for strategic advantage. Something much simpler and therefore much harder.

"I knew Dante wasn't my father," he said. "Before Crest. Before any of it."

Lenora looked at him.

Leona was very still.

"How long?" said Lenora.

"Since I was twenty-two," he said. "I had the DNA tested independently. Without t