There Goes My Life

Chapter 4

Tony and Tiffany walked through the door with Pepper and Happy following closely behind.

"Do you still need me boss?" Happy asked.

"No I'll call you tomorrow" Tony said.

"I can stay if you need me to stay" Pepper offered.

Her mind was reeling over the fact that Tony had a teenage daughter. She was trying to wrap her mind around it. And the fact that he was oddly calm about it was even more unsettling

"I'd appreciate that" he said as he went to his mini bar to pour another whiskey.

"Tony?" Tiffany said.

Tony looked over at his daughter with soft eyes and smiled. He was still in awe of her.

"What is it? Do you need something?" he asked.

"My mom told me to give this to you. They're photos of me. One from every year of my life" she said handing him an envelope.

Tony opened it and smiled as he leafed through the photos. The site of her as a baby nearly brought a tear to his eyes. His was still very much in disbelief but didn't have the time to adjust. This was serious and he needed to protect his daughter.

"You were a beautiful baby and you're beautiful now" he said putting them back on the table.

She smiled at him and stood their awkwardly. Neither of them knew what to say.

"Pepper can you get Tiffany situated in whatever bedroom she chooses. I have something to take care of" he said as he brought his drink with him into his home office.

He turned on his lamp and flopped down on the chair. He grabbed the letter Rachel had given him and put it in front of him. This was it. He was going to find the closure he needed. He opened it slowly. He felt as if he was about to read something that would determine whether he was going to live or die.

Dear Tony,
Let me start by apologizing for leaving the way I did. It all started when I missed my period. I bought one of those home pregnancy tests and it came back positive. I took three more and all had the same results. What I didn't know the third time was that my mother was home and she saw the stick in the garbage. I came from a broken home and so my mother saw this as an opportunity. She called your father up immediately and demanded he pay for the child. He agreed to it on one condition. His condition was that we disappeared effective immediately without you ever knowing about the baby. He felt as though it would distract you from school and taking over his company. As far as I know this was your fathers sole decision and your mother didn't even know I was pregnant. My mother locked me in a room while she got the money from your father and virtually packed up what little we had. She let me out and dragged me into the van and we left. I remember crying for the entire ride. I cried and cried for days. My heart was broken so badly. We lived in our car for a while and then when we settled she kept me locked away in a room with no phone. And she destroyed all the letters I tried to write to you. And then I met Greg. He was a nice enough guy and he adopted Tiffany as his own when she was a baby. She loved him and always thought he was her father. My mother never gave me a dime of the money your father had given her for Tiffany. So when I met Greg I saw an opportunity. I learned to love him but never the way I loved you. Tony you were my one true love. At this point in time he had gotten himself into some shady business and I thought it was even more dangerous at that point to reach out to you. For her and for you. I thought someone may kidnap her and hold her for ransom since you have money if they knew she was yours. I wanted you to succeed and do great things. And you did. You have achieved such wonderful things. You became Iron Man. This is no way justifies my actions but I thought you deserved to know. I did what I thought was best and I apologize. And that's why I need you to protect Tiffany. My husband was killed and we witnessed it. We have been on the run since and they are trying to kill us. No one knows you're her father except my mother and your father and both of them are dead. I'm trusting you to keep her safe. I'm not going to make it back Tony. I'm tired of running. Please tell Tiffany how much I love her. Our child was made from the truest, purest love anyone could ever have. Take care of yourself Tony.