Jason swallowed his anger. "What did you do?"
"I refused to let you ruin what I worked so hard to accomplish. It took years, but I made the name Kingsley respected and powerful."
"Answer my question," Jason demanded. "What did you do?"
"I needed Beth to stay in Serenity Bay. I'd made plans for her, and they didn't include leaving town with the son of the town drunk. Although if I'd known how much money you'd be worth, I would have sent her to you gift wrapped."
"How did you keep her here?"
Archer wore a cocky smirk. "You didn't know I pulled the strings while the two of you danced like mindless puppets. It's too bad you came back. But then if you hadn't, I wouldn't be able to gloat about besting the great J.D. Richards."
"You're boring me." Jason sat back. "You know what we want. What will it cost us?"
Beth stared at him. He squeezed her hand and hoped she'd let him handle Archer. She pressed into his side but didn't say a word.
Archer rubbed his hands together. "I have a project and need a partner to underwrite it. I want your financial backing. In exchange, I'll give you my files about Elizabeth and five percent ownership."
"What will this generous offer cost, two million or five?"
Archer smirked. "It's a bargain at twenty-five million dollars."
Jason bit his tongue. If he didn't, he'd tell Archer what he thought of him. Instead, he asked, "Would this be the project in Chicago?"
"That's the one."
Jason stared at Archer's smarmy smile. "Don't you care that you're breaking Beth's heart. This isn't the whim of a young girl. She deserves to know her son."
"I don't give a damn what Elizabeth wants. I won't let her humiliate this family."
"But, if I give you twenty-five million dollars, you'll tell us what we need to know?"
Archer shrugged.
"I've heard enough. Your reputation is well-deserved. You are a greedy bastard."
Beth gasped and turned to Jason.
Did she believe Archer would give them the information they wanted? He'd take the money and never tell them what he knew. Archer didn't want them to find Daniel. He wanted the money.
"It's time to leave." Jason stood and held his hand out to Beth. He held his breath and hoped she didn't fight him. Archer would use their disagreement to drive a wedge between them. After a brief moment of hesitation, she took his hand.
They went to Deidre. She looked heartbroken.
Beth leaned over and kissed her cheek. "I'll call you."
He took Beth's arm and led her from the house. Her back was rigid. Jason expected anger and accusations, but he hadn't expected this icy detachment. He called to her, but she didn't respond. Then they pulled out of the driveway, and she attacked.
"You said you'd do anything to find Daniel. Father offered the information, and a share of his project, but you refused the offer. Why? You promised we'd find Daniel, but we'll never find him without his help."
"Archer's offer is a way to extort money. He has no intention of giving us the names we need even if we pay him the twenty-five million dollars."
"He would tell us."
"No, he wouldn't. He wants to get the money he needs to stay out of prison." Jason's hands tightened on the steering wheel. "Once he has the money, he'd use some excuse not to give us the information he promised."
"Prison? What do you mean?"
"His Chicago project, the one he wants me to invest in, is in financial trouble. There isn't enough money to complete the project. There's talk he's been siphoning funds out of the building accounts and putting it in his own pocket. The project is almost bankrupt. He's sold shares in the venture equal to over one hundred and twenty percent. That doesn't include the five percent he offered me."
"You're wrong. He isn't a crook." Her voice quivered.
"I hate to say this about your father, but you must know he doesn't have a good reputation. He's not known for honesty or fair play. My investigator, Jackson, checked, and what he learned was not flattering. Archer doesn't just bend the rules, he stomps on them." In his report, Jackson said Kingsley used lies and blackmail to force others to comply. He would cheat or steal to get what he wanted, usually power and money. And didn't care who got hurt.
"You're wrong." She pressed her hands to her temples. "I know he operates close to the edge, but that's not illegal."
Jason couldn't have felt guiltier if he'd pulled the wings off a butterfly. To protect Beth from Archer's manipulations, she needed to know the truth about her father and his lack of ethics. Fifteen minutes later, he parked in his drive. Beth jumped out of the car and rushed into the house.
He raced after her. "Beth, let's have a drink."
"I'm going to bed."
Jason needed to explain why he refused to get involved in the Chicago project, and why Archer's demand was unreasonable. "We need to talk—"
Lupita walked out of the kitchen. "Mr. Michael phoned. He asked that you call no matter what time you got home."
Beth's face lit with hope, and she grabbed his arm. "Maybe he knows where Daniel is living."
"Thank you, Lupita." He led Beth to his office. "We'll call him, but first let's make you comfortable."
She sat on the sofa and kicked off her shoes. With a sigh, she put her legs up and pulled a throw over them.
Jason went to the liquor cabinet and poured two glasses of cognac. "Gabriel couldn't have found him so soon. But even if it's bad news, we'll keep searching. I promised we'd find Daniel and intend to keep that pledge."
Her eyes looked haunted. "I don't know what to believe anymore."
"Gabriel won't give up until he finds Daniel, and neither will we. If he runs into a roadblock, he'll go around it, roll over it, or destroy it. That's why he's the best."
"How do you know?"
"I recognize the same stubborn determination in him that I see in the mirror every morning."
Beth's lips curled at the corners. It wasn't her usual happy smile, the one that made her eyes sparkle, but at least it was a smile.
He went to the telephone and dialed.
After one ring, he heard, "Glad you got my message."
Gabriel's lack of greeting didn't surprise him. He wasn't a man who spent time on social pleasantries.
"Beth is with me, and I have the speaker on so we can both hear you. Do you have news about Daniel?"
"Not yet, but something happened, and I thought you should know."
Jason's instincts shifted into overdrive. "What?"
"I stopped at the county offices to look for Daniel's records. On my way back to the hotel, I stopped for supper. While I ate, a man approached. He said his employer wants me to give up my search for Daniel."
Jason considered his options.
Gabriel said, "If I agree to walk away from the case, I'd be well-paid."
"Did he tell you who hired him?" Jason grimaced.
"I asked, but he didn't say. He told me to say I couldn't find your son, and it's a waste of money to continue my search."
Beth gasped.
Jason rubbed a hand over his chin. Those were the same words used by the investigators who dropped her case.
Gabriel said, "I asked about the money. He said the other investigators hadn't complained about the amounts of their payments."
Could they convince Michael to stick with their case by offering more money? "What did you tell him?"
Gabriel didn't hesitate. "The same thing I told you. I never give up an investigation once I agree to handle it."
If he wasn't calling to resign from the case, what was on his mind?
"How did he take your refusal?"
"He tried to change my mind. Soon he gave up and walked out." Gabriel chuckled. "When I left the restaurant, the nice man was waiting for me and tried some not-so-subtle persuasion. He now understands that I don't want his money. I don't expect to hear from him again, but you should take precautions in case he tries to persuade you or Beth to give up your search."
"Understood. Marco, my head of security, is already here. The rest of my security team is at my home in Illinois, but I'm sure they'll enjoy a visit to Serenity Bay."
Gabriel chuckled. "An excellent idea. I'll call in a few days." He ended the call.
The color drained from Beth's face. "Who would try to force Gabriel to give up our case? Why would anyone want to keep us from finding our baby?"
"Beth, we want to believe our fathers are honorable men who love us. But they aren't all candidates for Father of the Year."
"Archer would never do what you're suggesting. You assume the worse of everyone. I told you I didn't write those letters, but you thought I'd lied." She shivered. "Now you want me to believe my father wants to sabotage our search."
"You heard what he said. He 'pulled our strings like puppets' to keep you from leaving town. He cleaned up our mess and made sure we wouldn't be able to find Daniel. Those aren't the actions of a loving father."
"You're wrong. He's not heartless. He can't be." Beth waved her hands. "It doesn't matter. All I care about is finding my son."
"You mean our son, don't you?" A dark shadow fell over Jason's face.
"Yes, our son."
"I won't let you keep me away from Daniel."
"I'm not trying to exclude you. Can you say the same?" She jumped to her feet and ran from the room.
Daniel cried. She turned in a circle, but couldn't find him.
"You threw him away." The contempt in Jason's words sent shivers over her skin. "Now, he's mine, and you'll never see him again."
She ran toward his voice until she reached the edge of a murky void. The ground under her feet crumbled, and she fell… "No!"
Beth's eyes snapped open. Her lungs burned, and she inhaled a desperate breath. The nightgown she wore clung to her sweat-soaked skin. Hands shaking, it took several tries to get the twisted sheet off her legs and stumble to the bathroom.
Beth clung to the counter and stared into the mirror. The color had drained from her skin, and her eyes were filled with fear. She couldn't lose Daniel again.
With a dampened washcloth, she wiped the sweat from her body. After she put on a fresh gown and changed the sheets, she crawled into bed to spend another night reading. She huffed and rolled her eyes. Her books were at her parent's house.
Beth bit her lip. Why had she argued with Jason? Her whole life she wanted her father's love and approval, but she never got either. Archer admitted he'd manipulated them to keep her in town. Her shoulders slumped. It was time to admit the truth. The only person Archer cared about was himself.
But was Jason any different? Did he still think she'd hid her pregnancy? Could he believe she would keep his son from him? She wanted his trust, but how could he give something he didn't have. All the lies and manipulation from the past continued to plague their lives.
Her eyes widened. She could prove she'd tried to tell him the truth. In her attic were boxes of mementos from her time with Jason. She'd kept the letters he sent her, and the letters that she'd sent were returned.
She checked the time. Ten minutes to three. She never slept after a nightmare. Instead of counting the seconds until morning, she could go home to get the proof Jason needed.
Beth dressed and grabbed her purse. Wait, no car. Jason's car was in the garage, and he left his keys on the table in the front hall. If she got back before anyone woke, no one would know she'd borrowed his car.
Unable to sleep, Jason woke early and went to work in the study. Although he had his coffee, he waited to eat breakfast with Beth. He owed her an apology. Archer might not be the best father, but he was the only one she had.
The grandfather clock chimed nine times. She never slept this late. They both liked to start their days early. At nine-forty-five, too impatient to wait any longer, he went to her bedroom. Was she so angry she'd skip breakfast? It didn't matter, she needed to eat.
He knocked on her bedroom door. No answer. He knocked again. "Beth?" No response. Was she still asleep, or didn't she want to talk to him? He opened the door. She wasn't in bed. He checked the bathroom. She wasn't there.
Had she left? Had she been that angry? He checked the closet and dresser drawers. Her clothes were there. Where did she go? He rushed downstairs to ask Lupita if she'd seen her. The doorbell rang as he reached the last stair. He didn't have the time or patience to welcome visitors. He pulled the door open.
Beth. Dust covered her clothes and hair. Along the side of her nose was a streak of dirt. She looked adorable.
Jason heaved a relieved sigh then bellowed, "Where have you been?"
"Home. I remembered these boxes in my attic and wanted to show them to you."
He looked at the boxes she held. "How did you get home?"
She held out his keys.
"The doctor hasn't cleared you to drive."
With a grin, she said, "I won't tell if you don't."
He took the boxes from her. "Why couldn't you wait for Marco to take you home?"
"I wanted to get these boxes. Before we go through them, I need to shower. Would you ask Lupita to bring us coffee?"
"What's in the boxes?"
"I won't be long."
He sighed. "I'll put these in my study."
She grabbed his arm. "Promise you won't open them without me."
"I promise."
Beth ran up the stairs, and he went to the study. What was so important that she'd driven home to get? He set the boxes next to the sofa and returned to his desk. As Beth suggested, he called Lupita to ask her to bring coffee and pastries to the office.
He lifted an eyebrow when Beth returned fifteen minutes later. She must have taken the fastest shower of her life, which couldn't have been easy with her arm in a cast.
When he saw the buttons on her blouse, he coughed. She looked at her clothes. With a roll of her eyes, she redid the mismatched buttons.
She shut and locked the door. Then she poured coffee and asked, "Do you want a cup?"
"Yes. Thank you." When she sat next to him, he said, "Tell me about the boxes."
"These are mementos. Reminders I kept from our time together and couldn't throw away." She stared into her coffee. "I kept the letters you sent me from Minneapolis and the ones I sent you that were returned unopened."
His eyes widened. "You kept them even though you thought I'd walked out on you?"
She shrugged and opened the first box. "These were memories of the best days of my life."
Inside was a deep wooden frame covered with glass—a memory box. Jason reached to lift it out but stopped. He looked at Beth and asked, "Okay?"
She nodded.
With great care, he pulled out the keepsake. In it was a withered red rose and a dusty white lace handkerchief with Beth's initials embroidered on it. He ran his hand over the glass.
He'd given her the rose, and her grandmother gave her the handkerchief, for her sixteenth birthday. She'd put the birthday cards they'd given her in the box too. She took it from him and set it to the side.
Then he pulled out a stack of letters. They were the ones he sent after moving to Minneapolis. A pink lace ribbon held the bundle together. He remembered the ribbon. It was one of the handfuls he'd bought her at the Renaissance Fair.
She smiled. "Do you remember the weekend we drove to the cities to go to the festival?"
"I wanted to buy you a necklace, but you asked for the ribbons." He stopped and stared at her. "Why did you keep them?"
"I believed in our dreams and thought we could make them real. After you left, I didn't want them to die."
Beth returned the letters to the box. She put the cover on, and Jason set it on the floor. Then he set the other box on the table and waited while she opened it. On top was another stack of letters, but this time a black ribbon bound them. His name was on the top letter and next to it were the words, Moved, Left No Address.
Jason lifted out the bundle and ran his fingers over the letters.
She swallowed the lump in her throat. "I want you to read them."
He set them on the table. "These are private. I don't have the right—"
"I wrote those letters to you. If anyone has a right to read them, it's you." She stood. "I think I'll lie by the pool."
Jason's gut wrenched when she walked out. He'd returned to Serenity Bay to find out her secrets and make her pay for destroying his dreams. Again and again, she'd proclaimed her innocence, but he never believed her. To prove she hadn't lied, Beth brought him pieces of the past. His answers were here if he was strong enough to confront the truth.
He untied the faded, black ribbon and ruffled through the stack. The letters were stamped, Moved, Left No Address. It must have broken her heart to write to him only to have the letters returned. His heart ached, but he opened the first letter.
In it, Beth said she counted the days until he returned. She told him her grandmother was ill, but they planned to have a dinner to celebrate her graduation when she felt better. Excitement came through every word she wrote when she talked about their plans to marry and build a new life in Minneapolis. She told him she missed him and signed the letter—Love, Beth.
In every letter, she wrote of her love for him. When she told him about the pregnancy, her joy came through in each word she wrote. She begged him to come for her. He had to take a deep breath when she assured him they could raise their baby with the love and laughter they didn't have in their childhoods.
Then he read the letter she'd written the day he'd gone to confront her. Beth begged for his forgiveness. She wrote that Archer had threatened to have him arrested if she didn't send him away, and she'd been trying to protect him.
Please come for me. I love you and our baby. Archer has ordered me to place the baby for adoption. Don't let them take our baby.
Jason wiped a hand over his face. He'd been so wrong. Beth had needed him, and he'd failed her. When she sent him away, he'd felt betrayed. Her reward for protecting him had been his lack of faith and contempt. He'd been a fool.
He continued to read her words but frowned when the tone of her letters changed. She worried that something had happened to him. He didn't call or write, and her letters were being returned. She needed him to come back before Archer forced her to give up their baby.
He cringed when he read how she'd run away. She left with no money or clothes, only a desperate need to keep their baby. But the guard Archer had hired, found her and dragged her back to the Boston apartment.
Please help us. I won't ask you to take care of us, but I can't get away without help. I want to keep my baby. Please come to Boston before it's too late. Beth.
His heart bled for the girl who'd been so alone. He held the last letter. His chest was tight with fear. Did her have the courage to read the last letter?
After what he'd put Beth through, she deserved her pound of flesh. He pulled the letter from the envelope.
They took our baby. Now I've lost both of you. The pain makes it hard to breathe. Nothing matters anymore. I wish you loved me the way I love you. Goodbye. Beth.
J.D. Richards' heart bled, and the words on the letter became a watery blur.
A few months ago a letter invited him back to Serenity Bay to learn a secret. He'd returned to make Beth pay for destroying his dreams. Now he knew she'd been the one who had been betrayed. She'd withstood more pain and sorrow than any person should endure in a lifetime.
Not once during the time they'd been together had she belittled him or judged him unworthy. But at the first test of their love, he'd believed the worst. The day he went to see her, she'd been hesitant, wary. He’d decided she didn't want to see him. It had been so easy to believe she'd lied and made a fool of him.
Jason went to the patio doors and looked at Beth. She'd been so young and innocent when they met. He'd wondered how she could care for him, a damaged boy with no future. But her devotion never wavered and made him want to be worthy of her love.
Now her skin glistened in the midday sun, and her hair curled around her face like the halo of light she'd had the first time he'd seen her. She had always been lovely, but now she possessed a body he wanted to explore for the rest of his life.
Jason went to where she lay sleeping and watched her. At eighteen, Beth hadn't been strong enough to stand and fight her parents, but that hadn't stopped her from trying. Not until Archer threatened him, had she obeyed. She’d done all she could to protect him.
He was careful not to wake her as he lifted her into his arms. She snuggled closer. When she murmured his name, he smiled and admitted what he'd always known. He fell in love with Beth the day he saw her in the park, and he'd love her until the day he died.
Could they put the lies and manipulation behind them? He laid her on the bed. Did she still love him, was that why she'd given him the letters? He wanted to know because walking away was not an option.
Beth stretched and burrowed into the softness under her. Her eyes opened. She'd been on a lounge chair by the pool. How had she gotten to her bed? Jason.
She rolled onto her back. The silk sheet slid over her skin—her naked skin. Her cheeks heated. Jason must have removed her bathing suit. Her cheeks burned. He'd already seen her without clothes, but that had been in the heat of passion. Had he noticed the extra ten pounds she wanted to lose or the way her stomach rounded after their son's birth?
Her stomach growled. She looked at the clock. Past midnight. She'd missed supper and her stomach demanded food. Lupita kept the refrigerator filled with snacks and had told her to help herself.
She put on her favorite nightgown, a figure-hugging, silk floor-length negligee with tight fitted sleeves. She loved the lush fabric brushing over her skin. Although it wasn't as luscious as Jason's mouth sliding over her body. Her stomach rumbled again. Food.
Beth went to the kitchen. Instead of disturbing the night with harsh of lights, she used the light of the moon to find her way. When she opened the refrigerator, the light went on and she hunted for a snack. Cheesecake. Yummy. It was in a Delectable Delights box, so it must be one of Erik's creations.
She turned to get a knife and collided with a wall of hard muscle. Jason. Embarrassed to be caught raiding the refrigerator, she mumbled, "I was hungry."
She looked at him and felt the heat of a blush wash over her face. He wore slacks with no shirt or shoes. His hair was a sexy mess as though he'd just gotten out of bed. She swallowed. No man should look so delicious.
He nodded. "I'm not surprised."
"You're not?"
"You haven't eaten all day. I tried to wake you for dinner, but you made it clear you didn't want to be disturbed." He grinned. "You were snoring when I left your room."
She giggled. "I don't snore."
"Yes, you do. It's a cute little noise, but definitely a snore."
She tilted her head and smiled. "Do you want a piece of cheesecake?"
"Yes. I'll have coffee with mine." He asked, "Do you want a cup?"
"Is there enough for both of us?"
"Lupita makes a fresh pot if I work late." He walked to the opposite counter. "I'll pour the coffee while you cut the cheesecake."
They worked together to put the cheesecake and coffee on the table. He lit a candle and set it on the table next to a peach rose in a crystal bud vase.
With everything on the table, they sat next to each other. Beth took a bite of cheesecake, closed her eyes, and savored the flavor of the caramel macchiato cheesecake. "I love Erik's cheesecake. He tries new combinations and creates desserts that are decadent. I told him he has to stop or I'll weigh two hundred and fifty pounds."
"Lupita is still worried you aren't eating enough and called the shop. They put together a bag of goodies to tempt you. I guess it worked." Jason took a slow, deep breath. "Why didn't you show me the letters sooner?"
Beth shrugged. "It felt like you wanted to blame me. Besides, I wasn't sure they would change your mind."
"You were right."
She dropped her head and stared at the table to hide the pain those words inflicted. "You still think I’m lying?"
"No, that's not what I meant." He shifted in his seat. "I made you prove you were telling the truth, but I expected you to believe everything I said. I demanded your trust, but never gave mine in return. Can you forgive me?"
"Do you believe me now? Even the things I can't prove?"
"I do."
"Why?" She narrowed her eyes. "Because of the letters?"
"The letters proved what I already knew, but didn't want to admit. You're the same person I met twelve years ago. The one person who never cared who my parents were, or where I lived."
"Those things never mattered. Besides, my father may not have hit me, but he stomped all over my self-confidence."
He grimaced. "It's true that Archer manipulated us, but he wouldn't have succeeded if I'd had more faith in you."
"My loving father. All my life I wanted his love and approval but was never good enough to satisfy him. I thought the fault was mine. That, if I tried harder, I could make him care." She heaved a heavy sigh. "Now I wonder if he ever loved me."
"Don't waste your concern on him. He's not worth it." Jason pulled her onto his lap. "We'll find Daniel, and we won't let Archer stop us. Now that we know what he's done, we won't let him manipulate us any longer. Although there's one question I would like answered."
"What's that?"
"Who sent the anonymous letter and why?"