~ Clay

“John and my sister were never married,” Nora states shortly after Andrea, Rose and I arrive, she and Gavin already having been waiting in our living room.

I look at Nora in shock then glance at Gavin, his silence confirming what she had just said.

What? How is this possible?

“I thought it was suspicious to not find a wedding picture of them while I was here,” Nora says. “So I decided to do some research of my own and I discovered that they weren’t married.”

“But John is Rose’s father?” I ask, glancing at Gavin again.

“Who knows?” Nora shrugs. “For all we know, your friend simply took her in out of pity and then after she died giving birth, she made him promise to take care of her child and he did, treating the child as his own, taking her as his own.”

“That’s absurd,” I say even as I know it’s possible.

John was that kind of man, after all.

“Surely, we can conduct a paternity test to prove it,” Andrea speaks for the first time, shock written all over her face even as she holds Rose close to her. “I know John’s gone but there must be something here with his DNA. There must be some way…”

“Even if we can prove John is the father, if he and Karen weren’t married, Karen has full custody of the child,” Gavin says, standing up.

“But Karen’s gone!” Andrea’s shaky voice goes up a notch.

“And I’m her sister,” Nora says. “I’m her closest living relative left so I get custody of the child. You and Mr. Maxwell have no right to keep her.”

Andrea falls silent, her face growing pale.

I look at Gavin, this time glaring at him.

“I’m afraid she’s right,” Gavin says, exhaling. “John never had the right to keep her and so he didn’t have the right to say who should be responsible for her, after his death.”

I frown. “But John was the one who took care of her after Karen died.” I glare at Nora. “Doesn’t that account for something?”

“I’m very grateful,” Nora says. “He must have been a good man. Still, that doesn’t mean what he did was right.”

“You’re saying he should have just left the child to die.”

“He should have given the child to me.” Nora squares her shoulders. “As you should now.”

“No!” Andrea shrieks, hugging Rose.

“Mommy Andrea?” Rose asks her, confused.

“She’s not your Mommy, Rose,” Nora tells her, kneeling in front of her. “Your true Mommy is gone. Since I’m her sister, I’ll be taking care of you now.”

Rose just looks at her, even more confused.

Nora stands up in front of Andrea. “Let her go.”

Andrea shakes her head.

Nora draws a deep breath. “Don’t make this harder than it has to be.”

Reluctantly, Andrea lets Rose go. Nora carries her.

“Mind you, I could have you both charged with kidnapping,” Nora threatens. “But I won’t as long as you stay away from her from now on.”

Andrea just shakes her head in dismay, tears streaking down her cheeks.

My jaw clenches. I hate seeing her like this. There’s nothing I can do, though. Even I don’t want Nora to take Rose away but there’s nothing I can do. Except for one thing.

“If you leave Rose with us, I’ll pay you ten million dollars.”

Her jaw drops.

Gavin places a hand on my shoulder. “Clay…”

“Or do you want twenty?”

Nora shakes her head. “My niece is not for sale.”

“Fifty then? Think of what you can do with the money.”

She shakes her head again.

“You know Andrea can take better care of her needs. You know we can give her a better life.”

“But that’s not yours to give,” Nora says. “And I’ve said all I came to say. Goodbye.”

She heads to the door, Rose, who is still shocked and speechless, in her arms.

I want to stop her. I want to go after her and pry Rose away from her arms. How dare she take Rose away from us?

But she can. And she’s done it. And there’s nothing more I can do.

Fuck.

As soon as Nora’s gone, Andrea runs upstairs. I cast a meaningful glance at Gavin, silently telling him not to go anywhere, then I run after my wife. She goes inside our bedroom, throwing herself on the bed where she grabs a pillow and sobs. I sit beside her, pulling her into my arms.

I long to tell her something but nothing comes out of my mouth. What can I tell her? That there’s nothing we can do even though she’s already fully aware of that? That everything will be alright when I know there’s little chance of that? That I’m sorry even though none of this is my fault?

I have no words.

“How can Nora do that?” Andrea asks between sobs, apparently still having some of her own. “I thought she cared about Rose. Can’t she see that Rose is already a part of our family? Didn’t she see the look on Rose’s face?”

“I know.” I rub Andrea’s back. “She’s a monster. She’s never cared about Rose.”

I don’t know what she’s after or what she’s trying to accomplish by this but I mean to find out.

“Please tell me this is a nightmare. Please wake me up. I can’t bear it.”

And I can’t bear to see her suffering like this but I can’t lie to her. This isn’t a nightmare. It’s real. And she knows it.

“Please get her back,” Andrea pleads as she grabs my arms. “She’s our daughter.”

“I know.” I pull her close again, stroking her hair. “I will do everything I can.”

“This doesn’t make sense.” She shakes her head. “None of this makes sense.”

“I know.”

“We should never have come back here. We should have just run away with Rose. I don’t care if she charges us with kidnapping or anything. We should have kept Rose with us.”

“Shh.” I plant a kiss on her hair. “We’ll get Rose back. And then we’ll keep her and no one will be able to take her away from us.”

I know it’s a promise I shouldn’t be making. It’s a promise I can’t make. But I just want Andrea to calm down so that I can think of what to do.

Eventually, she does, her sobs growing quiet. Slowly, she pulls away, drying her tears.

“I think I’ll take a shower,” she says, going to the bathroom.

I nod. “I’ll talk to Gavin.”

I go back downstairs. Gavin is still there, sitting in a chair, deep in thought. He should be. I’m holding him completely responsible for this and if he doesn’t think of a way to make things right, I won’t just fire him as my lawyer.

“I should be punching you right now,” I tell him as I approach him.

He looks up at me. “Then do it.”

I shake my head. “It won’t accomplish anything. Besides, you need yourself whole. You need to be at your best so that we can undo what just happened here.”

He clasps his hands. “It’s all my fault. I should have checked and double checked everything.”

“But you didn’t. How could you not have known that John and Karen weren’t married? Maybe you’re not as great a lawyer as you think you are.”

Gavin stands up. “He told me that Karen was his wife, that Rose was his daughter. I took his word because I trusted him just like you did.”

“And now, you don’t?” I step forward, looking him in the eye.

He looks away.

“John and Karen might not have been married but I believe John loved her. I believe Rose was their daughter.”

“It doesn’t matter!” Gavin shouts. “If a couple isn’t married, the mother gets the child. The mother’s family has more right over the child.”

“Bullshit.”

I go to the window, placing my hands on my hips. I can feel my temper going out of control and take deep breaths, reining it in. I have to calm down. I have to think, not feel. I cannot let my emotions get the better of me.

“Is there something we can do to get Rose back?” I ask Gavin calmly.

He stands beside me. “We can try to prove that Nora isn’t fit to provide for Rose’s needs.”

I nod. “I don’t know what it is but there’s something about her I don’t trust. There’s something fishy. Why would she want Rose so badly?”

“Because she’s her niece?” Gavin puts forward.

I shake my head. “I have a feeling that’s not all there is to it. You have to find out what her real motives are. We have to expose her for who she really is.”

“If we do that, Nora is bound to retaliate. She’ll fight for Rose now. She won’t give her up easily.”

“So?” I look at him. “Are you scared now that you have a formidable opponent? Are you saying you can’t beat her, that you can only win the easy fights?”

“I’m saying the law is on her side.”

“And I have you on my side.” I point a finger at him. “Prove that you belong there.”

I leave, heading to John’s old bedroom, sitting in his old chair and looking at his picture.

Oh, John, what did you get us into?

Then it hits me. If only I can find proof that John and Karen were married, even secretly, if I can find just one wedding picture, then that is going to change things. That will turn the tide around.

And so I start searching.

---

I’ve found nothing.

I’ve practically turned the whole house down these past few days and still, I’ve found nothing, no document, no picture, no proof to help me get Rose back.

Well, I found something – John’s program. I finally found it in a flash drive at the bottom of a drawer. It’s password-protected, though, and I haven’t had time to crack the password. I don’t even feel like I want to. What use do I have for everything John’s left me if I don’t have Rose?

Gavin hasn’t been able to find out anything about Nora, either. He says Nora isn’t exactly rich but her family isn’t poor, either. She doesn’t seem to have an ulterior motive for wanting Rose.

But she must have. My gut tells me so.

Maybe I should just try to find out myself. Maybe I should take matters into my own hands.

I go to the bedroom, thinking of telling Andrea I’m leaving but as soon as I open the door, I realize she’s not there.

Where is she?

I’m about to leave the room so I can search the rest of the house for her but then I see the note on the bedside table.

I’ve gone to check on Rose.

I frown. So, she’s gone ahead of me, hasn’t she? I should have known she would do something. I should have known she wouldn’t just sit and wait.

I place the note down.

Well, I’ll simply have to follow her.