Beautifully Forgotten (43 page)

Lucien straightened in his chair. “Spano? Elizabeth’s case is all over the news.”

Dane was surprised at the jolt of pain he felt in response. “She was my mom’s younger sister. It’s been over thirty years since she was murdered and we still have no idea what happened. My maternal grandfather won’t let it go, refuses to allow his daughter’s murder to go unsolved. Apparently now there’s new evidence on the case, which is why it’s back in the news. Maybe we might finally learn what happened to her.”

“That’s awful, and it takes a toll on a family. It did on mine,” Ember said. She added, “My uncle has been in touch with your mom.”

“He has? Do you know where she’s been?”

“Living with her sister outside of Baltimore.”

Dane wasn’t sure how he felt about that. She lived fairly close, and yet she had never reached out to him, not once since she’d left. Ember seemed to know what he was thinking.

“My uncle had the sense that she was afraid—enough to not come back for fear of what would happen to you.” Ember leaned a little closer before she asked, “Do you think it’s possible that your mom knows who killed her sister and that’s why she’s staying away?”

“I don’t know. Elizabeth was murdered before I was born and my mom left when I was around two. Maybe.”

Lucien spoke up for the first time since they’d arrived. “Maybe it’s time you had a reunion with your mom.”

“Yeah.” Dane turned his attention to Ember. “Remember when I mentioned that Todd was spending some time with Heidi?”

“Yes.”

“I don’t know if it means anything, but Todd owes markers to some seriously bad guys, which might be why Heidi was interested in him.”

Dane caught the look of suspicion on Lucien’s face just as Ember said, “Thanks.”

Darcy and Ember were on their way to St. Agnes to check out the attic. Darcy felt a pang of sadness seeing Ember’s growing belly, but she moved past it and asked, “How are you feeling? What did the doctor say?”

“I’ve got proteins in my urine and my blood pressure is up, which are both warning signs for preeclampsia. I’ve just got to take it easy.” Ember changed the subject. “My dad called the other day.”

“The man to whom you owe your advice-giving skills,” Darcy said with humor.

“One and the same. He’s moving in with my uncle; he wants to be closer to me and the baby.”

Darcy could tell by the brightness of Ember’s voice that this was really exciting news for her. “Ember, that’s wonderful. I look forward to meeting him.”

“I can’t tell you how many times I picked up the phone to try to persuade him to move closer, but his house was the one he shared with my mom. How could I ask him to leave that? But now he’s decided to rent it out.”

“That’s a good compromise.”

“Yeah, and he’s going to work for my uncle since he’s overwhelmed with cases.”

Darcy laughed out loud at that. “PI work is definitely your family’s forte.”

The cab pulled to the curb. Ember looked surprised. “Wow, we’re here already. Brandon is going to sign us in as his guests. He’s supposed to meet us at the door.”

Darcy waited for Ember to climb from the cab before she paid the cabbie and followed. She heard Ember calling a greeting to her friend and turned. As soon as she saw Ember’s friend, her feet stopped moving and all the air left her lungs. She was looking at a boy who looked exactly how Lucien had looked in his youth. Hot tears burned her eyes, but she couldn’t look away from the boy who was coming down the front steps toward them. It was her son—their son. She’d bet the bank on it.

“Darcy?” Ember’s voice held a note of concern.

“That’s Brandon?”

“Yes.” Ember seemed to understand what Darcy wasn’t saying when she exhaled in a gasp. “Oh my God. I didn’t even think; I mean, I saw similarities, but I assumed Brandon was too old to be your son.”

Darcy struggled to pull herself under control so she didn’t terrify the boy. Ember reached for her hand and squeezed, releasing it just as Brandon stopped in front of them.

“Hey, Ember.”

Darcy noticed the odd note in Ember’s voice, no doubt because she was holding back tears. “Hi, Brandon. This is my friend Darcy.”

“Hey . . .” But whatever Brandon was going to say died on his tongue as his eyes grew wide. His reaction was so strange that Darcy took a step closer to him and asked, “Are you okay?”

His voice was strained when he said, “Yeah, just . . .”

“What?”

“Do I know you?” he asked, and suddenly he looked so much younger.

“No, but I would like very much to get to know you.”

“You’re the one who was looking for her son?” he asked.

Darcy’s heart stopped beating. “Yes.” And then Brandon’s next words sent it into a gallop.

“You were looking for me, weren’t you?”

Darcy gave up and let her tears run down her cheeks. “Yes.”

Lucien and Darcy walked right past guest check-in; with the expressions on their faces, no one dared to stop them. They stormed into Sister Margaret’s room. She looked up in shock, presumably at the intrusion, until she saw who it was; then her expression turned to resignation.

“You fucking knew,” Lucien hissed. “You knew our son was at St. Agnes the entire time.”

“No, I didn’t know at first; I only suspected, but when I did learn the truth, I couldn’t say anything.”

“Why not?” Lucien demanded.

“I was being blackmailed.”

Lucien’s anger turned to confusion. “Heidi?”

“Yes.”

“What did she have on you?”

“It wasn’t me. She had information on Sister Anne, and though she was gone, I didn’t want her name, or our order’s, to be dragged into the dirt. I think you would have approved of the choice I made. It wasn’t an easy one.”

“That’s why you wanted us looking in the attic at St. Agnes. Heidi really did keep her stash there.”

“I think so, but I was never able to find it. It explained why she was always around, why she took interest in what everyone else was doing. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that she had been being paid to watch over you.”

Darcy’s confusion wasn’t feigned. “What do you mean by that?”

“How did the kidnappers know when you went into labor?”

Lucien tensed at Darcy’s side. “Fucking bitch.”

“Anyway, she moved her stash before she started blackmailing me. I think she actually got more dirt on people from rummaging through the stuff up in that attic. Through the years, the Sisters shared with me that Heidi continued to visit St. Agnes, sometimes bringing that boy of hers. I’m sure she was going through the attic looking for more secrets. She was one twisted girl. But there was another reason I encouraged you to go to St. Agnes.”

Darcy answered for her. “You knew if we saw Brandon that we would know he was ours.”

“Yes, and then the secret would be out.”

“And that’s why you arranged for me to go to college. It was penance,” Darcy added.

Sister Margaret didn’t look even slightly contrite. “So to speak.”

“Heidi’s dead now, so why didn’t you tell us when we came to see you last time?”

“I was going to, but then he called.”

“He?” Lucien asked.

“Yeah, this guy picked up the blackmail where Heidi left off, so I kept my silence, but tried to give enough hints that you’d figure it out on your own.”

“Who is he?” Darcy demanded.

“I don’t know. I’ve never seen him, but he knew so much that I just assumed he was an accomplice of Heidi’s.”

Lucien lay in bed with Darcy, but his thoughts were on their son. “Brandon has agreed to take the blood test?”

“Yes, but I don’t need the results to know. He looks just like you.” Darcy lifted her head onto her hand. “When I see him in my head, he’s a baby. I know that’s silly because it’s been fourteen years, but seeing him almost fully grown . . . We’ve missed so much.”

Lucien tightened his arms around her. “We found him, Darcy. We may have lost fourteen years, but we have the rest of our lives to get to know him.”

“Do you think he’ll want that—I mean, to be a part of our lives now?”

“I wouldn’t have turned family away at his age. Would you have?”

Lucien saw the answer in her eyes before she said, “No, I wouldn’t have.”

“We need to give him time and not push him, but I think he’s as eager to get to know us as we are him.”

“I can’t wait for you to meet him,” Darcy whispered.

“I’m not sure how to be a dad.”

“I don’t know anything about being a mother, but we’ll figure it out.”

Lucien knew the awe he was feeling came across in his voice. “A family.”

Darcy wrapped her arms around him. “Our family.”

“Even better,” he whispered before his mouth covered hers.

D
ane wasn’t sure if he wanted to follow through with his plan, but he supposed standing on his mother’s front step was the wrong place for a change of heart. Lena and Ember’s uncle Josh had accompanied him. He was grateful to the older man for offering to come to help smooth out what was sure to be an uncomfortable first meeting.

He found Lena’s hand in his surprisingly comforting. Sober, his perspective had changed and one of the things he was learning was that Lena really seemed to “get” him.

“You ready for this?” she asked.

“I doubt it.”

Josh had called ahead to let Belinda know who he was bringing, so when Dane knocked, Belinda opened the door. Tears immediately filled her eyes as she moved back and gestured with her hands.

“Please, Dane . . . all of you . . . come inside.”

They settled in the living room—Dane and Lena on the sofa and Belinda across from them in a chair. Josh stood in the back of the room to give them some privacy, but close enough to step in if things weren’t going well.

“How have you been, Dane?” Belinda’s voice cracked.

Boy, what a loaded question. He answered bitterly, “Well, considering my mother left me when I wasn’t even two years old, I’m pretty fucked up. Thanks for asking.”

Belinda’s face fell and she started to cry. “I’m sorry. I should have been there.”

“Why did you leave?”

“Your father was a pig and I couldn’t bear watching him parade his bimbos in front of me anymore.”

“So you left me.”

“I wanted to take you with me, but I couldn’t. I was afraid of your grandfather.”