by Cate Beauman
She shook her head, smiling, and kissed him. “Thank you though.”
“No problem.” He captured her chin between his finger and thumb before she could move away and kissed her again. “I’ll see you in a while.”
She nodded and started down the hall, ready to aimlessly wander the quiet halls of the mansion on a day that was too cold for one of her outside walks she’d become accustomed to over the last few mornings. There was no comfort here any longer—nothing warm and welcoming that soothed her restless soul. Not even Chase’s constant presence eased the worst of her pain.
Turning right, she made her way to Neve’s room, finding herself drawn to her mother’s personal space. She and Neve had known each other for such a short time, yet they’d formed a solid bond. Already she ached for one of their talks where she shared her troubles and Neve said just the right thing to make everything okay.
She stopped in Neve’s doorway, staring at the cozy bed where they had lain together only days ago. Stepping in, she closed her eyes and breathed deep, savoring the scent of Neve’s perfume. She moved to the dresser, lifting the decorative bottle to her nose, wondering if Neve had ever let her wear a spritz on her neck when she’d been a little girl. Never would she know the special moments just the two of them shared, because there was no one left to tell her.
Yearning for a connection, she went to Neve’s closet, studying the rows of clothes, and pulled one of the picture albums from the shelf—Alyson’s baby book. She sat on the bed, flipping through the pictures, craving to remember what it felt like to sleep in Neve’s arms, to remember such an all-consuming love.
Someone scoffed in the doorway and Julie whipped her head around to look into Noah’s disapproving eyes. Automatically, her shoulders stiffened as she prepared herself for his next verbal assault.
“Do you know how many times I’ve stepped in here and saw her doing the exact same thing?” He gestured to the book as he walked farther into the room.
Julie closed the album and stood, refusing to be bullied by a man who wasn’t worth her time. “I’d like to take this with me.”
He crossed his arms and raised his eyebrow. “Why would I let you do that? My attorneys briefed me on the DNA results. We can’t say whether you’re her.”
“I’m Alyson Porter.” She touched the Julie charm on the necklace Neve had gifted her. “Or I was.”
“You look like her, laugh like her, and have the scar on your arm. We may share bloodlines, but you’re not my sister. Neve may have been able to overlook your twenty-five-year absence, but I can’t and won’t. My childhood ended the night you disappeared. I didn’t get to waste my life ice skating and falling in love with the boy next door—or girl in my case. Choosing my own path was never an option, nor would it have been Alyson’s. You’ve chosen yours with your foolish yoga studio, but that entitles you to nothing that’s mine.”
“You act as if I should’ve known that I was stolen, as if this is my fault. I was a little girl.”
He shrugged. “Are you looking for sympathy?”
She shook her head, utterly baffled by how this retched man could be Neve’s son. “No—”
“I find this whole situation a little convenient.”
“What?”
“You show up after a couple of decades, when your ‘business’ is coincidentally in financial trouble, and days later, she’s found dead. Weren’t you supposed to be out in the hot tub with her?”
She flinched, his words as much a slap as any hand would be. “I didn’t hurt Neve.”
He jerked his shoulder.
She swallowed, staring at the cruel stranger who had been her brother. “You used to be so kind,” she shuddered out. “You were so good to me. You helped me toss coins into the fountain at the park. You sat with me when I fell off your back in the kitchen.”
He narrowed his eyes as his permanent smirk disappeared. “She told you that.”
“She wasn’t there. Neve went to answer the phone. We were sneaking another taste from the bowl. Chocolate cake. You tried to lift me but I was too heavy. I stood on your back and fell. You hugged me and called for her. What happened to that sweet little boy?”
“He vanished when Alyson did.”
“I don’t want the money. I’m not looking for some long-lost brother/sister connection. I just want to know who I am. Neve wanted to know who I am.”
“I already told you I don’t care who you are.”
“You’ll fight me on securing her DNA sample.”
“Take your pictures, because that’s the only thing you’ll get.” He turned and stopped, looking over his shoulder. “And I wouldn’t leave the property with my grandmother’s diamonds. You’re not walking off with a quarter million in gems because Mother gave them to you on a whim.”
“I don’t need them,” she said quietly, sitting on the bed as Noah’s footsteps faded down the hall. Clutching the book in her hand, she pressed her lips together, fighting with her emotions. She would not shed a tear because Noah was a horrible human being. Things work out, Julie. Always.
She stood, remembering Neve’s words, and grabbed the albums in a heavy stack, afraid Noah would have them destroyed if she didn’t take them with her. Walking down the hall, she stopped and smiled as Elaine approached, dressed in a sleek black pantsuit.
“Hi, sugar plum.”
“Hi.”
“What have you got there?”
“Alyson’s albums.”
“Let me help lighten the load.” She put a small box on the top book and grabbed three, moving into Julie’s room right behind her.
They set them down, and Elaine hugged Julie. “How are you doing today?”
She returned her embrace. “I’m okay. How about you?”
“Taking it a moment at a time.” Elaine eased her back. “Noah’s here. I drove in right after him.”
She nodded. “We ran into each other.”
Elaine closed her eyes.
“It’s okay.” She gave Elaine’s arm a reassuring squeeze. She would not be burdening Neve’s grieving best friend with her problems.
“Are you sure?”
“Positive.”
Elaine grabbed one of the baby books. “I haven’t seen these in ages. Let’s take a look.”
She sat with Elaine on the bed. “I’m going to take them with me.”
“Good. You should.” Elaine flipped through the pages and stopped, smiling. “Look at that.” Elaine touched a picture of Neve snuggling her newborn baby daughter. “Neve was eaten up with love for this little girl. For you.”
“Thank you.”
“I brought you something.” She picked up the pretty silver and gold wrapped box.
“You didn’t have to get me anything.”
“This was going to be a Christmas present for you and Neve, but I think you should have it now.” She handed the gift over.
Julie stared at the curls of ribbon, not sure she could handle another onslaught of messy emotions.
“I think you’ll like it.” Elaine bumped Julie’s shoulder with hers.
Julie nodded, knowing she was being rude, so she tore at the paper and lifted the lid, staring at the framed photograph of her and Neve smiling together the night of the ball. She blinked back tears, swamped by another wave of grief. “This is beautiful.”
“You two are beautiful. Look how much you look alike. She was so happy to have you back, Julie. She never, ever stopped searching.”
“I’m so glad you took this picture. I’m so thankful you thought to share it with me.” She hugged her. “Thank you so much, Elaine.”
“You bet.” Elaine sniffled and stood. “Now I’m going to go see what I can do to help out. We’ll meet up in just a little while.”
She nodded, not looking forward to leaving the cocoon of the Porter grounds to say her final goodbyes to her mother.
~~~~
Chase stood in Julie’s bedroom, scrubbing his hands over his face, dealing with yet another wave of helpless
ness as Julie walked away from him, sad-eyed and miserable.
“You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me,” he seethed through clenched teeth, slamming the side of his fisted hand on the heavy oak dresser, making the vase full of flowers jump. Inconclusive DNA results? What the fuck was that? Mistakes happened from time to time—there was no getting around them—but in this case, he wasn’t buying it.
The Porters had a lot of pull in this town, especially Noah. Porter Pharmaceuticals’ President and CEO had made it more than clear that long-lost Alyson wouldn’t be getting her hands on any of the millions. How hard would it be for someone with Noah’s influence to have samples switched or pay someone off to screw them up? Just how far would Noah go to get his own way? He’d already shoved a woman half his size to the floor in the dark and verbally abused her every chance he got. Tampering with evidence couldn’t be that far off the mark. And what about murdering his own mother?
Neve was dead and turned to ash not even an hour after she was released into Noah’s custody. Now DNA samples were undeterminable. The fucking dark prince not only had the means but a strong motive to keep Julie from finding her answers for months if not years to come, but he would be damned if Noah was going to make this any worse for Julie than it already was.
Fussing with his tie, he walked to the door and glanced into the empty hall, already knowing where Julie had gone. More than once he’d found her sitting on Neve’s bed, staring off into space. Undoubtedly he would find her there again, but he moved in the opposite direction down the back stairwell to the kitchen.
“Mr. Chase,” Ferra sent him a distracted smile as she arranged crackers on a tray in the busy room where several strangers from the catering company bustled about, helping with food preparations for the after-funeral reception. “Are you hungry?”
“No. Thirsty.” He grabbed a glass from the cupboard and filled it with water.
“Let me know if I can get you anything.”
“I will. Thanks.” He sipped his drink, waiting for Ferra to hurry out to the dining room with the silver tray, and walked quickly to the drawers, opening and closing them until he found the box of plastic baggies, grabbed two, and went back the way he came, taking the stairs in twos. Needing to be quick, he made his way down the long hall to Neve’s wing, slowing when he heard Julie’s voice.
“We were sneaking another taste from the bowl. Chocolate cake. You tried to lift me but I was too heavy. I stood on your back and fell. You hugged me and called for her. What happened to that sweet little boy?”
“He vanished when Alyson did.”
Chase moved closer to the door, ready to step in if Julie needed him, but he hesitated. He was running out of time to execute his plan. Ferra seemed to cope with her grief by staying constantly busy. She’d made mention of donating Neve’s clothing to charity at breakfast. If he didn’t get into the master suite this morning, he might not get a chance to take what he needed before everything got cleaned out.
“I don’t want the money. I’m not looking for some long-lost brother/sister connection,” Julie continued. “I just want to know who I am. Neve wanted to know who I am.”
“I already told you I don’t care who you are.”
“You’ll fight me on securing her DNA sample.”
“Take your pictures, because that’s the only thing you’ll get.” Noah turned, and Chase stepped back into the room across the hall. “And I wouldn’t leave the property with my grandmother’s diamonds. You’re not walking off with a quarter million in gems because Mother gave them to you on a whim.”
“I don’t need them.”
Chase bided his time, waiting for the bastard’s footsteps to fade and inched his way closer to the bedroom, fisting his hands as he stared at Julie sitting on Neve’s bed with her shoulders hunched, clutching one of the albums she looked through often. More than anything, he wanted to go to her, to wrap her up in his arms and promise her everything was going to be okay, but he stayed put, watching her suffer alone.
Moments passed and she stood, walking into the closet, struggling to grab the other books, and left. He stepped into the shadows again, not wanting anyone to know what he was doing, not even Julie at this point. When he was sure she was gone, he moved into Neve’s room, heading straight for the bathroom.
Looking over his shoulder, he quietly opened and shut drawers full with makeup, nail polish and files, herbal supplements and vitamins, pausing when he noticed the bottle of Xanax prescribed to Neve among the homeopathic remedies for headaches, hot flashes, and bloating. He was slightly surprised by a medicine that seemed so out of place among so many natural options. Snapping a picture of the drawer’s contents, making certain to zoom in on the prescribing physician’s name, he closed it and moved on until he found what he was looking for. “There you are,” he whispered, pressing record on his phone, pointing the lens at the mirror. “Chase Rider. Video proof of clean DNA collection. It’s 10:32 a.m. on December sixteenth, two thousand fifteen. Neve Porter’s residence at one twenty-five Cowen Drive in Newton, Massachusetts. I’m in Neve Porter’s master bathroom.” He slowly passed his phone over the pictures of Neve’s family scattered on the marble counters and zoomed in on the silver-plated hairbrush with several long black hairs twisted around the bristles. “Neve Porter’s hairbrush in the third drawer down on the right.” He slid one of the gallon-sized bags over his hand in the mirror, recording himself, then filmed himself putting the hairbrush in the other gallon-sized bag and sealed it. “Uncontaminated DNA sample collected at—” he looked at his watch. “—10:34 a.m.” He put his phone away, tucked the brush in the pocket of his suit, and left as quickly as he came.
Noah wasn’t the only one who had a few tricks up his sleeve. The new sample didn’t follow the protocols for proper chain of custody, but when the results came back this time, the judge would be compelled to give Julie access to Neve Porter’s DNA.
Chapter Thirty-nine
Julie stood by Chase’s side, staring at Neve’s elegant emerald-green urn while dozens of the Porter’s closest friends gathered beneath the huge tent at the cemetery. Waves of warmth rushed into the space through portable heating vents, yet Julie shivered despite her coat and thick scarf. Here they were three days after Neve’s death, ready to deliver her to her final resting place. The temperature was barely thirty degrees, and a good foot of snow lay on the ground around the perimeter of Neve’s graveside, but Noah had insisted his mother be buried as soon as possible. It didn’t matter that it was December sixteenth and the ground was frozen solid; Noah Porter wanted a funeral, so he’d gotten one.
She studied the stunning flower arrangements and pictures set up around Neve’s ashes and swallowed as reality started sinking in. This was really happening. Her second mother had perished, lost long before she’d been ready to say goodbye. She stepped closer to Chase without realizing it, and his arm came tighter around her. He’d been her rock for the last two weeks and here he was again, standing by her side through one of the worst moments of her life.
Elaine caught Julie’s eye, glancing her way again from her seat at Noah’s side—chairs for family and close friends, a courtesy Noah had made certain to leave Julie out of. “Sugar plum,” she said, attempting to stand as Noah gripped her hand. She sat again.
“Ms. Julie.” Ferra stood. “Please take my seat.”
Julie shook her head as she reached out, clutching Ferra’s gloved hands. “I couldn’t. I’m fine right here.”
“Please, Ms. Julie. Neve would want her little girl sitting at her side. You belong at her side, wee one.”
Julie’s lips trembled and she nodded. “Thank you, Ferra.” She kissed the older woman’s cheek.
“You be a good girl now and sit.”
“Thank you,” she said again, looking at Noah as he tossed her a nasty look out of the corner of his eye.
Chase stood behind her, rubbing his hand along her shoulder. She reached for it, holding on to the warmth and support he offered as the priest
took his place at the front of the group and began to speak, talking of everlasting life and Neve being at peace with the Lord where she now rested eternally with her beloved Jay.
Neve and Jay Porter, the parents she would never know. Two great people she’d been robbed of time with. Bowing her head, she focused on the memory of Neve holding her close in the kitchen when she’d fallen and hurt her arm so long ago. Pressing her lips firm, she breathed out a shuddering breath through her nose as tears spilled down her cheeks. She closed her eyes, willing her mind to remember something new, anything, but nothing came that would ease some of her pain.
Chase gave her fingers a gentle squeeze, and she looked up, realizing that Noah, Elaine, Thomas, and Ferra were being ushered toward the back of the tent.
“Come on,” Chase said close to her ear as she stood. “Let’s get you out of here.”
She sniffled and nodded, keeping her head down, avoiding eye contact with those who waited for her and Chase to file out. Being stared at and pondered over was getting old. It was bad enough that the press waited to pounce beyond the barriers of the cemetery. She didn’t need a tent full of people scrutinizing her too.
“How are you holding up?” Chase asked as they walked down the shoveled path.
“I’m okay.”
“I wish I could make this better.”
“You’re here.”
They stopped at the passenger’s side of the rental car and he kissed her. “I wouldn’t be anywhere else.” He kissed her again and opened her door. “Go ahead and get in.”
She wrapped her arms around him instead. “That was awful.” She let out the shaky sob she’d fought to hold onto.
He pulled her closer, rubbing his hands up and down her back as he rested his cheek on top of her head. “I’m so sorry, Jules.”
She looked at him. “Today it’s sinking in that I’m never going to know her, really know her, and it makes me so sad.”
“She was proud of you, Jules—of who you are.” He stroked her cheeks. “You didn’t have a lot of time, but she loved you—not just Alyson from birth to age three, but you as Julie her grown daughter.”