She handed Trey the phone. Thinking he would want to talk privately with his father, she stood to leave the room and was surprised when he caught hold of her hand and brought her back down beside him.
“Yeah, Dad, if it’s possible I’d like to meet with you before I leave to go back to California.” After a few minutes he said, “Yes, that’s right. Haywood and I plan to return to Virginia on Saturday morning. Thanks, Dad, and yes,” he said looking at Haywood and smiling. “Everything is fine. All right, I’ll talk to you later.”
He met Haywood’s gaze. “He seems as anxious to talk to me as I am to talk to him.”
Haywood smiled. “I figured that he would be. A talk between the two of you is long overdue.”
Trey nodded. “You’re probably right.”
He then lowered his mouth to hers and pushed her back on the bed.
Later that day Trey placed a call to his mother to tell her of his plans to extend his trip.
“What do you mean you aren’t coming home this week, Trey? I was expecting you and so was Harry.” The tone of her voice was a clear indication that she was upset.
“I’m sure the office can do without me for a while.”
“That’s not the point.”
“Then what is the point, Mom?”
“I missed you and was expecting you.”
“And I miss you. But there’s a few more things that I need to wrap up before I return to Los Angeles.”
He heard his mother’s agitated sigh. “All right, if you feel it’s necessary.”
He thought of the meeting he had scheduled with his father. “Yes, Mom, I do.”
Angela angrily clicked off the phone and turned to her husband. He was naked in bed, ready for her. Before Trey had called she had been naked in bed ready for him, too, but now, she had more important matters to deal with.
“Something is going on and I don’t like it, Harry. Why would Trey want to spend any more time on that island?” she asked, pacing around the room.
“Maybe he likes the place, Angela.”
She stopped her pacing. “Or maybe he likes the person he’s with. I wouldn’t put it past Jenna’s daughter to have seduced my son.”
Harry chuckled. “Trey is a hot-blooded young man, Angela, and you know it. If she did seduce him I’m sure he didn’t put up a fight.”
Angela found no humor in Harry’s words. “I don’t want them together. She might try and convince him to bridge the gap between him and Randolph.”
“And of course you wouldn’t want that to happen since he’ll find out the truth about what you did and the lies you told.”
Angela sighed deeply, suddenly feeling the walls closing in all around her. She had to do something. She could not lose her son now. “I’m going to find out everything there is to know about Haywood Malone.”
Zach didn’t say anything for the longest moment, then he met Patrick Sellers’s gaze and wanted to make sure he had heard correctly. “You’ve actually found Adrianna Fuller?”
Patrick Sellers nodded, smiling. “Yes, I’m ninety-five percent certain it’s her and in my line of business that a pretty high percentage. I tried contacting both your father and Mr. Fuller and can’t reach either of them. The last time I met with the senator he gave me your name as the person to contact if the two of them were ever unavailable.”
Zach nodded. “Yes, my parents are in Florida on business and won’t be returning until Tuesday, and it’s my understanding that Randolph Fuller and his wife are out of town visiting her relatives in Atlanta for a few days.” He leaned back in the chair. “So, please tell me what information you’ve discovered.”
Patrick smiled as he opened the folder. He was pretty pleased with the investigative work he’d done. “She’s an emergency room trauma doctor living in San Diego.”
“What name is she using?”
Patrick grinned. “Now that’s the kicker and what made it so hard for us to find her. Although she hasn’t made any claim on the Fuller family, believing they basically disowned her because of the documentation she has, she had just enough spunk and tenacity not to let the Fuller family deny her the right to claim her father’s name. She goes by the hyphenated name of Ross-Fuller.”
Ross-Fuller. Zach smiled. “And what first name is she using?”
“She shortened Adrianna to Anna. At San Diego General Hospital she’s known as the competent, compassionate and very dedicated Dr. Anna Ross-Fuller.”
Zach rubbed his chin in deep thought. “Has anyone approached her about the investigation?”
“No, and that’s why I wanted to talk to your father and Mr. Fuller. I needed to know how they wanted me to proceed.”
Zach stood and went over to the window and looked out. After a few moments he turned back around to Patrick. “I’d prefer it if you didn’t mention your findings to my father or Mr. Fuller just yet. I want you to leave your report with me and I’ll go over it in detail. Then, unless there is something in the report that indicates it would be in the best interest not to go, I plan to catch a flight to San Diego tomorrow and meet with Dr. Ross-Fuller.”
He walked back over to his desk and met Patrick’s curious stare. “For thirty-four years my father and Mr. Fuller have searched for Adrianna Fuller, and she needs to know that. Regardless of what documentation she has, she needs to know that someone did care about her and that she was wanted by the Fuller and Wainwright families.”
He inhaled deeply. “My father’s sixtieth birthday is next weekend and my mother has planned a big gala for him. I can’t think of a better surprise than the goddaughter he has spent more than half of his life looking for.”
Thirty-eight
Wishing he were someplace else, Zachary glanced around the ER waiting room. Hospitals were not his favorite place. According to the receptionist, an older woman who reminded him of his secretary—stern and efficient—it would be another thirty minutes or so before Dr. Ross-Fuller was free to see him. So he had decided to wait it out.
Leaning back in the chair he stretched his legs out in front of him, thinking about the report he’d read. Patrick Sellers’s investigation had been thorough. There was very little about Anna Ross-Fuller that he didn’t know.
He knew that because of her mixed heritage, being a child living in Vietnam after the war hadn’t been easy for her. She’d been made to feel like an outcast and was often called cruel names. The Vietnamese people’s hatred of Eurasians hadn’t just stopped with her. It had extended to the aunt who had raised her after Gia had died in childbirth. And when her aunt’s fiancé declared he would not marry her as long as Adrianna was in her care, her aunt had taken her to the orphanage and left here there, although there were recorded accounts of her visiting Adrianna at the orphanage occasionally.
The report further indicated Adrianna lived at the orphanage until she had reached the age of seventeen. It was then that she had been sponsored by the Lutheran Church Alliance to come to the States to further her education. She had attended UCLA and later moved to San Diego to attend medical school and had remained there for her residency.
He also knew that she had been engaged to marry a fellow medical student but the wedding had been called off a mere two weeks before the scheduled date. That had been almost eight years ago, and since then Dr. Ross-Fuller had only dated occasionally.
“Mr. Wainwright, the doctor will see you now. She’s in her office down that corridor.”
Zach pushed his thoughts to the back on his mind when the receptionist spoke. He stood and picked up his briefcase, hoping that Dr. Ross-Fuller would listen to what he had to say.
Dr. Anna Ross-Fuller stood at the window in her office and looked out. It had been a busy day; not as busy as others but busy nonetheless. And now she was free to meet with Mr. Zachary Wainwright.
She had been surprised and curious when she’d gotten the message from her secretary that he had called wanting to meet with her, indicating he was a family friend of her father’s.
Family
friend of her father’s?
She had pondered the message before returning his call. Their conversation had been brief and the only thing he’d said was that he knew she was the daughter of Ross Fuller and needed to meet with her to clear up a few things about her father. That in itself had come as a shock since she had never revealed her father’s identity to anyone. So she couldn’t help wondering what, after thirty-four years, the Fuller family, or any acquaintance of that family, could possibly want with her.
She sighed deeply when she heard the knock at her office door. Leaving her place at the window she crossed the room and stood behind her desk. Taking another deep breath she decided it was time she found out. “Come in.”
Zachary opened the door and entered, his gaze focused on the woman standing behind the desk as he closed the door behind him. He couldn’t help but stare at her. With the deep slant of her dark eyes, and her hair—more straight than curly—it was evident she was part Asian. But her cocoa-colored skin tone, full lips and straight nose strongly reflected her African-American heritage as well.
The first thought that came to his mind was that Anna Ross-Fuller was a strikingly beautiful woman. The other thought was that even with her Asian features, she strongly resembled pictures he had seen over the years of Ross Fuller. She definitely had that Fuller forehead, full lips, austere chin and high cheekbones.
He cleared his throat. “Dr. Ross-Fuller?”
She came from behind the desk and accepted the hand that he extended to her. “Yes, and you’re Mr. Wainwright, I presume?”
“Yes.”
She nodded. “Please have a seat. I must admit I’m more than mildly curious about your visit.”
Zach eased down in the chair she offered then watched as she went behind her desk and sat down. “I appreciate your agreeing to see me, and I guess my call came as a surprise to you.”
She studied him thoughtfully before answering. “Yes. I was surprised that you knew Ross Fuller was my father, and secondly, I was surprised that you acknowledged that fact since it had never been done so before.”
He raised a brow. “Because you assume the Fuller family disowned you?”
Anna stared at him, wondering what game he was playing. A frown filled her eyes. “I don’t assume anything, Mr. Wainwright. I know they did.”
Zach nodded. “Because of a certain document you have in your possession?”
She leaned back in her chair and continued to stare at him. “Yes. My aunt left a number of my parents’ possessions at the orphanage for me. Among their things which included pictures, their marriage certificate, a family Bible and letters they exchanged, there was also a signed document, a disclaimer so to speak, that clearly stated the family of Ross Fuller refused to acknowledge me as his child.”
Zach leaned forward. “What if I presented you with solid proof that no one in the Fuller family has knowledge of signing such a document? What if I presented you with strong evidence that for thirty-four years there have been private investigators paid to find you and bring you home to the Fuller family? They were investigators who were paid by my father, Noah Wainwright, and your uncle, Randolph Fuller.”
She lifted a brow. “Noah Wainwright? The senator?”
“Yes. He’s was your father’s best friend and he is also your godfather.”
Uncertainly flowed like a chill through Anna. She refused to believe after not believing for so long. She drew in a deep breath as she considered his words. Slowly she stood and crossed the room to the window and looked out. From her office she could see the beauty of the Pacific Ocean. For the past eight years San Diego had been her home. A place where she had felt appreciated and wanted. Being appreciated and wanted had meant a lot to her, especially after her breakup with Todd and his family’s rejection of her because of her Vietnamese heritage, like it had been her fault that his uncle had gotten killed in the war.
She turned back around to Zach. Drawing in a deeper breath she said, “Even if you were to present me with proof, Mr. Wainwright, I would be hard pressed to believe it.”
Zach held her gaze. “Why?”
The steel beneath that one word he had spoken didn’t escape her. She walked back to her chair and sat down. Her eyes flared. “I just would. It’s not like I’ve been in hiding for thirty-four years. I lived at the orphanage in Vietnam since I was four.”
“Yes, but a lot of records were destroyed with the fall of Saigon.”
Anna nodded, acknowledging that to be true. “Yes, but even so, it should have been easy enough to trace my whereabouts.”
Zachary smiled wryly. “Trust me, it wasn’t. While at the orphanage you did not carry the Fuller name. You were registered in your aunt’s name, which was different from your mother’s since they had different fathers. And then when you moved to this country and started college, you took on your father’s full name instead of his surname.”
Anna tilted her head defiantly. “I knew Ross Fuller was my father, Mr. Wainwright. I had all the proof I needed in the papers my aunt had given me, and in the letters my father and my mother exchanged. There was no doubt in my mind that my parents loved each other and that my father wanted me. Regardless of what his family refused to acknowledge, I am his child. I felt justified and felt I had every right to honor my father by taking his name. So I did. All of it.”
Zach inwardly smiled. Patrick Sellers had been right. Anna Ross-Fuller certainly had spunk. “Yes, you had every right.” He then reached down and picked up his briefcase. Placing it across his lap he opened it and pulled out a folder. She held his gaze steadily when he stood and handed the folder to her.
“Please accept this, Dr. Ross-Fuller. It contains all the proof I indicated I had. I’ll be in town for another two days and I hope during that time you’ll review all the information that I’m leaving with you. I’m staying at the Marriott two buildings over in room three-fifteen. Please call me if you think these papers are proof enough for you.”
He hesitated a moment before continuing. “Somehow a grave mistake was made. Whether intentional or unintentional will soon be determined, you can bet your life on it. I’m four months older than you, Dr. Ross-Fuller, and for as long as I can remember, I’ve watched my father and your uncle become obsessed with finding you. Even when investigators said they should give up, they refused to do so.”
He regarded her and smiled. “And I’m glad they didn’t.” Turning, he walked out of her office.
Hours later in the privacy and comfort of her home, Anna’s chest expanded as she drew in a deep breath. Tears she couldn’t contain any longer clouded her eyes. Everything Zachary Wainwright had claimed was true and was there in the reports he had given her to read; thirty-four years of investigative work that often led nowhere.
But Noah Wainwright and Randolph Fuller had refused to give up.
She closed the folder on the last report. Zachary Wainwright had also been correct in stating a grave mistake had been made and now she wondered if it had been intentional. Standing, she crossed the room and got on her knees to seek out the cedar chest that she kept under her bed.
Pulling it out, she unlocked it and looked at the items she had placed inside—things her aunt had given her. At seventeen, she had been resentful of the things her aunt had told her; and of her father’s family that had not wanted her. She had purchased the chest and locked the things away and until now had never taken the time to actually go through them.
Sitting back on her haunches she picked up the Bible, well-worn with age and use, yet the leather cover was still intact. Opening it she read the names recorded there:
John Anderson weds Mariah Slater, May 11, 1901
Murphy Denison weds Mattie Anderson, October 2, 1922
Ross Donovan Fuller weds Adrianna Denison, July 8, 1942
Randolph Fuller pledges his love to Jenna Haywood, march
18, 1966
Ross Donovan Fuller, Jr. weds Gia Wang Fu, June 18, 1967
She slowly closed the Bible and picke
d up a photograph that had aged over the years. Two American soldiers, one standing on each side of the woman she knew was her mother. She was wearing a white dress and according to her aunt, it had been her mother’s wedding day. The soldier whose arm was around her mother’s waist was her father, she could see her resemblance to him, and the other man she knew had to be Zachary Wainwright’s father, also because of the resemblance. Like his father, he was a very handsome man.
Placing the picture aside she looked through other papers, seeking one in particular. Specifically, the document that clearly stated that the family of Ross Donovan Fuller, Jr. refused to acknowledge her as his child.
She studied the signature. It was all the proof she needed. She wondered how Julia Fuller intended to explain to Noah Wainwright and Randolph Fuller why she had acted in the family’s behalf and refused to acknowledge her own grandchild.
Zachary looked up when he saw Anna enter the hotel’s coffee shop. She had called him that morning asking that he meet with her.
He stood when she approached his table. Her eyes were red and slightly swollen. “Are you okay?” he asked, pulling the chair out for her.
She nodded as she sat down. “As okay as a person can be who for most of her life thought she wasn’t loved or wanted by her father’s family, only to discover that was not the case. Do you know how many wasted years that’s been?”
He smiled wryly. “Yes, too many. When I was four my father had a special Christmas ornament made with your name on it that he placed on the tree. It was the first time I had heard the story about you. That ornament is still placed on the tree every Christmas.”
She smiled sadly as tears mistied her eyes. “Tell me about them, your father and my uncle. I reread my father’s letters last night and I know he was close to his brother as well as to your father.”
Ties That Bind Page 35