“Amber, do you still remember Sheldon? You met at the wedding.”
She nodded and smiled briefly at him.
He quickly relayed what they found and that they were busy scouring the traffic cams and running facial recognition protocols on the footage they pulled from the schools video cameras. Sheldon suggested they set up the operation there, but Damien refused. It would be too upsetting for Amber and something she would always remember afterwards.
He told Sheldon of the phone call and he immediately sent an uplink to the team to see if they could trace the call.
“As suspected, they used a burner phone. I am going back to the operations room. I’ll phone you as soon as we come across anything. Be strong Amber. Zoey is going to need your strength when she comes back home.”
Rory made a pasta dish for them, but no one had any appetite. Damien got up with Amber in his arms. He carried her to their room and drew a hot bath. He undressed both of them quickly and carried her to the bathroom. He got into the bath with her and drew her tight against his front. He kissed her temple and stroked her arms.
“We will find her, my love. She will be safe and sound in her own bed very soon. I will not allow anything to happen to either one of you!”
“She is still so young, Damien! So full of life! What is this going to do to her? How is it going to change her? I want my baby back, Damien!”
“Soon, my love. She’ll be back here with us where she belongs.”
Chapter Fifteen
Damien held her wrapped in his arms with his legs around her the whole night. As if he could cocoon her and protect her from the helplessness she felt. A soft knock on the door drew him from his slumber and he untangled his limbs from Amber. It was Rory indicating that Sheldon was back with some news. It was three thirty in the morning.
“What do you have, Sheldon?”
“One thing we know for sure, they are a bunch of amateurs. They botched this up from the word go. I’ve loaded the disk already. We start with the school’s cams. There in the background you can see Zoey. The woman approached asking for the time we assume, as Zoey looked at her watch. When she turned to leave the two guys grabbed her and threw her in the van. As you can see … very clear number plates.”
He took a sip of water and ruffled between some papers.
“It is not a stolen van and is registered to Joshua Waltz. We managed to identify the woman as Sally Danza. The third guy’s face was always away from the camera, so we do not know who that is. They have a few felonies against their name, but nothing they ever got locked up for. They obviously read the newspaper articles covering the wedding and saw the ideal opportunity to make some quick cash.”
“A Billion dollars is not quick cash. And asking for it in bearer bonds? If they are small time crooks, how would they even know to ask for that?”
“Movies. You’d be surprised how many heists and robberies are based on what people see in the movies. Anyway, we traced the vehicle to an address in Little Havana. The traffic cams confirmed they drove directly there. The van is still parked in front of the house. They had pizzas delivered for dinner and the lights went off around one this morning.”
“If you know this, why have you not gone to fetch Zoey already?”
“We want to wait until mid-morning. Just to make sure there is not another master brain behind it.”
“And in the meantime, my daughter is scared out of her mind! We are going there right this minute, Sheldon. I refuse to let my daughter suffer for a maybe!”
“Okay Damien. We go there now, but we wait until around ten before we go in. Please, you have to think further than this moment. If someone else is involved, this might not be over and your family could still be in danger.”
Damien nodded. Both Rory and Ashton immediately rose to go with.
“Ash, please stay. Amber is going to be very upset when she wakes up and find me gone. She would demand to go with and I do not believe it in her best interest.”
“Very well, but sock one of those hillbillies on my behalf!”
They left shortly thereafter. It did not take that long to get there with there being no traffic. They arrived in Sheldon and Damien’s SUV’s and sat across a park facing the house.
The wait was shorter than anticipated. A red Ferrari purred up the street around eight in the morning and parked in front of the house. The man got out and looked in their general direction as he did. Sheldon snapped a few pictures and froze. He turned to Damien and Rory who sat in the same state as he. Damien was as pale as a sheet.
“Please tell me I am hallucinating! It can’t be!”
Sheldon immediately sent the photos to the forensic lab to run facial recognition and within minutes, the match found blinked on his laptop he had open.
“I am afraid not, Damien that was your brother Paul Jordan, alive and well!”
“But we buried him! Hell, Sheldon even you were at his funeral!”
“Yes, Rory, but if I recall the body in the burned out wreck was unrecognizable. They identified the body based on the gold ring on his finger.”
“Yes, it was a ring my grandfather gave him from his baseball days.”
Damien’s mind was in shambles. If he could do something so devious to fake his own death at twenty years of age … how much of what he told him about Amber was the truth?
He ripped the door open and before anyone could stop him he charged across the park. The rest of them took the SUV’s around the block and arrived in front of the house the same time he did, but parked them just outside view from those inside the house. Sheldon held Damien back.
“Damien, think! If you charge in there you could very well put Zoey’s life in danger. It might be Paul, but we have no idea what he is capable of now!”
Damien nodded and they quietly breached the low wall in front of the house and went from window to window until they found them all gathered in the kitchen. Sheldon stationed some men all around the house, ensuring no one would escape. The windows and the back door stood open and Zoey’s voice was clear and … somewhat evil. Damien could not help but smile when her words registered.
“You are supposed to be dead. Why are you not dead? And you are my uncle, why did you kidnap me? My Dad is going to make sure this time you are dead for real! He would be furious that you took me away from them!”
“You are rather cheeky. Just as I remember your Mom to be. Never fear, sweetie, if your dear Daddy do as he was told, you will be back with them in no time. How is that delectable Mommy of yours?”
“You stay away from my mother! She would never have anything to do with … with a criminal such as you.”
Paul laughed … a hard, uncaring sound that grated on Damien’s nerves.
“Maybe not, but I made sure to leave behind enough doubt in your Dad’s mind for him to ever trust and love your mother again. Hm, come to think of it, I actually would love to see her again … maybe by now she would be eager to fall in my arms. I’ve become quite charming if need be.”
“She would rather fall in the arms of an Octopus than yours! I can’t wait for my Dad to get his hands on you! Brother or not … no one takes what is his! And I am his!”
“Yes, you are, but I bet your Mom is not so sure about that!”
“What do you mean?”
Damien’s had enough and before Sheldon could stop him, he was through the back door and had his hand around Paul’s throat in a flash.
“She is right, dead brother dear! She is mine and Amber never once doubted that either!”
Sheldon’s agents easily overpowered the three criminals and both he and Rory tried to get his hands from around Paul’s neck. His fingers tightened and Paul’s eyes bulged with strain.
“He is a lunatic! Get … him … off me!”
Neither man could move Damien and he grated through his teeth.
“You are already declared dead, so this would not be a felony. You are my own brother! How can you do something like this! To me, to Mom and Dad!”
Then a small hand touched his forearm and his fury simmered down immediately.
“Daddy. Let him go! Please Daddy.”
Damien cursed and flung him with so much force against the wall behind him, he cracked his head and was out cold. He bend down and picked Zoey up. He immediately walked outside and sat at the edge of the porch with her clutched in his arms, rocking her gently. Her arms and legs clutched around him.
“Oh God, Zoey. I am so sorry! This should never have happened to you!”
“It’s okay, Daddy. It is not your fault. Can we go home now please?”
“Of course, your mother has been out of her mind with worry.”
He strapped Zoey in on the passenger seat, relieved that she seemed calm and not too upset. He shut the door and turned to Sheldon.
“Where are you taking him?”
“To FBI regional office. We will interrogate him there.”
“I am dropping Zoey at home and will meet you there. He has a few answers I need.”
Sheldon shook his head. “I’d rather not, if you intend getting the answers the way you just did.”
“Zoey is safe, so my fury is over, but I want to know what lead to this. How did he do what he did and where has he been for eleven years.”
“Very well, I’ll see you there.”
Damien quickly dialed Ashton’s number and he answered with the first ring.
“Damien, did you find … Amber let go!”
The moment she heard it was Damien she plucked the phone from his hand.
“Damien?”
“We’ve got her, my love.”
“How could you leave me to sleep and do this on your own? I am out of my mind with worry for both of you!”
“Hush now, Baby. All is well. Please, Beautiful you have to calm down before we get there. Zoey is strong and kept her cool, but if she sees you breaking down, so will she. You have to be strong for her now, Amber.”
“Just bring our daughter home! And Damien … thank you.”
He put the cell phone in his pocket and got into the car. Zoey asked him question on question about Paul.
“Why would he think Mom would not believe I am your daughter?”
“Poppet, my brother is clearly delusional. Maybe he already was all those years ago, but we just never realized it. So forget about what he said.”
“But then why did Mom never tell you about me?”
Damien sighed and ran his hand through his hair, keeping his eyes on the road in front of him.
“It was so long ago … things at the time were mixed up. We were all young and too emotional to think like grown-ups. We … your mother and I did not even speak to one another by the time she realized she was expecting you.”
“But why run away? Why hide me from you?”
“Your Mom was scared I would take you away from her if I knew about you.”
She looked at him with wide eyes.
“Would you have?”
“Then? Yes, I most definitely would have and not look back once or cared how much it might hurt her.”
She was silent for a while and then shook her head.
“This is all terribly confusing.”
“I’m sure it is. The important thing now, my Precious is that we are all together as a family and one day soon, an even bigger one.”
She smiled and leaned over the console between the seats to wrap both her arms around his nearest to her and laid her head on his shoulder. She stayed like that until they got to their house. Amber stood waiting in the front door and came tearing down the stairs the moment she saw the SUV turn into the gate.
Zoey swung the door open and ran to her mother. Amber caught her in her arms and just held her, burying her face in her long dark red hair. Damien followed more subdued and gently wrapped his hand around Amber’s hair. She lifted her head and smiled tremblingly at him.
“Thank you! I am so glad both of you are okay.”
Zoey leaned back in her mother’s arms.
“You should have seen Dad, Mom! He came charging through the door and had Uncle Paul around his throat … MOM!”
Amber went pale so quickly, Zoey panicked. Damien plucked Zoey from her hold and lowered her to the ground. He wrapped his arms around Amber. Her eyes rose to his questioningly, her voice husky and low.
“Paul? What … who?”
“He is not dead, Mom! He is the one that kidnap … MOM!”
This time all the tension, the little sleep and now this devastating news were too much for Amber and she fainted. Damien picked her up and carried her past a concerned Ashton, just appearing in the door. He caught Zoey in his arms and followed Damien to the den. He gently lowered her on the couch and sat down next to her, tenderly wiping her hair from her face. His expression inscrutable.
Why would the news upset her this much that she fainted. Is it because now Paul can lay false her claims for real?
He got up from the couch and Zoey took his place. He gestured Ashton to follow him.
“I am going to the FBI office. I have to talk to Paul.”
“Rory phoned just now. How is it possible, Damien? We buried him!”
“We buried someone … clearly not him. I would appreciate if you could stick around until I am back.”
Driving to the FBI office was a nightmare. The same questions kept flashing through his mind. How did he do it, why did he do it and most of all where has he been all this time?
Sheldon met him at the front desk and they took the elevator to the tenth floor. He ushered Damien into his office first.
“Here’s what we’ve got so far. He went drinking the night of the accident. On his way home he picked up a hitch hiker. He had some booze with him and they drank some more while driving. He was too drunk to take that sharp turn and that is how he wrapped the car around the power station. He claims the hitch hiker was dead, and saw the perfect opportunity to get away from his hellish life. He put his ring on his finger and just made it out of the car. One of the live power cables ignited the fuel leaking from the tank, it caught fire and exploded.”
“Can I go in? Sheldon nodded, but warned him he was going with. Damien just shrugged.
Paul glowered at Damien the moment he walked through the door.
“Ah, my dear, dear brother. What are you doing here? Have some more questions for me, I imagine?”
“Your hellish life, Paul? You lived a life of pampered luxury. Mom and Dad doted on you. Why on earth would you willingly choose to do something like that?”
“It hardly matters now, Damien. What’s done is done. I would prefer you do not blabber my existence to them however. I do not have the patience for tears and crying.”
“You care nothing for them?”
“Not a damn thing! All they wanted was you! Their golden boy. The one with the brilliant mind that finished high school when he was barely fifteen! That had the ability to run the Airline from when he was twenty and made his first personal million before then!”
“Jealousy? You were jealous?”
“You don’t know what it was like! How it felt to live in your goddamned shadow! I mean let’s compare! I was useless at school. I literally scraped through every year … and yeah … I actually failed my final school year, but none of you ever knew that! I faked my results! That was how I got into Varsity and progressed through my first two years by paying others to do my assignments and write my tests. My year marks were so high, failing at finals did not matter.”
“You know none of that mattered to Mom and Dad! They loved you. They were totally broken about your death! Mom became an alcoholic, Dad a recluse and I had to take over the Airline. They would have helped you through your problems. For that matter, so would I!”
“Oh spare me! I did not want it any different. I really enjoyed my life as it was. Booze, parties, girls … must tell you, big brother … money got me some mean girls those years!”
“Where have you been all these years? You clearly had money, judging by the
Ferrari.”
“I had my inheritance from Grandpa. I transferred it to the Caymans the minute I left school and I had full access thereto. I moved to Las Vegas. I have my own luxury vehicle store there. Some bad investments however, put me into dire straits.”
“So you ran out of money and thought to come here and make a quick one off me?”
“Exactly brother! How did you find us so quickly?”
“You should have spent some money on proper crooks. The ones you hired are small time at best and were easy to trace and find.”
“So Damien. How much longer are you going to dance around the real question on your mind?”
Damien gritted his teeth and had to force himself not to lean over and rip his own brother’s throat out.
“Our beautiful Amber! How has the marriage been so far, brother dear? Knowing you’re sleeping with my left overs?”
Sheldon had to physically contain Damien from reaching across the table and slamming his fist in Paul’s face. He yanked him through the door and Damien cursed him with Paul’s gleeful laughter in his ears.
Chapter Sixteen
Amber came to and was disorientated for a moment until Zoey’s face came into her line of vision, a wrinkle on her brow.
“Are you okay, Mommy? You gave me such a fright!”
She hugged her and said a quick prayer of thanks that her daughter was safe and sound. She sat up and Ashton handed her a cup of tea.
“Where is Damien?”
“He went to the FBI. He wanted to talk to Paul.”
“Then it is real? Paul is not dead?”
“Apparently not. Zoey, why don’t you go and take a bath. You look beat.”
“Yes, I could not sleep last night. Is it okay if I take a nap thereafter, Mom?”
“Of course, darling. I’ll come and check on you later.”
She watched her until she reached the landing at the top of the stairs.
“He kidnapped Zoey, knowing she was his own brother’s child. What kind of man has he turned into?”
“Not turned into, Amber. He has been somewhat devious at school already. There were not many of us that liked him.”
His Vengeance, Marriage and a Baby: He hated her for cockolding him with his brother. Now he wanted vengeance. Page 14