I could I have gone from complete bliss to such misery in the stretch of just a few hours?
How stupid had I been to let that man into my bed?
I thought…shit, I don’t know what I thought. I wanted him to be a good man. I wanted him to be a teacher who actually cared. I wanted him to be the guy who went looking for someone else’s kid just because it was the right thing to do, not because he had a secret that would blow up everything that I’d built the foundation of my life on.
That was what I got for trusting a stranger. A stranger who’d already threatened to take my brother from me.
Stupid, stupid, stupid.
*****
Susan was busy, but she made the time to talk to me when I arrived at the high school. It was nearly noon when I walked into the office, so the students were restlessly waiting the half hour until lunch. I could almost feel the restless energy that vibrated within the building even though most of the students were sitting behind closed classroom doors. I remembered being a student in these rooms, sliding notes to my friends under the cover of notebooks and unopened text books. It was certainly a more innocent time, but I wouldn’t go back to it for all the money in the world.
“What can I do for you, Penelope?”
I settled in a chair in front of Susan’s desk, thinking about all the students who had sat here to face the consequences of some classroom disruption or ill-advised prank. JT had been here just the day before, facing the consequences of his arrest Friday night. It was here that he found out he’d been cut from the football team because of his behavior, the catalyst that led to his argument with me, his disappearance, and my decision to call Harrison and ask for his help. And that…I wouldn’t soon forget where that had led.
“I need to take JT home. And I’ll be keeping him at home for the foreseeable future.”
“Can I ask why?” Susan said in her principal’s voice, a voice I was still getting used to. Susan and I had been classmates at this same school. She was two years ahead of me, but the school was so small we still had many classes together over the years. She even dated—and married—one of my closest friends. So, despite her meteoric rise from counselor to vice principal to principal, it was still a little difficult to see her in this position of authority.
I chewed on my lip for a second, wondering just how much trouble I wanted to cause Harrison. The spiteful side of me wanted to see him marched from these corridors in humiliation. But the more cautious side of me didn’t want to do anything he might be able to use against me in court.
“You know that JT is adopted,” I said slowly.
She sat back, a worried frown marring her attractive face. “I do.”
“It seems someone has discovered some irregularities with the original adoption process. There’s going to be a hearing and I need JT to be at home, away from any rumors or…complications that could arise.”
Susan studied me for a minute, crossing her arms over her chest. “I’m afraid I’ll need a little more information,” she said with a taint of reluctance to her tone.
I nodded, but I wasn’t sure what to say. I felt like everything I did or didn’t do from this point on would be used against me.
“Can I ask this,” Susan began, leaning forward over her desk, “does it have something to do with Harrison James?”
I’m sure she could read the answer on my face even though I looked down, bit my lip, and tried not to give her a direct response.
She leaned back again, a heavy sigh slipping from her lips.
“Well, just so you know, he quit this morning. Said he had a private issue that was interfering with his ability to do his job. He wouldn’t elaborate, but to have you show up on the same day with this story…it seems like the two are related.”
“He quit?”
Susan looked pained as she nodded. “It’s unfortunate. He was a real favorite of the students even though he’d only been here six weeks. I was hoping he’d agree to a five year contract at the end of this year. But, obviously, that’s not going to happen.”
I just nodded.
“Listen,” she said, drawing her words out slowly, “why don’t we just leave JT where he’s at. If you decide he’d be better off at home tomorrow, well, we’ll deal with that then. But I think with all the disruptions that have been going on in his life, maybe it would be best to let him finish the day. Okay?”
I nodded.
“I’m sorry for what’s happening to the two of you. After everything you’ve been through…” Susan stood and came around her desk, taking my hands between both of hers. “If there’s anything you need, you know Sam and I are always there for you.”
“I know.” I squeezed her hands as I stood. “I appreciate it, Susan.”
“These things have a way of working themselves out, Penny. You just have to have a little faith.”
I wished it was that easy. But a part of me was pretty sure it would take a lot more than faith to see this through to its conclusion.
*****
I went home from the school. I should have been at the bakery, but Nick assured me when I called earlier that he had everything under control. He was still a little angry with me over the whole fiasco yesterday when he walked in and caught Harrison kissing me. I could hear it in his voice. But he had as much at stake in that bakery as I did, so I knew he wouldn’t let me down if he could help. The only problem was that there was more work than three of us could handle. How long would just he and Angela have to keep things from falling apart? What was I going to do if they couldn’t keep up with the orders while I was dealing with this whole mess?
It would be just my luck for me to win the battle, but I’ll still lose the war because I can’t keep our only source of income from going under.
I dropped my bag by the front door and made my way to the back of the house where my parents’ bedroom had been closed up since the funeral. I stood at the door, my hand on the knob, trying to force myself to push it open. I knew, logically, that I should have cleared this room out three years ago. I should have packed up their things and sold the furniture. I should have repainted the room and claim it as my own. The house was, after all, mine now. But I couldn’t make myself do it.
I took a deep breath and pushed the door open. The scent of disuse greeted me, along with a little undertone of the lavender sachets my mom liked to leave in drawers and under pillows. I almost expected to see her standing at the side of the bed, smiling as she watched me come in.
Hello, darling, she would say with that brilliant smile of hers.
It hurt to be reminded—once again—that I would never see that smile again.
I took a deep breath and walked to the closet where I knew my dad had kept a small safe that held all their important papers. Their will had been there, along with their insurance policies and the deeds to the house and the bakery. I’d searched through it in the days after I got the news, blinded by tears. But I hadn’t taken the time to note the other things held inside.
I knelt on the floor and opened the safe—the combination was a combo of mine and JT’s birthdates—and reached inside to drag out the paperwork still hiding inside. There was more than I’d expected—birth certificates, letters from lawyers, loan papers, titles to the cars—things I’d never bothered with before. I should have. Some of these things might have come in handy when I was dealing with my parents’ many creditors. It was a little late to worry about it now.
I gathered them all and took them back out to the living room, securing the bedroom door behind me. It was difficult to look through these things, the things my parents had thought were important enough to store in a fireproof safe. Not only were there legal papers, but pictures, keepsakes, things that brought back memories I’d buried so long ago it was like ripping out a tooth as they dug themselves back up.
I was crying again and I hated myself for being so weak.
It took some digging, but I finally found the original adoption paperwork. And, there, on the back
page, was his signature. Harrison James Philips. My eyes were drawn to the other signature, Julia Marie Castiano.
I remembered her. I remembered meeting her just a few weeks before my parents brought JT home from the hospital. I was only ten, but I remember her long blond hair, her flawless skin, and the swelling that was my future sibling. I remember I was fascinated with her, with her New York accent and her experience in the world. I remember wondering about the man who fathered her child, imagining some tragic romance. There had been a look in her eye when my dad asked her about him that had sparked a tragic sense in me, even then.
I was beginning to understand that look.
What was their story? What had their relationship been? What was it now?
My cellphone rang.
“Penelope? Can you be in the city in forty-five minutes? I managed to get us an emergency hearing in front of Judge Connors.”
Chapter 10
Harrison
“Do you want me to fly down?”
I leaned back against the wall and turned from the frenzy of activity in the courthouse hallway as I considered Libby’s offer. To be honest, I would have loved to have my sister at my side as I committed myself to this custody fight, but I also knew she was needed in Oregon by her children and husband – if not by our billion dollar company.
“Let’s see how this hearing goes first.”
“You know I’m on your side no matter what happens, right?”
I nodded even though she couldn’t see me. Libby had been the one who suggested I get a job down here, that I ease my way into JT’s life before I started any sort of legal action. I’d wanted to come in, guns blazing, and take my son home. But I listened to her. I should have kept listening to her.
It meant a lot to know she was still supportive despite the disaster I was making of the whole situation.
“I’ll call you when the hearing’s done. Let you know how it went.”
“I’ll be waiting.”
I disconnected the call and turned just in time to watch Penelope come down the hall. I couldn’t deny that there was something about her that reached over and grabbed my balls. She was beautiful, but it was more than that. She walked with confidence, steel in her spine, despite the evidence on her face that suggested a long, difficult morning. Her eyes were a little puffy, her cheeks sporting more color than they usually had. She’d applied a minimal amount of makeup, but it didn’t cover the fact that she’d been crying. And the knowledge that I was the cause of that pain made my chest ache.
How long had it been since I cared about anyone other than my sister? When was the last time a woman’s tears had the power to make me sick to my stomach? When was the last time I tried to take another person’s feelings into consideration before I did…anything?
I wanted to go to her. I wanted to find a way to work this mess out without involving the court. But when she saw me, her confidence sagged for an instant, her eyes widened with horror, and a tension that built walls formed in her shoulders.
If I ever got close to her again, it would be the day hell froze over.
“They’re going to call our case in a few minutes.”
I didn’t even acknowledge the young attorney my lawyer had arranged to handle the hearing in his place. My lawyer, Finn Watson, was back home in Oregon. He couldn’t stand up for me in Texas, but he assured me that after this hearing reaffirmed my status as JT’s temporary guardian, we could move the whole thing back to Oregon since that, technically, is where the fraud was perpetrated.
None of this would have happened if my father hadn’t lied to the adoption lawyer and convinced him that I’d signed away my rights. Leave it to my father to think that not telling me I had a son was in my best interest. And then to die and leave the secret untold for fifteen years.
If I didn’t have enough reasons to hate my father before, I surely had them now.
We walked into the courtroom a few minutes later. There were a few loiterers from the last case, but no reporters—thank goodness. I was afraid word would get out. And I knew it would sooner or later. But later was preferable.
I wondered if Penelope told JT what was happening yet.
The judge walked into the room and took a seat behind his desk. It was an informal courtroom, not even remotely like the throne-like rooms they showed on television. It was more like the conference rooms that sat on one end of each floor of Ashland-Philips’ corporate offices. The judge sat at a normal desk, I sat at a table with my attorney and Penelope did the same across from us, the whole thing set up in a square so that each party could see the others. I couldn’t tear my eyes from her even as she actively tried to keep her eyes on her hands in her lap.
The judge seemed bored as the clerk read out the basics of the case. However, I knew he recognized my name the moment he heard it. So far, I hadn’t run into too many people who knew who I was here in Texas. It helped that I was using my middle name rather than my surname. But I couldn’t get away with that here and the judge was suddenly interested.
“You’re Harrison Philips?” he asked the moment the clerk had finished his part of this little play.
“I am, Your Honor.”
He studied me for a long moment. “As in CEO of Ashland-Philips?”
That caught Penelope’s attention. She was looking at me—finally—but there was new suspicion on her face.
“Yes, sir.”
The judge sat back, his gaze almost like that of a lover or a crazed fan. “I was just reading about you in Forbes,” he said with something like the giggle of an excited girl. “They say your fortune will surpass Elon Musk’s in a few months if things continue as they’re going now.”
I shot Penelope a glance. Her eyes had narrowed and her lips were slightly puckered. It was just another secret she wasn’t pleased to hear.
I nudged my lawyer and he stood, moving immediately into his argument. The judge listened, but his gaze remained glued to me. And mine to Penelope. The only person who didn’t seem lost in their own agenda was Penelope’s lawyer. But then again, he cast a few glances in Penelope’s direction that made me wonder if there was more than a lawyer-client relationship going on there.
“Your Honor,” my temporary lawyer said, “my client was robbed of his only child’s infancy: his first steps, his first words, his first day of kindergarten. He was robbed of everything a parent holds dear about raising a child. It’s only fair that he be allowed to share in what is left of his son’s childhood.”
Penelope’s lawyer stood as my lawyer sat, clearing his throat before he began his own argument.
“Jonathon Tyler Monroe has been in the custody of the Monroe family since he was a day old. He has never known another family, another life. His parents entered into a contract with the boy’s biological mother with the understanding that the biological father had given up his rights. It is no fault of the Monroe family or JT himself that there was some sort of irregularity with the father’s signature. Please don’t punish this young man for the actions of people he’s never even met.”
Silence fell over the courtroom. The judge stared at me a moment longer, then his gaze shifted to Penelope.
“Why aren’t…” He consulted the papers his clerk had laid in front of him. “…Dale and Robin Monroe here in the courtroom?”
Penelope’s lawyer rose again as Penelope shot me a hateful glare.
“The Monroes were killed in a car accident three years ago, Your Honor. Ms. Monroe, their daughter, was granted custody in this court in May of that same year.”
The judge shifted his gaze back to me.
“Who do you suggest forged your signature on the adoption papers?”
My lawyer stood, but the judge waved his hand. “I’d prefer to hear from the complainant himself.”
I stood, clasping my hands in front of me in a proper show of respect.
“I was not aware any of this had taken place until several months ago. At that time, JT’s biological mother informed me that a lawye
r had visited my home and gotten my signature. However, during the time period she stated this took place, I was a student at Stanford.”
“And that can be verified?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Who do you think signed the paperwork in your place?”
Before I could answer, the judge gave his clerk a piece of paper that he brought to me. It was the back page of the adoption contract. Julia’s name was written in her juvenile scrawl. My name appeared above it. But it was clearly not my signature. This was neater, marked with curlicues that I recognized immediately. My heart sank, a realization I hadn’t considered sinking in.
I had so wanted to blame my father for this mess. But this…I could no longer continue to vilify my father when it was so obvious he wasn’t alone in his attempts to control the path of my life.
“Do you recognize that handwriting, Mr. Philips?” the judge asked.
I nodded slowly. “I do.”
“Could you tell me who you believe signed your name to those adoption papers?”
I set the paper down on the table and looked over at Penelope. She wasn’t the only one who’d lost something in all of this. She wasn’t the only one who would be forced to make a few difficult decisions as we continued to fight this out. She wasn’t the only victim of someone else’s lies.
“My mother.”
*****
The judge left the courtroom a few minutes later, promising to have a decision in fifteen minutes. I got up and walked to the side of the room, tugging my cellphone out of my pocket.
“Did you know?” I demanded the moment the line was answered on the other end.
“Know what?”
“I saw the papers. I saw the signature.”
“Harry…”
“Did you know it was Mom who signed my rights away?”
Libby hesitated and I felt betrayal wash over me like a heavy, oily mess. She had known.
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