Chasing Shadows

by Carrie A. Smyth

  "I'm afraid Mr Sinclair that you are mistaken in your statements. To be honest I'm not sure I understand why you think you are Mr Henderson's guardian, not to mention his father. Perhaps you might enlighten us."

  "I refuse to speak about private family business of front of people I don't trust, so Dr Riley needs to leave. Now!"

  He recognized the tone his stepfather used, and how he expected his orders to be obeyed at once. Still Charles was not threatening a frightened child, rather two people who Nate knew to be well able to deal with any of his stepfather's bullying tactics.

  "Mr Sinclair." Though speaking politely there was a definite icy edge to Victoria's words. "Dr Riley is here at the express invitation of both Mr Nate Henderson, as well as his grandfather, the late Mr Nathaniel Henderson, who has named Dr Riley as one of the trustee's of the Henderson Foundation. So if you wish to continue with this meeting, might I suggest you explain your outlandish statement."

  "Very well. I have here copies of documents signed by my wife," Charles looked towards Amelia before continuing. "They not only agree to my becoming her proxy in any and all legal issues, but there is also paperwork to show that I am Nate's legal guardian; as well as a copy of the adoption papers from when I adopted him, shortly after my marriage to his mother." He handed over the folder, then tried to contain his surprise when Victoria pushed it away without even glancing at it.

  "It's all legal and above board Ms Townsend," Brad spoke, and Nate couldn't help but think the older man needed to work on his acting skills.

  "Am I to assume then Mr Robertson that you were the person to draw up the documents, to see to their being accepted by the court and validated?" Victoria was enjoying herself, as she helped set a trap that Brad walked straight into.

  "But of course. In accordance with the wishes of my clients, the Sinclairs, I helped to secure young Nathan's future, to save him from those who would use him for their own gains."

  "Remind me again where you got your qualifications?" Brad looked offended by the question; it was not the first time Victoria had made reference to his education, and Charles was clearly losing patience when he cut in.

  "I really don't see why that is relevant, Ms Townsend."

  "I'm just curious where your friend here studied as I believe he may have missed some crucial classes on due diligence. It really would have saved us all so much time here today, not to mention prevented you from being fooled into thinking you had any claim to Mr Henderson. Not least because this is Nathaniel Henderson, not Nathan." As she spoke Victoria had pointed in his direction as if to emphasis her point.

  Nate tried again not to smile at the look of pure confusion on Brad's face, or the worry that crossed his stepfather's.

  "I guess you can be forgiven Mr Robertson, after all you were already dealing with fake paperwork, so that would make your job a bit more difficult. Assuming of course you didn't know about the forgeries, which I will assume, out of professional courtesy."

  "Now wait just a minute, what is she talking about?" Brad turned to Charles, expecting answers. "I warned you..." Whatever else he was about to say was cut off by Victoria.

  "In any event even if the documents were original, and there had been no attempted shenanigans, the simple fact of the matter is that Mrs Sinclair was not in a position to sign over custody of Nate to Mr Sinclair here. And even if she was in such a position; because of her son's age when this adoption petition was apparently taking place, he would have been old enough to have to give his consent to being adopted, which I happen to know didn't happen."

  "WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE." Charles stood up fast, knocking his chair back, screaming his question to the room in general. He was spiraling fast, and Nate knew that when the next revelation was heard, the tantrum would get even worse.

  "Ms Townsend, I don't know what lies my wife's son has told you, but all the paperwork we gave you is one hundred percent valid, it has been signed off by Judge Owens, and a court notary. We can get an affidavit from Mrs Sinclair to say that she agreed to the adoption, and a copy of Nate's written consent to becoming Mr Sinclair's adopted son." His stepfather's legal eagle was definitely panicking, as indicated by his rushed speech.

  "It pains me to see you attempt to keep this family separated and can't help but wonder why you are standing in the way of their reunion. Even the late Mr Henderson was in favor of his grandson's return to Silver Glade." Brad sure was protesting too much.

  Whether it was the mention of his grandfather or the implication that Victoria was trying to get money from her client, or just the fact that his mother had not made a single comment all the time the conversation had been going on, but Nate was done.

  He wanted the toxic influence of his stepfather out of his life once and for all. He gave the sign to Victoria to finish this farce of a meeting, to give the warning to Charles, and his lackey and maybe, just maybe wake his mother up to reality.

  "Please take your seat Mr Sinclair, and you as well Mr Robertson. I would say that I am sorry that you have been mistakenly led to believe that you have become the adopted father of Nate Henderson, but judging by your choice to use forged and fake documents, not to mention bribing court officials to get what you want, I am not surprised that your plot has come undone." All the time she spoke, she never once broke eye contact with Charles."

  "Perhaps if you hadn't used blackmail to get Judge Owens to sign off on the adoption petition he may have told you about another proceeding he had overseen when Nate was two. He would have told you that you were asking consent from the wrong person. This, you see, was due to the fact that he had overseen the termination of the parental rights of Mrs Amelia Garcia, due to her being medically incapacitated and unable to look after her son."

  Nate watched his stepfather as Victoria spoke, how his face paled with each word spoken and the slow realization that he had lost years ago.

  "Then there is the matter of Mr Henderson's emancipation from his grandfather; this time overseen by Judge Levi. Unlike you Mr Sinclair, Nate's grandfather wanted to protect his grandson from vultures who would steal anything they could from him. Like you have been attempting by locking Mr Henderson out of the home that has been in his family for almost a hundred years."

  "What lies has Nate been spinning, nothing you have said is even legal. It seems to me as if the late great Nathaniel Henderson was trying to steal what rightfully belongs to my wife." Charles was the personification of someone about to lose everything, yet unwilling to give up without one last desperate roll of the dice.

  "We have documentation, Mr Sinclair, we have medical records, and pictures. We have sworn statements describing just some of the abuse that Nate suffered at your hands. The broken bones, the bruises, the scars, the long lasting damage suffered by a young, vulnerable boy, who in spite of it all survived. That same boy has found a way to fight back and seek justice for the crimes done to him. Evidence of this treatment was included as part of the emancipation proceedings that the late Mr Henderson insisted on."

  Victoria spoke slowly, putting some of the photos on the table, in view of his mother.

  "We have proof that you have been taking out mortgages on the Henderson Property, illegally I might add, and the board has already agreed to take action against you. There will be a full investigation to see how else you might have been trying to leverage the Henderson name and the legacy of the Henderson Foundation for your own financial gain. The board will see that you are prosecuted."

  "You can't do this. I have rights. My wife has rights." Charles spat out the words, his mask slipping further.

  "You called us here to speak about her inheritance and her allowance, and this has been nothing but some vain attempt to intimidate us into giving up what is rightfully ours. I won't allow you to take my son away from me now." At this last statement Nate couldn't help laughing loudly.

  "You still don't get it do you Charles. You've lost. You lied and schemed and were so busy plotting and spendi
ng money that you didn't do even the slightest bit of research. You thought my mom was an easy mark, and as much as it pains me to say this you were right."

  It took every last bit of strength he had to speak directly to his stepfather, when he all the time he was hoping his words might reach his mom.

  "You took advantage of her goodness, her kindness, her loneliness and twisted it until there was nothing left of her. You thought if you got her to sign away her life you would have access to all the money, and then, I'm guessing when you found out about my trust fund from my grandmother you began to panic."

  "That was when the worse of the abuse started, when Granny's will was read. You didn't even tell me she was gone, never gave me the chance to say goodbye. You stole that from her as much as from me and for that reason alone you deserve everything coming your way."

  Nate had been holding on to those words for so long that it was like a giant weight had been lifted off his shoulders.

  "Oh spare me the poor lost boy act. A little bit of discipline never hurt any child, you should be thanking me for taking the time to make you into a man." Brad cleared his throat loudly, trying to stop Charles from saying anything else, and for once his stepfather listened.

  "Mrs Sinclair's allowance has been reviewed, and as we said earlier she will be given funds to buy or rent a new property more suitable to her current lifestyle. Any funds remaining in her inheritance from her late mother will be made available at once and can be transferred to her account. If she decides to share that with you Mr Sinclair that is entirely her choice. Any further requests for advances on her allowance will have to be passed by the board." Victoria paused for a moment, then continued.

  "If you continue to peddle this claim that you are anything other than the husband of Mr Henderson's mother, you will suffer the consequences. If you do not vacate the Henderson property by the date given, we will begin legal proceedings against you. If you; or any or your friends continue to intimidate Mr Henderson, if you or your friends try to interfere in his life in any way, then you will not like the results." Victoria stood, her actions intended as a dismissal, but Charles stayed in his seat.

  "You might think you have won boy, but this isn't over. So why don't you come to heel like a good little pup and do as you're told." A wave of sickness swept through Nate at the deliberate use of the words that he had heard repeatedly when he was younger.

  The room seemed to spin, but he refused to allow his stepfather to see that his words had any power over him. Standing as tall as he could, he couldn't help but look towards his mother. He could have sworn he saw a trace of tears in her eyes, but he looked away again.

  "Please take out the trash Victoria, the fumes are hurting my head."

  Ignoring a snide comment from Charles, Nate didn't turn around; just walked towards the windows, not really seeing anything outside, but taking the time until he knew he was once more in control, and had hopefully pushed back the pain from his eyes.

  He could still hear his stepfather arguing with Victoria, then her warning that security would be called if they didn't leave. He tried to ignore the cold way that his stepfather spoke to his mother, knowing instinctively that she would suffer for her husband's failures.

  He wanted to speak to her again, to try once more to get her to leave him, but he knew he couldn't. Charles would pounce on any sign of weakness and that was the last thing Nate was going to let happen. He was not the lost lonely boy who had been locked away.

  Rather he was the grown man who was going to punish the monster and all those who stood with him.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  It had been two days since Grace last saw Nate. Two days since he'd held her in his arms and not to sound too cliché rocked her world. She could still feel the ghost of his touch running over her skin, her lips still felt tingly and she wondered if anyone had noticed the change in her.

  Again with the clichés but she couldn't help it. She hadn't expected for Nate to act any differently towards her the next day at school, and she definitely hadn't taken any extra time with her outfit; well maybe she changed twice, but that had nothing to do with Nate.

  Rather she was getting tired of hiding, of being afraid of the gruesome twosome, otherwise known as Dylan and Maddie.

  'Admit it you wanted to look a little cute today!' Even Grace could hear the skepticism of the voice in her head. The voice reminded her a lot of Mimi who had told her many times that if she was going to dress up for anyone, it should only be for someone who already saw her for who she was. It was only now, that the meaning of the advice hit home.

  Nate saw her; possibly saw too much, and even with all that was going on in his life, he had chosen her. As it turned out he hadn't been in school the next day, he had sent a message via Jack to say that he'd had to go to an unplanned meeting and he needed her guardian to go with him.

  She tried not to be too disappointed, she definitely did not want to appear clingy, but she would be lying if she said she hadn't been looking forward to seeing him, even from a distance in school.

  "Morning lovely," Mimi walked into the kitchen where Grace was waiting for the coffee machine to work it's magic. "Looks like there's a storm brewing."

  "Do you think they will be able to drive in the bad weather?" She asked, thinking about Jack and Nate who were still out of town for their meeting with some members of the Henderson Foundation's board.

  "They were hoping to be back around mid-morning. Nate doesn't want to miss too much school, not with the vultures circling." Mimi had a speculative look in her eyes, that didn't quite fit with the words she had spoken.

  Not that Grace could blame her for her attitude towards those charged with educating the young minds of her fellow Theodore Roosevelt students. An increasing number of teachers seemed to have drunk the 'Nate is Evil' Kool Aid, even those who weren't his actual teachers.

  Ms Fields had been particularly vocal with her spitefulness, speaking openly in class about how good it felt to be able to fail Nate, who in his absence missed a sudden pop quiz. When Maddie and Dylan had joined in, cackling like witches she had been reminded of the three witches at the beginning of the play they had been due to start.

  There had been an uncomfortable silence in the room, when she had actually shared the thought out loud, before the other students, the ones not on the crazy train had started laughing.

  Grace chose to ignore the looks that promised retribution, instead wondering at what; or should that be who, might be responsible for her sudden burst of confidence. She also debated asking Jack to have her transferred out of her classes with Ms Fields. She was finding it increasingly difficult to be in the same room as the teacher and not speaking out about the blatant displays of unprofessional behavior.

  It was a relief when after class one of the nicer football players, Luke Santos, had walked out with her, stood by her locker as she grabbed her books and then he'd escorted her to where Mimi waited for her.

  Now, standing in the kitchen, watching the storm clouds gather, Grace could only hope once more that, instead of spending time plotting revenge, Maddie had been focusing on her plans for the homecoming dance. She felt guilty for wanting others to feel the brunt of the other girl's rage; wishing that just once she had said something, had spoken out about how terrible Maddie had been.

  At this point it felt like a constant refrain in her head. She might not be able to change the past, but that didn't mean things had to stay the same. Wasn't that why Nate was here, in Silver Glade, to make changes, to right wrongs. Or at least that was the theory she had been considering for the past few weeks.

  "Everything okay lovely?" Mimi's concern was apparent, and she realized that her adopted grandmother looked tired.

  "Daydreaming is all. The school is awash with Homecoming madness," she grimaced, "even the staff are not immune."

  She couldn't help thinking about the teacher who was publicly berated for daring to hold a quiz that could potentially b
ench some of the team. The longer Principal Carter talked, the more determined the teacher, Ms Banks, grew.

  Even though the Principal's voice got louder, and harsher, not once did the younger woman lose her composure. She wanted to tell Nate about the incident, knowing that he would admire anyone who stood their ground against such an attack.

  Once again her thoughts had circled back to him and she couldn't help but wonder at how he had become the first person she wanted to speak to, to tell him funny stories so she might see him smile. For someone who kept so much of himself hidden, he had somehow found a way into her head, and dare she think it, her heart.

  "Okay I definitely need to know what put that look on your face. Or should I say who?" Mimi quipped.

  "I don't know what you're talking about." The denial was immediate.

  "I wasn't born yesterday lovely. But keep your secret if you must." Grace was a little shocked that Mimi seemed to be letting the subject drop.

  "Are you collecting me after school again?" She asked, wondering if she might convince Mimi to let her walk home. If the weather cooperated it might be possible to capture some of the brewing storm on film, and she wanted to add more diversity to her portfolio.

  "That's the plan at the moment, it's not the best time to be out walking." Even though Mimi had nodded towards the clouds, Grace knew it was more than just the weather that made it unsafe to be out and about.

  The drive to school seemed to pass too quickly, and yet by the time she got there she hadn't enough time to go to her locker before the first warning bell rang. Luckily she had all the books she needed for her first few classes, and was planning on working on some extra math problems she had asked her calculus teacher for. She was determined that she was not going to rest until she had conquered the subject.

  The first warning she got that something was not right, were the strange glances she noticed from students in the corridor. People who had never taken the time to get to know her were staring at her; some laughing openly, and others had looks of pity on their faces.