Chapter 9 - The Child Nobody Mentioned)
Emma drove home in silence.
Julian was waiting.
He stood when she entered.
“Where were you?”
She removed her coat.
“Meeting Evelyn Mercer.”
His face changed.
“You found her?”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
“That’s not important.”
“It is to me.”
“Why?”
“Because she destroyed my father.”
Emma looked at him.
“Your father destroyed himself.”
Julian’s jaw tightened.
“What did she tell you?”
“That Richard stole money.”
“She would say that.”
“She has records.”
“So did my mother.”
“The records in Eleanor’s safe disappeared.”
“Convenient.”
Emma stared.
“How long are you going to defend people just because the truth makes you uncomfortable?”
Julian looked away.
Emma walked into the dining room.
He followed.
“What else did Evelyn say?”
Emma considered telling him about the possible child.
She decided against it.
Not yet.
“She said the company trust has conditions.”
“I know.”
“You didn’t tell me.”
“I told Claire.”
“You didn’t tell me.”
“I didn’t know specifics.”
“She says Eleanor did.”
Julian laughed bitterly.
“Of course she does.”
“Ask Eleanor.”
“I will.”
He picked up his phone.
Emma stopped him.
“Not yet.”
“Why?”
“Because if your mother knows we found Evelyn, she may destroy whatever remains.”
Julian studied her.
“You sound like Claire.”
“Claire is usually right.”
“That used to annoy you.”
“It still does.”
A small smile almost appeared between them.
Almost.
Then Julian noticed the folder in Emma’s hand.
“What is that?”
“Nothing you’re ready to see.”
His face hardened.
“You don’t get to decide that.”
“Yes, I do.”
“Emma.”
“Did you ever have a relationship before me that could have resulted in a child?”
Julian stopped breathing.
The reaction told her enough.
Emma’s stomach dropped.
“Julian?”
He sat.
“How do you know?”
She felt the room tilt.
“There was someone?”
“It was years ago.”
“Was there a child?”
“I don’t know.”
Emma closed her eyes.
“Explain.”
Julian rubbed both hands over his face.
“When I was twenty-two, I dated a woman named Natalie Brooks.”
“For how long?”
“Almost two years.”
“What happened?”
“My father hated her.”
“Why?”
“She wasn’t from our circle.”
Emma gave him a look.
“I know how that sounds.”
“No. I think you know exactly how it sounds.”
Julian continued.
“Natalie became pregnant.”
Emma’s heart pounded.
“She told me the baby wasn’t mine.”
“You believed her?”
“At first.”
“At first?”
“Then she disappeared.”
Emma sat.
“Did you look for her?”
“Yes.”
“Did your mother help?”
Julian went quiet.
Emma already knew.
“She handled it.”
He nodded.
“She said Natalie moved to California.”
“Did you verify that?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because I was twenty-two and stupid.”
“You were also going to become a father.”
“She told me it wasn’t mine.”
“Did you ever see a test?”
“No.”
Emma looked at him with disbelief.
“What did Eleanor say?”
“That Natalie had been seeing someone else. She showed me messages.”
“You saw the messages?”
“Printed copies.”
Of course.
Paper controlled by Eleanor.
Emma felt sick.
“When was the baby due?”
“Spring.”
“What year?”
Julian answered.
Emma calculated.
The child would now be thirteen.
The same age difference suggested by one of Evelyn’s notes.
“Do you know if Natalie had a boy or girl?”
Julian stared at the floor.
“A girl.”
Emma’s breath caught.
“You said you didn’t know if the baby was yours.”
“I don’t.”
“But you know it was a girl.”
“I found a photograph years later.”
“Where?”
“Online.”
“Did you contact Natalie?”
“No.”
“Why?”
Julian’s eyes filled with something Emma had never seen.
Shame.
“Because my mother told me not to destroy another man’s family.”
Emma stood.
“You let Eleanor decide that too?”
“I thought Natalie was married.”
“Was she?”
“I don’t know.”
Emma turned away.
Her child kicked.
She pressed her palm to her belly.
For several minutes neither spoke.
Then Julian asked, “Why did Evelyn tell you?”
“She said the penthouse was connected to Richard’s first grandchild.”
Julian slowly stood.
“What?”
Emma handed him the document.
He read it.
His face lost color.
“That apartment was purchased before you ever met me.”
“Yes.”
“Then how could it be tied to my child?”
“I don’t know.”
Julian read again.
Emma watched realization spread.
“If Natalie’s daughter is mine…”
“She may have rights connected to the trust.”
Julian sat again.
“Jesus.”
His phone rang.
Eleanor.
Neither moved.
It rang until voicemail.
Then again.
Julian declined it.
For the first time Emma had ever seen.
Seconds later, Emma’s phone received a message from an unknown number.
It contained a photograph.
A teenage girl standing outside a school.
Dark hair.
Hazel eyes.
Julian’s eyes.
May you like
Beneath it was one sentence.
If you want the truth about your husband, ask Eleanor what she paid Natalie to disappear.
