Zane sat to the side, unnoticed, and allowed his mother and Catherine to reunite. Catherine’s shock, when his mother approached the partitioned glass, had been understandable.
Annoyed that Ella wasn’t returning his messages, Zane didn’t have to ask Catherine whether she’d been that morning to visit. She had. Of this, Zane had no doubt. She’d probably sat in the same chair his mother did now. If he was deluded enough, he’d surely smell eucalyptus in the room. But he wasn’t stupid. Just madly in love with a woman who was driving him crazy.
In the waiting room earlier, he’d sat on something sharp, which had pinched his lower back. On closer inspection, he’d found that Ella’s little blue box had slipped between the cushions. Inside was the bracelet with the inscription he knew by heart. When he showed the find to his parents and had explained who it belonged to, he was stunned to learn it had been a gift his mother had given Ella on her christening day.
The entire situation was becoming weirder.
What worried him was how all this newfound knowledge would alter his perspective on life. Would it change the man he was? His usual style was to run head-on through life, collecting damaged bits of life along the way and tossing them over a fence. Hell, he’d never been this in love before, and with everything changing so fast, he couldn’t use his usual tricks for getting through each day. He was being forced to slow down and consider each move. Very unlike him.
The first blow had come when he’d inspected his birth certificate. Then, in the short space of a few days, he’d learned the truth about his real father and grandfather and about the violence both his mother and grandmother has suffered. Dark secrets his mother had kept from him.
Not knowing the reasons for his biological father’s actions hurt the most. Not able to get closure would leave a gaping hole somewhere in his heart. No matter how important his stepdad was to him, he was still connected to an unknown man who’d died as he’d lived. Cloaked in violence.
His grandmother’s desire to leave him her fortune didn’t sit well with him either. It wasn’t the sort of money he could spend without it niggling at his conscience. But she’d been insistent, and that’s when the idea had come to him. Maybe it was his destiny. He could put the money towards a women’s shelter that provided protection from domestic violence. It often coincided with drug and alcohol abuse; he could set up education programs, bringing awareness to teenagers so they’d avoid entering or continuing the vicious cycle.
Changes had come about in society in stranger ways.
When he switched his attention back to his mother and Catherine, his breath hitched in his throat. Tears poured down both their faces. The hardships these two women had dealt with in their lifetimes were more than any one person should endure.
He turned away for an instant, missing the connection and comfort the little blue box had given him. Damn it, what he’d do for the feel of Ella’s hand in his. Hell. He missed everything about her, and she could deny it all she wanted, but something deep in his subconscious told him they belonged together.
They’d arrived at the Lotusville Correctional Centre directly from his grandmother’s home. With a maximum of two persons allowed to visit, his father was in the waiting room. Zane had entrusted the little blue box to his father and dwelled on how he’d return it to Ella. He wasn’t about to just hand it over. That would be too straightforward.
In an attempt to drag his mind off Ella, he focused on their mothers’ conversation and heard a lot of apologies coming from his mother. She would have to learn to accept that no one was at fault. He’d seen worse when it came to reunions. Unfortunately, guilt had a way of choking a person. If they’d done things differently in the past, could it have changed the course of their lives? Those sorts of questions would haunt them forever.
Once her initial flood of tears had abated, Catherine swiped her face, leaving moisture smeared across her cheeks and wet patches on the bright orange sleeve of her prison overalls. Her eyes widened with surprise when Zane scraped his chair closer to the partition. “This … this can’t be …” She swung back to face his mother. “Tilly, is … is this …?”
He moved closer until he was sitting in front of Catherine. “Yes, I’m Zane. There’s a lot we need to discuss. Firstly, I want you to know that I love your daughter and I’m going to help her fix the mess we made.”
“What? You’re in love?” Catherine shrieked. “Ella was here only a little while ago. How come I know nothing about this?” She twisted to look at his mother and asked, “Tilly, did you know anything?”
So, Ella didn’t mention me.
“He told me everything on the flight over.” His mother reached for Catherine’s hand and squeezed it. “Zane does part-time investigative work and the photo of us you kept hidden alerted him to our connection. I kept the same photo all these years and he recognised it immediately.”
Catherine slumped against her chair. “So, you found Ella’s father?”
He knew she hadn’t meant to accuse him, but it didn’t stop him from leaning forward and massaging his temple. “I had no idea what kind of monster he was. All I knew was that my mother never told us the truth about what happened to her friend in the photo. I also never once suspected my dad wasn’t my biological father. Initially, I didn’t tell Ella any of this. I wanted to find out what I could first, but not even that went to plan.”
Zane recounted the events leading up to Ella discovering the replica photo in his mother’s cabinet and how all hell had broken loose between them. He explained how he’d accessed cold case files and discovered a grainy photograph of her, allowing him to learn the identity of Ella’s father. It had been his idea to come to Boston—a purely selfish decision because he couldn’t find anything on his mother. He didn’t know about the link between them and hadn’t been prepared to ask his mother yet.
When he finished telling her about his and Ella’s week in Boston and of meeting Ella’s father and half-siblings, he reclined. “She’s being pretty stubborn about not wanting any help, but it’s my fault too, so I need to fix it.”
Catherine grimaced. “I’m sorry, Zane. She was acting strange in the weeks before she went—well, I thought she was going to Hawaii. Then one day she demanded to know who Isabella was. My God, I was so close to telling her everything. I guessed she’d found the hidden box in my wardrobe, but I never imagined she’d progressed further. I promised I’d make myself tell her the truth, terrified as I was, once we wrapped up Victoria’s treatment.”
She shook her head and fought more tears. “Damn,” she swore, “I can’t believe I didn’t pick up on her lies. Thank God Victoria did. She knew something was amiss but didn’t ask any questions. She insisted Ella leave details of her itinerary in case of an emergency and was beside herself when the police turned up. She had no idea about my past. That’s when I explained everything.”
“How did the pair of you manage to change your accents so soundly? I’ve never been able to detect anything?” Zane asked.
Tilly grimaced beside him. “A lot of hard work and total commitment to erase any hint of our past.”
A timer buzzed somewhere nearby.
On the other side of the glass partition, Catherine panicked. “Zane, you have to get to her, fast.” She stumbled out of her chair, the sight of the security guard coming her way putting fear in her face. “I begged her not to have anything to do with her father. Told her to take nothing from him and not to go anywhere near him. But …”
A chill swept its way along the back of his neck. Damn it. She’d do this.
He rushed to his feet and swore when the chair fell back. A security guard approached at the same time as a shadow lengthened across the room, the sudden disappearance of the sunlight sending a bad premonition Zane’s way.
“Zane,” Catherine talked over her shoulder, her voice shaky as the guard led her away. “I know the look she gave me. I know she’s gone to him. She’ll be planning all sorts of revenge. But he’ll squash her and suck every bit of life from her.” Her last words were shouted over the partitioned glass, desperation lacing her voice. “Go, Zane! Please. Please, save my baby.”
He righted his chair and could hear Catherine sobbing as the guard led her through a security door. He put his arm around his mother, who was just as distraught. “Come on, Mum, we need to hurry. You heard her.”
Zane tapped his thigh. The taxi couldn’t get to the centre of Boston fast enough. It was bad enough that the rail service out of Norfolk had been delayed due to an electrical problem.
His head throbbed, threatening to burst if he didn’t calm down. Calm down, my arse. When I get to her, she’ll know all about it.
He yanked his phone out of his pocket and sent a hurried message to Ella, saying that he knew what she was up to and that she should stop. Backtrack. Get the hell out of her father’s building.
But he knew. Bloody hell, did he ever. His senses were on full alert and he knew exactly where she’d be. He was one hundred percent certain of it. Damn her stupidity and stubbornness.
After handing money over to the cab driver, he’d flung himself out before the vehicle had a chance to stop, and ran towards the familiar high-rise. He sprinted to the elevator bank and swore impatiently as he waited for one to arrive.
Finally, he was in. The numbers rose with agonising slowness as the lift made stops along the way. He gripped the chrome rail and ignored the strange looks he was getting when people entered and left. His face would be sporting the world’s biggest scowl, but he didn’t care. He wasn’t there to make friends.
As impatience threatened to strangle the hold he had on his emotions, the doors slid apart and relief spread across his flushed skin when he realised he’d arrived at the top floor.
Once past the elevators, he saw only one other person. She stood beside a desk fanning herself with a magazine, her back to Zane. Ella had told him there was only one secretary on the floor and Thomas’s office.
This must be the secretary.
“Excuse me, is Ella Harvey with Mr Van Der Meeliko?” Zane said, rushing up behind her.
She gasped and, turning around, dropped the magazine.
He didn’t have time for this. “Please, tell me, or I’ll head straight in myself.”
The secretary crumpled to her seat, with hair coming out of her bun. “Oh, do what you want. What do I care? Who else wants to barge their way in today?”
On closer inspection, Zane thought she looked about ready to pass out. “If Ella Harvey is the same person who only a few days ago claimed to be Mr Van Der Meeliko’s daughter, then yes, she’s in there.” She waved him in the direction of the office. “Go. Make my day. Take her away, she’s nothing but trouble.”
He ran. The office was only metres away, but his legs couldn’t go fast enough. As he reached the door, he pushed its handle down before swinging it open, leaving it to slam against the wall.
He gasped. Thomas had Ella’s arm locked behind her back in a tight grip. When he saw Zane, he froze for an instant before releasing Ella.
Ella twisted around, and when she cried out Zane’s name in anguish, it tore at his insides.
“Get your hands off her.” With a flurry of movement, Zane had a fistful of Thomas’s shirt. Every muscle on Zane’s face twitched with fury as he shoved Thomas back and threw a punch.
Thomas stumbled before righting himself, and at the same time the security guard stormed into the room.
“Mr Van Der Meeliko.” The security guard rushed towards Thomas’ side, but Thomas shooed him back.
After a quick touch to his face, and clearly finding no blood on his hand, Thomas let his arm drop and stood tall. Then his posture stiffened and his mouth gaped open.
“Oh, my God. Oh, my holy flaming God. How did I not pick it up the last time I saw you? Christ, you’re a Savro, aren’t you? I can see it in your face. You’re Mathilda’s kid. You bastards are still mixed up with my family. When will you leave us alone?”
Before Zane had a chance to draw breath, Ella shot a smart-mouthed comment back—and he could have strangled her for it. “You don’t have a family. At least not one to be proud of. Anyway, he’s not my boyfriend anymore, so you can leave him alone.”
Zane grabbed her arm, his hand shaking as he moved towards the door. “Let’s go, Ella.” He didn’t like anything about this entire affair.
His grip tightened as her final words sunk in and belted him across the chest. What the hell was that supposed to mean?
“I’m not finished with either of you yet,” her father yelled after them.
Zane barely registered Thomas’s threat. Because his biggest threat was right beside him, trying to free her arm.