Page 80 of Unveiled

“How about some tea?”

Adalyn exhaled heavily through her nose and managed a small nod. “That’d be nice, thanks.”

In her peripheral vision, she watched Jenn stand, her feet carrying her around the couch and into the kitchen. She heard her bustling around, heating the water to prepare the tea, but her mind was elsewhere. Each time she closed her eyes, she saw Jaclyn’s pitiful face, stained with tears.

She had stared at the picture for hours over the past two days, hoping something would come to her. She felt like she was missing something, and it was driving her crazy. Suddenly, it seemed vitally important that she figure it out. Pulling the worn photo out of the pocket of her cardigan, she fingered the edges of the shiny photo paper that had begun to fray.

As always, her eyes were immediately drawn to Jaclyn’s face—huge gray eyes situated in her pale face, cheeks stained with tears. She didn’t appear to be dirty or hurt—just terribly, awfully scared. Tears burned the back of Adalyn’s eyes, and she bit her tongue, using the pain as a distraction to keep from breaking down.

How could anyone be so cold and callous as to hurt a baby girl? Men like this were evil. She would have understood a ransom. But the fact that no one had reached out was hugely unsettling. This was something that happened in other countries, to other people. This wasn’t supposed to happen in the States, surrounded by members of law enforcement and military.

She couldn’t begin to understand why this happened. She had seen movies like this, read about it in the news. This was nothing but a business to the evil men controlling the darker parts of the world. Her child was a transaction to line someone’s pockets. She might be called naïve for praying for the best, but she wasn’t stupid.

If Jaclyn hadn’t been taken to be ransomed, there were few other options—none of them good. She prayed right then that Jaclyn was safe in someone’s home nearby instead of being transported across the border or even halfway across the world. Men were horrible, vile creatures.

As she looked at the photograph, something sparked in her mind. She stared at the hand gripping her daughter’s shoulder, the fingers lean and small. The nails were bitten down to the quick, lending them an unkempt, masculine appearance. The longer she stared at them, the more sense it made. A woman had done this.

She stared harder, desperately trying to make sense of this new information. She had accused Jaxon of bringing trouble to their doorstep when he’d arrived out of the blue, and now shame assailed her. This was directed at her. Why, she wasn’t sure, but she couldn’t deny that someone had been targeting her specifically. The rock that had been tossed through the window. The break-in at the salon. And now this. Someone wanted to hurt her, someone with a grudge—but who?

Caryn was evil, but always well-manicured. She had the money to hire someone, but Adalyn couldn’t see her stooping that low. She seemed to be the type of person to derive pleasure from verbally abusing others. Adalyn doubted she would let someone else take credit.

Besides, to kidnap a child over a disagreement was a little extreme. She knew Megan was still unhappy that she had fired her. Her words from that day came back to her. Megan had insisted that someone was setting her up. Had she been right all along?

“Here you go.” Jenn moved in front of Adalyn and held out a mug of tea, steam curling into the air. Adalyn started to reach for the mug clasped in Jenn’s hands and stopped dead. Her gaze snagged on Jenn’s hands, the nails jagged and torn.

Like a puzzle, all of the pieces suddenly clicked into place. Thoughts spun through Adalyn’s mind, recounting every moment: Jenn had closed with Megan most nights. She had been at the salon the day the window was broken. She had closed the shop the night of the break-in.

Adalyn dropped her hand back to her lap and lifted her gaze to Jenn’s. “Why?”

Jenn straightened, her shoulders pulling back tense and tight. “God, Adalyn.” The words left her mouth in an exasperated rush, dripping with condescension. “Are you really that stupid?”

Adalyn’s typically mousy assistant was gone. In her place stood a hard, terse woman. Her lips curled into a sneer as she stared down at Adalyn. “Do you really not recognize me?”

The question caught Adalyn off guard, and she skimmed Jenn’s features. She took in her short, sleek black hair, noticing for the first time how unnatural it looked against her pale skin. A sprinkling of freckles dusted across her nose, cleverly concealed by a thin layer of makeup.

Why had she never noticed those before? She tried to focus on the shape of her face, the honey-brown of her eyes. A memory slowly began to take shape.

The wedding.

All of a sudden, it made sense. Adalyn had met Jenn two years ago when she was in Vegas for Rose’s bachelorette party. Except back then, Jenn had long red hair and freckles, and she had been called Jocelyn.

Adalyn kicked herself for not figuring it out sooner. Jenn had pleaded for a job, and Adalyn had acquiesced just like she wanted. She even recalled with startling clarity why she never put two and two together—Amy had taken care of all of the paperwork. She had filed the application and run the background check on Jenn when they hired her.

Now Adalyn knew who Jenn really was. What she didn’t know was why she had lied. “How could you do this?”

Jenn let out a mirthless laugh. “Did you really think no one would find out?” The coldness of her tone sent chills creeping up Adalyn’s spine.

“What do you mean?”

Jenn glared at her. “He never should have married you. You lied to everyone about what happened. You made everyone believe that you and Jaxon married after some whirlwind love affair. But it was no more than a one-night stand. Isn’t that right?”

Adalyn’s eyes widened in bewilderment. “How did you know that?”

Before Jenn even answered, it hit Adalyn. She had been in the lobby that morning when Jaxon and Adalyn had that awful fight.

Jenn shook her head at Adalyn. “I heard everything. I couldn’t believe he’d ever love someone like you, someone who spread her legs for him like a common whore. I knew he was honorable, but I never dreamed he’d go that far—especially when he didn’t even know about the kid. I thought that once he found out you’d kept her from him, he’d be done with you for good. But no, not Jaxon,” she said bitterly.

“He always has to do what’s right. God, do you know how good it felt to finally hear that he’d left you?”