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“You wanted the truth. Right?”
“More than anything.”
“Then it is what it is. Maybe whatever we find will provide you with peace.”
“My voice of reason,” she purred. “Or maybe it will give me the evidence I need.”
“Are you really prepared to destroy your father?”
She thought about the question before answering. “When I was little, I tried to be the best girl possible. I needed his attention and his love. As I grew older, I no longer needed his praise or his fatherly ways. I was forced to rely on myself. I was a lonely kid, jealous of families who spent time together. But I learned early on that if I wanted to have that perfect Hallmark experience, I’d need to create it myself.” When she turned her head toward me, I felt the heat of her stare.
The electricity shooting through me doubled, my mind attempting to process whether we could be a family. Maybe two would turn into three or four. Was I cut out to be a father? The answer was easier than I’d anticipated. Without a doubt.
I noticed the sign, saying a silent prayer that the bank was still in business. When I turned into the parking lot, I was able to breathe a sigh of relief seeing the number of cars. She had her hand clenched around the locket, her face pinched when I pulled in and parked, cutting the engine.
“I couldn’t do this if you weren’t here.”
“I don’t believe that for a second, lady. You’re a hell of a lot stronger than you know.”
“But you give me courage. You’ve allowed me to believe in the impossible.”
Before I opened the door, I squeezed her hand. “Sometimes the truth isn’t the easiest to accept.”
“I know that. But this is something I need to do.” After giving me a smile, she pulled her hand away, opening the door. “We’ll be right back, Sam.”
The pup wagged his entire body then sat back on his haunches. He knew something was wrong.
So did I.
I kept my hand on the small of her back as we walked inside, forced to wait for almost five minutes before we were acknowledged.
“Can I help you?” the man behind the desk asked.
“I’m here to get into a safety deposit box,” Amelie said with no hesitation, no fear in her voice. She was the strongest woman I knew.
“Of course. What’s the number?”
She handed over the locket and he glanced from her eyes into mine. “I have identification.” As she pulled out her driver’s license, the man scrutinized it for a very long time. “And I have a key.”
He said nothing as he pulled up a computer file, checking and double-checking her ID. “You are authorized on the account. Follow me.”
Amelie’s only moment of faltering was to reach for my hand, locking her fingers with mine. I couldn’t imagine what was going through her mind, the trepidation that she’d risked her life in order to discover the truth.
He led us through a set of double doors, using a keypad to unlock the area where the boxes were located. “You’re just in time. We’d already sent out notices that this branch is closing, all items are required to be removed within fifteen days or they’d be destroyed.”
She tipped her head, glancing into my eyes. The room reminded me of a tomb, no sound getting in or out. When he used a key to open another set of small doors, I heard her breath catch. Without another word, he pulled the box onto the large table, giving us both a nod then leaving.
The box itself was no larger than one designed for shoes or boots. She hovered over it, clenching the necklace with enough force her knuckles were white. “It’s now or never.”
I stood back, allowing her whatever privacy she needed. Her hands shaking, she slipped the small key into the lock, exhaling before lifting the lid. From my vantage point, I could see several envelopes, including some that indicated personal letters. While I wanted nothing more than to find out what the hell was really going on, I used every ounce of patience to wait.
This was a defining moment.
She took her time, opening every envelope carefully, reading over the contents at least twice. One had to be a contract of some kind, or perhaps financial statements. It was difficult to tell. However, I’d been correct in my assumptions. There were three handwritten letters. As I studied the woman I’d fallen head over heels in love with, tears slipped past her long eyelashes. All I wanted to do was drag her into my arms, holding her as she fell apart.
But she surprised me again, wiping away the tears with the kind of fury I’d witnessed time and time again. Then she lifted her head, her expression one of sheer defiance.
“My mother outwitted the bastard.” She pulled several pieces of paper from the largest envelope, shifting them in my direction. All I had to do was pull one into my hand to know she was now in the possession of paper gold in the form of stock certificates from over twenty years before. I was shocked to see them. However, they were listed in a corporation’s name.
