by Rachel Woods
“Let me see that,” said Leo, his pulse skyrocketing as his wife passed the letter to him.
“Adrienne talks about Besi near the end of the letter,” said Vivian.
Forcing himself to focus, Leo found the paragraph. “This is crazy. Besi and Elizabeth Davis are sisters? How?”
“Adrienne Beaumont says she had to give Elizabeth up and she regrets it,” said Vivian.
“But I want you to know, my sweet Lizzie, that I never stopped thinking about you and I have always loved you as you were my first born child,” Leo read. “I wish I could have raised you, but I had no choice but to allow you to be brought up by someone very dear to my heart, a man I knew who would treat you as though you were his own daughter. I know it will come as a shock to you to learn that Guillermo Davis is not your father. What the hell?”
“Let’s see what other surprises Jones has,” suggested Vivian, grabbing the folder from the island.
“Skip was right,” said Leo. “This is crazy shit.”
“Damn.” Vivian exhaled, shaking her head. “Another letter, but I have no idea what it says. It’s written in French. I have no idea what it says.”
Shocked, Leo tilted his head, staring at the love of his life. “Babe … As-tu oublié que je sais parler français?”
Eyes wide, Vivian smacked her palm against her forehead. “What was I thinking? Of course, you parlais Francais.”
“Trade you,” said Leo, handing Vivian the letter from Adrienne to Elizabeth. After taking the letter written in French, he skimmed the first few paragraphs. “This is from Guillermo to Adrienne. It starts my dearest Adrienne, I hope this letter finds you well. I know we have not been able to speak in person, for some time, so I wanted to write to you. He goes on to talk about how Elizabeth is doing well and how she’s growing into a beautiful young woman who looks exactly like her mother.”
“That’s interesting,” said Vivian. “I was just wondering if Elizabeth looked anything like Besi and apparently, she looks like her mother, and so did Besi. So, Besi and Elizabeth must resemble each other.”
“Wonder if Elizabeth has the bump in her nose,” said Leo.
“What else does Guillermo’s letter say?”
Leo skimmed the next few paragraphs. “He talks about how he doesn’t think it’s fair to Elizabeth that she doesn’t know her real father. He says …”
“He says what?”
Clearing his throat, not quite able to believe what he’d read, Leo translated: “Adrienne, I know you think that Lizzie’s father is one of the men you were with when you and Sam were having problems in your marriage, but have you considered that maybe Lizzie is Sam’s daughter after all?”
Vivian asked, “Could that be true?”
“Guillermo Davis thought so,” said Leo, staring at the letter. “He encourages Adrienne to get a DNA test to find out the truth. I wonder if she did it. This letter is dated ten years ago when Elizabeth was sixteen or seventeen years old.”
“I think she did,” said Vivian. “There’s a copy of a DNA test in this folder. But, it looks like the test was done earlier this year, in March.“
“And?” Leo asked, his heart starting to pound.
“And Guillermo Davis was right,” said Vivian. “Elizabeth Davis is Samuel Beaumont’s daughter.”
“Babe, what if Elizabeth found this letter from Guillermo Davis to Adrienne where he suggests that Elizabeth is Sam Beaumont’s daughter? Elizabeth probably wanted to find out if that was true, so she contacted Aaron Jones to investigate those claims for her.”
Vivian nodded. “After Jones confirmed that Samuel was Elizabeth’s father, he contacted Besi with this urgent news that she has a sister and …wait a minute, something’s weird. There’s a second DNA test in the folder.”
“Does the second test dispute the results of the first test?”
Vivian shook her head. “Now I know why Skip said there was crazy shit about Besi in this envelope. Take a look at this.”
49
Leo stared at the DNA test, his gaze drawn to the conclusion at the bottom.
He’d already read it several times since Vivian had shown it to him, but he still couldn’t believe it, still couldn’t understand how the results could be true.
Conclusion: Samuel Jefferson Beaumont is excluded from being the biological father of Bessemer Elizabeth Beaumont. The exclusion is based on the fact that he does not show the genetic markers which have to be present for the biological father of the child, Bessemer Elizabeth Beaumont, at multiple DNA-Systems. Therefore, it is practically proven that Samuel Jefferson Beaumont is NOT the biological father of Bessemer Elizabeth Beaumont.
“Besi wasn’t Samuel Beaumont’s daughter,” said Vivian as she grabbed the folder from the island and tucked the second DNA test inside. “Do you think he knows?”
Facing the window above the sink, Leo shook his head. “Samuel Beaumont is suffering from dementia. Has been for the last five years, or so. He doesn’t know one minute from the next.”
“You think Elizabeth Davis knows?” asked Vivian. “Has she seen these DNA tests?”
“I don’t think so,” said Leo. “If Elizabeth knew that she was Sam Beaumont’s daughter, she would have contacted him. She would have wanted to meet her father. And get her share of the Beaumont billions.”
“So, maybe Elizabeth didn’t know,” said Vivian.
“Obviously, Jones knew she was Sam Beaumont’s daughter,” said Leo. “But, maybe he didn’t tell Elizabeth.”
“Jones also knew that Besi wasn’t Sam’s daughter,” said Vivian. “Where did Jones get copies of the DNA tests? Or, did he have the DNA tests done? And if so, how did he get Besi’s DNA? How did he get Sam Beaumont’s DNA?”
Leo said, “There’s no telling how he got Sam’s and Besi’s DNA. But, my guess is that Aaron Jones found the letter from Guillermo Davis to Adrienne. He had it translated from French to English, and decided to find out if Sam Beaumont was Elizabeth’s father. After confirming that Guillermo was right, Jones might have, for whatever reason, decided to test Besi’s DNA and Sam’s DNA.”
Vivian nodded. “Once Jones learned that Sam wasn’t Besi’s dad, he probably used those DNA results to blackmail Besi.“
Leo said, “Besi would never want the world to know that she wasn’t Sam Beaumont’s daughter. She adores her father. Worships the ground he walks on. Finding out that Sam wasn’t her dad probably damn near killed Besi.”
“So, she paid Jones to keep his mouth shut,” said Vivian. “Which he does.”
“But, somehow, Elizabeth Davis must have found out that Sam Beaumont was her father,” said Leo. “She must have threatened to go public.”
“That explains the texts about Elizabeth not staying quiet,” said Vivian. “But, wait, let’s back up. Elizabeth wanted Jones to investigate something for her, remember?”
“Maybe the letter from Guillermo to Adrienne,” said Leo. “Elizabeth might have found the letter, and given it to Jones, and asked him to authenticate it, which Jones did, but he didn’t tell her.”
Vivian sighed. “Because it was explosive information and Jones must have thought he could get more money by blackmailing Besi than coming clean to Elizabeth.”
“Doesn’t explain the email where Jones tells Elizabeth that Besi agreed to her terms,” said Leo. “Unless Besi agreed to acknowledge Elizabeth as Sam’s daughter, which I doubt. Why would they meet in the Aerie Islands to do that?”
“And what were Elizabeth’s terms that Besi agreed to?” asked Vivian, clutching the folder against her chest as she faced the window.
“But, then, what happened to make Elizabeth threaten to blow up the deal?”
“Elizabeth was causing the problems,” said Leo, “and yet Besi ended up dead. You would think that Besi and Jones would have conspired to kill Elizabeth, but—”
The window above the kitchen sink exploded, spewing a hail of glass chunks and shards.
50
Vivian screamed as Leo grabbed
her and pulled her to the floor with him, in the space between the island and the sink.
Seconds later, as Vivian tried to think, to figure out what the hell was going on, there was another gunshot. Vivian jumped as Leo pulled her closer, motioning for her to stay quiet. Pressing her lips together, Vivian tried to contain the screams churning in her gut, desperate to be released. Shaking, she pressed the folder against her chest and tried to breathe.
Leo’s hand landed on her cheek, and he turned her face toward him.
Staring into his blue eyes, Vivian felt an immediate calmness wash over her, and somehow, she knew everything would be okay. She knew that she and Leo would escape this situation, whatever it was, as they had so many times before.
The concerned determination in Leo’s gaze stirred within her a resolute tenacity. Despite the terror running through her veins, Vivian told herself not to panic. Not yet, anyway. Not until they figured out what was happening. All she knew for sure was that someone was in the house. But, why? Had someone seen them sneak inside and follow them? The cops? No, the police would have announced themselves. Maybe a neighbor watching the house for intruders? Or, maybe—
Footsteps came closer.
Vivian froze, listening.
Someone was walking along the opposite side of the island.
Leo motioned for Vivian to follow him as he moved to his hands and knees and headed toward the far end of the island. Her heart slamming, Vivian crawled behind her husband. Leo peeked around the corner of the island, and then looked back at her.
He motioned the direction he wanted them to go, which was straight ahead, into the living area, and beyond that, the shattered patio door. Vivian wasn’t great at judging distance, but she guessed they would have to run at least ten feet.
Could they make it without being shot to death?
Vivian wasn’t sure and didn’t want to chance it. Shaking her head, she beckoned for him to turn and crawl back toward her.
“What is it?” Leo whispered, inches away.
“We need to find out who’s in here.”
“We need to get the hell out of here,” Leo countered. “Then we’ll call the cops, and they can find out.”
“What if it’s a neighbor who was watching the house?” Vivian asked. “If we identify ourselves and—”
A third gunshot rattled Vivian, and she gasped.
“Babe, we have to get out of here,” Leo insisted.
Realizing that her husband was right, Vivian nodded.
“On three, okay?” Leo grabbed her hand and rose to his heels. “One, two …”
The three-count came before Vivian was ready, but she managed to stay low, ducking as she ran behind Leo, one hand gripping her husband’s, the other clutching the folder.
More bullets rang out as they dashed toward the living area.
“Stop!” A voice cried out, somewhere behind them. “Don’t make me kill you!”
Vivian shrieked as Leo grabbed her around the waist, and then vaulted over the sectional sofa, taking her with him. Together, they rolled over the plush cushions and down to the floor, lodged in the space between the couch and the coffee table. As Vivian stared at the ceiling, panting and trying to catch her breath, Leo scrambled on top of her, shielding her with his body.
“Get the hell up. Now!”
Vivian didn’t recognize the voice, female but stripped of soft femininity, full of contempt and with a slight Southern drawl. But, from Leo’s expression, she could tell her husband knew exactly who was barking orders.
“I don’t want to kill you, Leo!”
“I’m getting up,” said Leo. “Don’t shoot.”
“No, please, don’t,” Vivian whispered, tears rolling down the sides of her face as she wrapped her arms tightly around his waist.
“I’ll be okay,” he said, pressing his mouth against hers. “I promise.”
Squeezing her eyes shut, Vivian shook her head, but she released her hold, allowing him to move away from her. As slowly as possible, Leo rose to his knees and then to his feet.
“Put your hands up where I can see them! No sudden moves or I will shoot, and I promise you, I won’t miss!”
Hands raised shoulder high, Leo turned.
“Wow, Leo, you look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
Shaking his head, Leo said, “I don’t understand—”
“You don’t understand what? How I’m still alive?”
51
“This doesn’t make any sense,” said Leo.
Unwilling, and unable, to cower in fear, Vivian rolled over onto her stomach and propped herself up on her elbows. Forcing herself to focus, she slipped a shaking hand into the pocket of her blazer and pulled out her cell phone. Fingers trembling, she typed a group text message to the Palmchat Gazette staff: Send police to Dove St. in Oyster Farms!!! ASAP!!!! Leo and I being held at gunpoint! Call cops NOW!!!
“It makes perfect sense,” said Besi.
“We all saw you die,” said Leo. “You were shot.”
Praying that someone from her staff would call the cops, Vivian put the phone back into her pocket and rose to her feet. Struggling to control her shock and disbelief, she took a deep breath as she stared at the woman standing on the opposite side of the couch.
Leo was right.
It didn’t make sense.
Bessemer Beaumont, alive and pointing a gun at them, was beyond impossible.
“No, I wasn’t shot,” said Besi. “That was my half-sister. Elizabeth Adrienne Davis, who I’m sure you read all about in that file Aaron Jones gave to Skip Taylor.”
Vivian opened her mouth but said nothing.
She had no words.
“Speaking of which,” said Besi. “Hand over the file. As I said, I don’t want to shoot you, but I will if I have to and my daddy taught me how not to miss.”
“Your daddy didn’t teach you to shoot,” said Vivian. “Samuel Beaumont taught you, but he isn’t your father.”
“I don’t care what those DNA tests say,” said Besi. “Samuel Beaumont is my father.”
“He’s Elizabeth Davis’ father,” Leo said.
Glaring at them, Besi said, “His blood may not run through my veins, but he is the only father that I have ever known and I am the only daughter he raised. Nothing and no one will change that.”
“What will he think when he finds out that you’re not really his child?” Vivian asked. “And that you killed his daughter?”
“I never thought I would be thankful that my father has dementia,” said Besi. “But, thank God, he is completely unaware of reality, and he’ll never know—”
“The truth?” interjected Leo.
“He’ll never know that his biological daughter kidnapped me and tried to take over my life.”
“Tried to take over your life?” Leo asked. “What are you talking about?”
“How did Elizabeth take over your life?” Vivian asked.
Besi rolled her eyes. “You two are investigative journalists, and yet it doesn’t seem to have occurred to you that when Elizabeth was killed, she was standing at the altar, making vows to my fiancé. She was pretending to be me. That’s why when she was shot, you thought I’d died.”
“Explain that to us,” said Leo. “How did she end up taking your place?”
“It’s a long story,” said Besi.
“Isn’t it always,” said Leo. “Nevertheless, I’d like to hear it.”
“Earlier this year,” started Besi. “Aaron Jones emailed me about some disturbing facts I needed to know, and he warned me not to ignore him.”
“But, you did ignore him,” said Vivian, recalling what Melanie had told her about the man who’d been harassing Besi via email.
“The first two times Jones emailed me,” said Besi. “I didn’t pay him no mind, but when he sent that third email, I got nervous. I started to worry that it had something to do with Derek.”
“You thought Jones was one of Derek’s bookies?” asked Leo.
Besi nodded.
“Derek had gotten into trouble and had to embezzle money from his daddy’s company. I didn’t want him to do anything foolish again. I didn’t want him to risk his freedom or his life. So, I was willing to pay whatever debt he had. Imagine my surprise when Jones tells me he wants to talk about my mama.”
“What did Jones have to say about Adrienne?” Leo asked.
“Ridiculous nonsense I refused to believe,” said Besi. “Jones told me he was a private investigator and he’d been hired by a woman named Elizabeth A. Davis to find out whether or not she and I were half-sisters. Jones asked me if I would consent to giving some of my DNA to determine if, in fact, me and Elizabeth were related.”
“And did you agree?”
“Hell, no,” scoffed Besi. “After I refused to take a DNA test, Jones pulls out this letter he claims Mama wrote to Elizabeth—some kind of death bed confession saying she was Elizabeth’s mother. He even showed me the letter.”
“And you still didn’t believe him?”
“Looked like mama’s handwriting but some people are good at that sort of thing—forging other people’s handwriting.”
“How? Would Jones have gotten a copy of Adrienne’s handwriting.”
“Jones told me Elizabeth had been raised by Guillermo Davis—my daddy’s former chauffeur,” said Besi. “I’d heard mama and Guillermo were close and mama liked to write letters so I figured she’d probably written to Guillermo. Jones and Elizabeth could have forged mama’s handwriting using a letter mama wrote to Guillermo.”
Leo said, “But, the letter Adrienne wrote to Guillermo was real.”
Besi exhaled. “Yeah, I found that out when Jones claimed he had proof that Elizabeth and I were sisters.”
“How’d he get the proof?” asked Leo.
“The sonofabitch stole the cup I’d drank from at the restaurant we met at,” said Besi. “He used it to get my DNA and compared it to Elizabeth’s DNA. He was looking for a sibling relationship. The results showed Elizabeth and I shared a common parent—mama.”
