by Barbara Gee
“But the divorce wasn’t made final before she passed away?”
“No. Eve said in the letter that with all the delays, it probably wouldn’t go through in time. She said she wasn’t concerned about trying to keep Anthony from getting the money that was in her own bank and investment accounts. That was a couple million right there, and she was hoping he’d be satisfied with that and not go after Hank’s trust fund.”
“I guess that was too much to hope. Is Hank with his step-dad right now?”
Ryan shook his head and shrugged wearily. “I don’t know. I assume so. Hopefully Patrick knows.”
“How did Anthony find out about you?”
“It had to have been after he found out that Stuart was Eve’s secret attorney. In her letter, Eve seemed positive that he knew absolutely nothing about me. I was never even listed on Hank’s birth certificate. I guess before the trust fund made it an issue, Anthony never had a reason to try to find out who Hank’s father was. Once he discovered I’d been designated the new guardian, though, and am Hank’s biological father, he had to do something about it.”
“You said Eve was a good, sweet person. If that’s the case, why in the world didn’t she tell you about your own son?”
“She tried to explain that in the letter. She met Anthony three months after we broke up, right after she realized she was pregnant, and she fell hard for him. He was the opposite of me in every way, and that appealed to her because she was still so angry with me. She told him that the baby’s father left her and moved away when he found out she was pregnant. Anthony convinced her he’d fallen in love at first sight and didn’t care that she was pregnant with another man’s baby. He assured her he’d love the child as his own, and Eve said she didn’t want to tell me because she was afraid it would ruin her relationship with him and it would also mean she’d have to give up time with her child to me.”
“That’s not good enough. She still should have told you.”
“Yeah, but the hurt of me leaving her was still fresh, and she used that to justify her actions. She said she knew it was wrong and it wasn’t long before she regretted it, but she was already in too deep with Anthony by that point, and she couldn’t go back. She said in the beginning Anthony seemed to love Hank, but as time went on, he dropped the pretense and she realized he didn’t love either one of them. He only loved her family money.”
“So somehow Anthony not only found out about you, but also about the letter and Eve’s instructions that it be mailed to you and only you. That’s why he was going through your mail.”
“Yeah. I’m trying to figure out the time line in my head. First he found out about the trust fund, through the PI he hired. Then he figured out Stuart was her attorney. He probably had her followed, or went through her phone or email or something. However he did it, Eve had no idea. In her letter she was adamant that Anthony didn’t know about me or the fact that she was working with Stuart. Once he knew who her attorney was, Anthony must have cultivated an inside informant at the law firm. That would explain how he found out that Eve had already moved her inheritance money into a trust fund for Hank, and made me his guardian. So Anthony planned the whole smear campaign to make me appear unfit to take Hank.”
“But why bother with that if he was planning to kill you anyway?” Libby wondered.
“That was before he knew about the letter. The date Stuart received the letter was a few days after that radio show aired. At that point I guess Anthony realized he needed to either intercept the letter, or get rid of me altogether.”
“Couldn’t he have had his informant take the letter from the file and destroy it?”
“I’m guessing that’s when Stuart started feeling paranoid and hid the file. Maybe he suspected someone had gone through it.”
Libby was amazed that Ryan was able to think through everything so logically when he’d just been blindsided with the news that he had a son. The man was obviously born to be a detective, and that part of his impressive brain never shut off.
He stood up and paced a short distance away. “Patrick wrote Eve’s date of death at the bottom of the letter. She died three weeks before I came out here. According to Patrick, that’s when Anthony panicked and murdered Stuart. I’m speculating now, but I believe that since the file had disappeared, Anthony didn’t know for sure that the letter wouldn’t be mailed by someone else. So he started going through my mail every day. When he was unable to get to it for a couple days, because I was home when the mail came, he decided that to be on the safe side he’d go ahead and kill me. Remove any chance of my interference. His attempt failed and I disappeared, so he resorted to trying to track me through my mail, and that’s when he discovered the UPS mailbox and hired that guy, Scott, to watch for me.”
“But Hank won’t even get the money until he’s eighteen,” Libby said. “I can’t imagine Anthony going to all this trouble for a payout that won’t come for another thirteen years.”
“Hank has a generous monthly stipend, plus I’m sure there are all kinds of ways around the provisions in the trust. Anthony could claim hardship for the boy, since his mother died and her income stopped. He probably had the whole thing figured out down to the last detail.”
“So basically he panicked. His only hope of keeping Hank was if you didn’t find out that you had a son,” Libby summarized. “I’m surprised Anthony didn’t go after Eve’s parents while he was at it. Chances are, with you out of the picture, the courts would have given custody of Hank to them before Anthony.”
“He probably thought he could force them into giving him up.”
“What did Eve ask you to do in the letter?”
“She asked me to try to get custody of Hank as soon as possible after reading it. She said Anthony won’t hurt the boy physically, but he can be emotionally abusive and without her to protect him, Hank will be at best ignored, and at worst—” Ryan broke off and shook his head. “I can’t even stand to think about him being yelled at and cut down by the man he probably still thinks is his father. He’s my son, Libby, and he’s living with an animal. My son.”
Libby got up and walked over to where Ryan stood. “It shouldn’t be hard for you to take Hank from Anthony. Not only is he your biological son, but Anthony didn’t adopt him. Plus, if you can prove that Anthony has sabotaged your career, burnt down your house, and possibly ordered the hit on Eve’s attorney, he will hopefully go to jail and be out of the picture altogether.”
Ryan scrubbed his face with his hands. “If he’d succeeded in burning me along with my house, Hank would have been stuck with Anthony as the only dad he knew. Forever. It’s unthinkable.” Suddenly the eyes that had showed only pain were blazing with fury. “I have to find out where he is and get him out. He’s my son, he needs to be with me.”
“You will get him, Ryan, you have to believe that.”
He raised his face to the sky. “I have a son and I didn’t even know it. How in the world can I make it up to him?”
“You don’t have to, Ryan. All you have to do is go to him now and get him away from Anthony.”
“But will he want to come? I assume he thinks Anthony is his dad, and you know how kids are—they love their parents even when they don’t deserve it. They’ll do anything to be loved in return. For all I know, Hank will fight me.”
“I hope not, but even if he does, you have to persevere. Because the only way that little boy is going to find love is with you. You might have some tough times, but whether he knows it now or not, he needs you. And he’ll grow to love you, there’s no doubt in my mind about that.”
Libby held out her hand. “Let’s go talk to the others. Pick Patrick’s brain for everything he knows. And then you need to get a plane ticket to wherever Hank is and get the ball rolling.”
“Jonesburg. If he’s with Anthony, that’s where he is. It’s a town about thirty miles from Charlotte.” Ryan took her hand and they returned to Tuck’s office. By the time they got there, Ryan was a little more composed and a
lot more determined.
Tuck stuck out his hand when they entered the room. “Congratulations on your son, Ry. I can’t wait to meet him. Now we’ve got some plans to make. Patrick, how long are you here for? We’re going to need your help.”
The attorney checked his watch. “My plane takes off in four hours.”
“Good enough. Now tell us everything you have that can help Ryan get his son.”
CHAPTER 14
Patrick went back to his briefcase yet again. He provided Ryan with a notarized copy of the trust fund papers, the guardianship papers, and a document stating that Ryan was Hank’s biological father. There was also an official letter from Eve declaring it her desire that Ryan receive full custody and Anthony cease to be any part of Hank’s life.
“You’ll still need to undergo DNA testing, and the custody part is up to the judge, but if you can establish a criminal case against Anthony, you’re obviously golden as far as that’s concerned,” Patrick told them. “And with Eve making her wishes known, if her parents make a play for custody they’re going to have an uphill battle.”
“Is Hank with Anthony now?” Ryan asked.
“As far as I know, yes,” Patrick said.
“I need his address,” Ryan said tersely. “I want him put under 24/7 surveillance. If Anthony somehow gets wind that I know about my son, he might try to take him and make a run for it.”
Tuck looked at Patrick, his eyes narrowed. “I want you to think about this very carefully, Patrick. Is there any chance whatsoever that someone else in your firm knows about this situation and could be feeding information to Anthony?”
Ryan cut in before Patrick could answer. “There has to be an informant. It’s the only way Anthony could have found out about Hank’s trust fund and me.”
Patrick didn’t try to hide his look of alarm. “No one knows I found the file. Not even my wife.”
“That’s good,” Ryan said, “but what I’m saying is that someone was feeding Anthony information while Stuart still had the file at the office. That would explain how Anthony found out about Hank’s trust fund and me, and eventually the letter.”
“Is there any chance that person could have found out about your trip out here?” Tuck asked the attorney.
Patrick was adamant. “There’s no way. Like I told Ryan when he called, I set up a whole new email address just to make my flight reservations, and I did it all on a computer at the library. I also used a personal credit card, so nothing ran through the office. And neither my home nor my work computers have ever been used to access that account.”
“That was good thinking,” Tuck said approvingly.
“If someone at my firm is working for Anthony, they got their information before Stuart hid the file. I haven’t had that file in the office for even a second after I found it, and I’ve had absolutely no communication about it with anyone but you. And there’s no way anyone could know about the letter I sent to you. I wrote it at home, and mailed it directly from the post office.”
Ryan looked at Tuck. “That’s all good, but if someone at the firm is working for Anthony, they know the file disappeared and there’s a chance someone else has it.”
Tuck nodded slowly. “Patrick, if that’s the case, would they have any reason to suspect that it’s in your possession?”
“It might be a logical assumption, just because Stuart and I were such good friends. But it’s common knowledge that I practically tore the whole office building apart looking for a file that had to do with a secret trust fund, because I wanted to give it to the police as part of the murder investigation. Why would I have done that if I already had it? And if I didn’t have it then, there’s no reason to think I would have it now. No one knows it was at the gym. If they’d known, they would have taken it long before I got there.”
“We’re probably okay, but I don’t want to take any chances,” Tuck said. “I’m going to arrange protection for you and your family. It’ll be covert, you don’t even have to tell them if you don’t want to. They won’t notice. And it’s only until we get can get Hank away from Anthony. After that, once Anthony realizes that Ryan’s paternity is public knowledge, he’ll have no reason to commit further crimes.”
“But we’ll go one better and get him locked up, too,” Ryan said bitterly. “It shouldn’t be hard to prove he’s behind everything. Twenty million is a pretty darn good motive.”
Tuck stood. “I’m going to go make some calls to arrange protection for Patrick’s family, and for Hank.”
“Who will you call?” Ryan asked. “Jonesville PD?”
“Nope,” Tuck said, a mirthless smile curving his lips. “Turns out Anthony made a big mistake when hired ole Scott to try to find you out here in North Dakota. That means his crimes have crossed state lines, and I can make a case for FBI involvement. I’ll call my old boss, Tim Spencer, in Charlotte, to see what he can do.”
“Thanks, Tuck,” Ryan said as his friend left the room to make the calls. Then he turned back to the attorney. “Okay, Patrick, based on my custody application and our suspicions about Anthony, can you arrange for child protective services to pick Hank up with no advance notice? I don’t want Anthony to have any idea it’s coming, in case he tries to run, or use Hank for retaliation.”
Libby spoke up. “We definitely need to get him away from Anthony, but I’m afraid he’ll be absolutely terrified if strangers show up and take him.”
Ryan winced. “Any suggestions, Patrick? You’re the family law expert.”
“You should be there when it happens, so you can meet with Hank as soon as he’s safely away from Anthony. He won’t be able to stay with you until custody is settled, but you can at least tell him you’re his father and that he’ll soon be living with you. It would be helpful if we could have his grandparents present too, since he knows them and presumably gets along with them. Having them vouch for you will reassure Hank.”
“We can ask them,” Ryan said. “I don’t know what their reaction will be, though. They were even angrier at me than Eve was when we split up. And if we tell them Anthony isn’t going to be able to keep Hank, they might want to try to get custody of him themselves. If that’s the case, they might not be inclined to help me.”
“They would be going against their daughter’s wishes, though,” Libby pointed out. “She made it clear she wants Hank to be with you.”
“It might be better if you talk to them, Patrick,” Ryan said.
“I’d be glad to do that. I’ll contact them when I get back. But I do have one other suggestion. I’ve dealt with many, many custody cases over the years. Speaking from experience, when a child loses his mother, a maternal figure is often the person who can get through to him. A young child automatically sees a woman similar to his mother as trustworthy. Now I don’t want to get into your all’s business, but I can tell you’re a close-knit group. If one of you ladies could be with Ryan when he meets his boy, to help assure the little guy he’s got a daddy who loves him and it’s going to be okay, it could go a long way to helping the boy’s sense of well-being.” Patrick sat back and raised his hands. “It’s just a suggestion.”
“We’ll discuss it,” Libby said, knowing she or Maddy would drop everything if it would help Ryan’s little boy.
Tuck had returned to the room in time to hear most of their discussion. “So let’s figure out a timeline,” he said. “What comes next?”
“As soon as Ryan gets to Jonesburg, we’ll arrange to have Hank picked up,” Patrick said. “I assume child protective services will want to have you meet your son at the courthouse, under their watchful eyes.” Patrick then went on to outline the way he saw the court case being carried out, ending with Hank going home with Ryan within a day or two. The attorney would have to be very careful when making his contacts, but he felt certain that he could set up a meeting with Hank’s grandparents without anyone knowing, and he was also confident that child protective services could be trusted to keep things covert until the time Hank was picked
up. This wouldn’t be the first time they had needed to rescue a child from a potentially bad situation, and they knew how to get it done.
By the time the attorney had to leave for the airport, they had what they all considered a workable plan in place. There were lots of calls to be made, lots of details to be ironed out, but they were ready to move ahead.
Before Patrick left, Tuck assured him that there would be a protection unit on his family within the hour, and on him as soon as his plane landed in Charlotte. Then Ryan shook Patrick’s hand and thanked him for the extra effort he had gone to for this case.
“Without your courage, I’d have never known I have a son. I’ll be eternally grateful for what you’ve done.”
“I have two kids of my own, Ryan,” Patrick explained solemnly. “The thought of one of them living with a man who only wanted their money, and was willing to kill to get it, is horrifying to me. I don’t want that for little Henry. I checked you out first, I won’t deny it, but I liked what I found. I was pretty sure if you knew you had a son, you’d be there for him.”
“I won’t let anything stop me,” Ryan said.
Patrick nodded and gathered up his jacket and briefcase. “I look forward to seeing you back in Jonesville.”
***
Maddy decided to hang out at the office until Tuck got off so she could ride back to the ranch with him. That left Ryan and Libby on their own.
“I’ll drive this time,” Libby offered. “I really am a good driver, I promise.”
He handed the keys over without an argument. His brain was so fried he just wanted to close his eyes and retreat into himself for a while. As if she knew what he was thinking, the normally chatty Libby was silent for the whole first hour of the drive. Ryan knew she had dozens of questions, but she kept them to herself and let him process everything he had learned in his own way. In silence.
