by Cate Beauman
He’d struggled to concentrate on the CEO’s plans for an overseas trip that would take two of the company’s employees, along with Chase and Collin, closer to militant territories than he was comfortable with. After a tense couple of hours of back and forth between Ethan and Collin via speakerphone with Chase handling the majority of the meeting, Ethan Cooke Security and Jacobson and Company had finally agreed to a contract with terms everyone could live with. But Julie had been on his mind the entire time.
She’d been shaken up when she checked in after her meeting with Becky Maglio—as she should have been. Yet another bombshell had ripped apart Julie’s already shattered world. Becky Maglio had pictures of Miranda Keller. He sat up farther in his seat, having a hard time believing it. For days, he’d strongly suspected Julie was Alyson Porter, but now he had no doubt. Miranda Keller had played a role in the abduction of a small child, but even with the undeniable evidence, something didn’t sit right. He thought of the kind, loving woman who’d responsibly raised Julie as her own, which didn’t fit the mold of a woman unstable enough to drop off a ransom note, demand a million dollars for the safe return of a beautiful little girl, then callously whisk someone else’s child away into the night. There was more to the story, which he would figure out, but right now he just needed to get back to Julie and make sure she was okay.
They’d texted briefly as he made his way to the car after his meeting, and she’d assured him she was hanging in there, but her trembling, tear-choked voice of a few hours ago still echoed in his mind. Muttering a swear, he passed a car moving too damn slow. Suddenly, his front left tire started shaking, the steering wheel shuddering in his hands as he fought to stay in control of the Lexus.
“You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me.” He gave the hazard button a bad-tempered punch with his palm and slowed, easing his way onto the shoulder. Unbuckling his safety belt and getting out, he stared down at the rim resting against the wet pavement. “Fucking-A.”
With a frustrated kick to the metal, he hurried to the trunk for the spare. Ten minutes max and he would be back on the road. He grabbed the jack and moved to the front of the car as vehicles rushed past him in the dark.
~~~~
Julie brushed on a fresh coat of mascara, waiting for the Tylenol to kick in. Despite the two pills she swallowed nearly half an hour ago, her head still throbbed, as it had since she left the prison. After the relatively short drive back from Walpole, she’d locked herself in her room and tried a shower to relax. When the warm water did nothing to help her settle, she moved on to a restorative yoga session, but finding peace through her extended stretching routine had been impossible. Donnie Dorman was constantly on her mind; even now she shuddered thinking of him. He was a creep—down-to-the-bone vile. Surely her mother had known he was a disgusting creature. No one’s radar could be that far off.
Sighing, she shoved the mascara wand back into the tube, realizing she didn’t seem to know her mother at all. Miranda Keller had been dedicated to her daughter—her entire family. She’d had her head on straight and raised Julie right, but as Julie stared at herself in the mirror, she saw another woman’s child. Between her physical similarities to Neve, Becky Maglio’s pictures, and her disturbing visit with Donnie Dorman, it was becoming harder to deny that she was indeed Alyson Porter, but she couldn’t make the obvious sink in.
Turning away, she walked into her room with the little energy she had left and pulled on black slacks and a red sleeveless cowl-neck sweater. She added black dangling earrings and fluffed the curls she’d twisted into the ends of her hair. Hopefully this was dressy enough, because this is what she had. She sat on the edge of her bed, summoning the strength to make it through the next couple of hours, and glanced at the bedroom clock. Six thirty. Chase would be back any moment, but she’d stalled as long as she could. She would have to go down and wait for him there.
She slid on her pumps and started downstairs, despite her raw stomach and pounding head. She’d promised Neve she would join her family for dinner, so she was going to be there whether she wanted to be or not. Three voices mingled the closer she came to the living room, and Julie paused, almost going back up to her room.
“Oh my goodness. Look at you,” a gorgeous blond dressed in a navy blue skirt and nipped-waist blazer said as she stepped away from Noah and Neve. “Aren’t you stunning.”
Julie’s eyes locked on Noah’s hostile gaze and looked back at the blond, curving her lips politely. “Hello.”
“Sweetie, I’m Elaine, Neve’s best friend and assistant—a jack of all trades.” She took Julie’s hand and gave a gentle squeeze.
“Julie Keller.”
“Well, Julie Keller, you’re a vision.”
Julie’s smile warmed, instantly at ease in Elaine’s welcoming presence. “Thank you.”
“No Chase again?” Neve asked.
“He should be here any minute.”
“I’ve heard he’s quite a vision too.” Elaine winked.
Julie looked at Neve and smiled when Neve’s cheeks turned pink. “He’s not bad.”
“Noah, why don’t you get Julie a glass of wine?” Neve suggested.
“Yeah, sure. Red or white?”
“Red please.”
He walked to the small bar tucked in the corner of the room, blatantly studying her as he popped the cork on a bottle of cabernet.
“Julie, you come sit next to me and tell me every little thing there is to know about you.”
She sat next to Elaine on the couch, tucking her hair behind her ear, growing more uncomfortable under Noah’s scrutiny. “Uh, I’m a yoga instructor and massage therapist.” She looked in his direction when he let loose a barely audible scoff.
“Julie runs her own studio,” Neve added, taking the cushion next to Julie’s, either oblivious to her son’s poor manners or ignoring them. “It’s lovely—very soothing.”
“I’ve never tried yoga.” Elaine frowned as her gaze traveled up and down Julie. “I’m looking at your gorgeous little body, and I’m trying to figure out why.”
Julie grinned at the forty-something woman who had an impressive frame of her own—tall, tiny waist, boobs Julie could only dream of having—but her friendly eyes were her best feature. Elaine might have been wearing stuffy business attire, but she was blessedly down to earth. “Yoga’s a wonderful practice. I could teach you some basic poses if you’re interested.”
“I would love to get in on a lesson too,” Neve chimed in.
“Sure. Any time.” Especially if Elaine was going to be there.
Ferra walked in. “Dinner’s ready.”
“Oh.” Neve looked at Julie. “Chase isn’t here yet—”
“We can start,” Julie interrupted as she glanced toward the window, starting to worry. The snow was really coming down. “I’m sure he’s taking his time in this weather.”
“It was nice of him to call.” Noah brought over her drink.
She took the glass, more tempted to toss the wine in his face than thank him. “He texted me after his meeting.” Which was quite a while ago now that she thought about it. “I should go check my phone.”
“Go ahead, honey,” Neve said. “Make sure he’s okay.”
She set her glass on the coffee table and stood. “Please start without me.”
“Dinner will hold,” Ferra assured.
“Thank you. I’ll be quick.” She hurried upstairs on legs that weren’t quite steady, realizing she’d been tensing her thighs. Even after Elaine’s warm welcome and Neve’s kindness, she couldn’t fully relax around these people, especially after her day from hell and Noah’s obvious derision. Usually she didn’t care what people thought of her. She got along with everyone…until now. She walked into her room and pulled her phone from her purse, her stomach sinking as she looked at the blinking light. “Shoot.” She retrieved her messages.
“Jules, it’s Chase. I’m coming. I have a flat tire. Start dinner without me, but I’ll be there before it’s over. I’m sorr
y, Jules.”
“Crap,” she murmured and dialed his number, waiting through several rings.
“This is Chase Rider. Leave a message.”
Basic and to the point. “Hey, Chase. I got your message. I’m just making sure you’re okay.” And wondering when you’ll be here. “We’re going to start dinner, but we’ll keep something warm for you. Be careful out there.” She hung up and peeked out her windows, hoping to see Chase’s Lexus rolling down the drive, but no one was there. Reluctantly, she went back downstairs and pasted on a smile as she met up with everyone in the living room again. “Chase left me a message. He has a flat tire.”
“Oh no,” Neve said.
“He wants us to go ahead without him.”
“Should we send a car for him, or at least a tow truck?”
Julie shook her head. “Chase is pretty handy.”
“If you’re sure, we’ll start.”
“I am.” He’d said to go for it, and she wanted to get this over with. If need be, she could keep him company while he ate his dinner in his room.
Neve nodded, wrapping a gentle arm around her waist, and walked with her to the dining room.
Julie took her seat between Neve and Elaine, taking in the beautifully prepared roast with carrots, green beans almandine, mashed potatoes, and salad. “This looks amazing. Perfect for a nasty night.”
“Please help yourself.” Neve passed her the green beans.
“Oh, no thank you.”
Neve hesitated, frowning. “You don’t like beans?”
She shook her head. “No—”
“That would be strike one,” Noah interrupted. “Alyson loved green beans.”
Julie loved them too. “I enjoy beans. I’m allergic to nuts though.”
Neve yanked the dish away. “I’m sorry.”
“That’s okay.” She smiled. “They look wonderful.”
Neve passed the bowl to Noah. “I didn’t realize you had allergies.”
“And why would you?” Noah stared at his mother while he served himself. “Because you’ve known her for all of five minutes and Alyson didn’t have them?” He shook his head. “I guess we can put a check under the ‘she’s not Alyson Porter’ column.”
Julie focused on Neve, wanting to reach out to her. “We didn’t know I had allergies until I was five,” she explained. “I loved peanut butter and jelly, but one day I ate a piece of carrot cake with walnuts in it. My mother had to rush me to the hospital.”
“Oh my goodness,” Elaine said, her eyes wide. “How awful.”
“We did testing. I react to some nuts worse than others, so I stay away from them all. I keep an EpiPen in my purse just in case,” she went on as she helped herself to meat, potatoes, and a generous helping of the crisp salad.
“That’s good to know,” Neve said.
Julie cut into her roast and sampled, nodding her approval as the meat practically melted in her mouth. She tasted the garlic-mashed potatoes next. “This is wonderful.”
Neve smiled. “I’m glad you’re enjoying it. Ferra loves to spoil us with delicious meals.”
“She’s succeeded.” She smiled back, realizing her headache was dissipating and her stomach settling with good, home-cooked food. Maybe tonight wouldn’t be so bad. “I wonder if Ferra shares recipes.”
“You can certainly ask. Perhaps you could trade: the roast and potatoes for the frittata. I would love to have that again.”
“Sure.”
“Did you enjoy your day out?” Neve continued.
She paused mid-chew and nodded, despite her horrid afternoon.
“There’s certainly plenty to do in the area,” Elaine added. “Neve was telling me you went to Faneuil Hall yesterday, and the aquarium.”
She swallowed. “Yes.” But she didn’t want to talk about what she’d done today. “Uh, I see that the Christmas tree is up.”
Neve nodded. “Ferra and Thomas will decorate it tomorrow.”
Julie paused with the fork halfway to her lips. “You don’t decorate the tree?”
Neve shook her head. “Ferra prefers the honor.”
How could Neve not decorate her own Christmas tree? “But it’s the best part.”
“Alyson loved it. And Noah.” Neve smiled. “They had such fun. Didn’t you, Noah?”
He shrugged. “I don’t remember.”
“Of course you do.” She gave her attention to Julie. “We would always shop for a special ornament to put on the tree. That last Christmas we were all together, Noah picked a sweet dog and Ally The Little Mermaid—”
“The whole ornament thing lost its flavor after Alyson disappeared.” Noah shoved a bite of meat past his lips. “That was kind of the end of that little tradition, huh, Mom?” he said over his mouthful.
Neve stared at her son, then looked down at her plate.
“You’ll have to excuse Noah,” Elaine touched Julie’s hand, tossing a not-so-friendly glance in his direction. “Unfortunately I’m not sitting next to him tonight to slap him under the table.”
Julie ate her salad as the easy flow of their dinner conversation quickly vanished and the room grew uncomfortably tense. By the time she forced down the last of her greens, the silence was unbearable.
“Ms. Julie.” Thomas came in for her plate. “Mr. Chase called. He believes he’ll be here in about twenty minutes. Coffee?”
“No,” she said too quickly. “No, thank you.” She glanced at her watch. “I, uh, I should probably go up. The time change is getting to me.”
“No dessert?” Neve asked.
“I’m pretty full.” She stood before anyone could protest and turned to Neve. “Thank you for a lovely meal.”
“I’m glad you could join us.”
“Me too.” She turned to Elaine. “It was very nice to meet you.”
Elaine took her hand. “You too. I’m sure I’ll see you again.”
“Yes. Hopefully for yoga. Good night.” She said nothing to Noah as she turned and went upstairs. Shutting herself in her room, she sat on her bed, staring at the edge of the picture of her mother peeking from her purse, then looked out the window. Had it snowed the night Alyson disappeared? One of the police reports tucked away in the FBI case files would undoubtedly say, but she hadn’t paid attention. On impulse, she walked down to the nursery suite and flipped on the lights, finding the rooms disturbing at night—eerie.
The space was frozen in time. Life stopped in here on December 15, 1990. She moved to Alyson’s room and stared at the bed. Alyson had been tucked in, then she’d been gone. She stepped back out and walked the twenty steps to the double doors leading to the large deck. Her hands shook as she twisted the lock and stepped out, walking to the stairs, looking into the distance. The street was just beyond the wall—the wall that didn’t exist in 1990—a quick exit to steal a child and be gone. Was that what Miranda Keller had done? At that point, Miranda wouldn’t have been her mother. She would have been a woman stealing another family’s child, ripping apart so many lives.
She closed her eyes in the frigid dark, bringing the image of her mother to her mind. Not the black-haired woman who’d dated a disgusting man, but Mom, with strawberry-blond hair and pretty blue eyes who had worked so hard to give her a good life. Mom couldn’t have taken her—wouldn’t have taken her. So what happened? She turned around, walked back in, and gasped when she spotted Noah standing in the room by the large portrait.
“Taking it all in?”
She shrugged and started past him. The last thing she wanted was to deal with him.
He stepped into her path. “Don’t think for one second I won’t do whatever it takes to get rid of you.”
“Do you think I want this? Do you think I want to be her?”
He shrugged. “I’d bet several million you wouldn’t mind.”
She narrowed her eyes. “You don’t know me. You don’t know anything about me.”
“I know plenty. I know your excuse of a business is teetering closer to the red every single da
y.”
Why was she surprised that he knew that, that he’d invaded her privacy? She clenched her muscles as her anger grew. “I don’t want your family’s money.”
He shrugged again, his eyes zeroing in on the scar on her arm. “Maybe you do. Maybe you don’t. I could care less either way. But you’ll get nothing. I’ll take my last breath before you see a dime.”
She looked at the picture of the smiling children, at five-year-old Noah Porter with kind, carefree eyes. “I imagine that sweet little boy would be sad to know he grew up to be such a nasty, bitter man.”
He scoffed. “Who the hell do you think you are?”
She shook her head. “A week ago, I thought I was Julie Keller.”
“I loved her. That little girl.” He gestured to the portrait. “She was my sister. I missed her for a long time, then I started hating her and I never stopped.” He looked at Julie, held her gaze. “Do you know what it’s like to live in the shadows of someone who’s not even there? To know that it never got to be about anyone but poor Alyson Porter? She never stopped looking.” He chuckled humorlessly. “Good old Neve never gave up. At my basketball games and soccer matches, she was too busy searching the crowds and grabbing little girls with long black hair, making sure they weren’t Ally, to actually watch me play. Vacations weren’t family trips, they were Neve’s opportunity to look into places where sex-trafficked children were known to be taken.” He shook his head. “Every time Agent Tillis calls and tells her they’ve found remains, I hope they’re hers.”
Julie flinched with the cruelty of his words.
“For twenty-five years, I’ve waited for them to dig her up so she’ll just go away. I’m going to count down the days until you go away, whoever the hell you are.” Noah walked off, and she gripped her arms tightly around her as her breath rushed out.
She waited for his steps to recede and hurried to her room, grabbing her jacket. She needed to get out of here. She couldn’t stay in the house one second longer. Struggling with the balcony door, she finally pulled it open and hurried down the stairs in the falling snow, bypassing any potential run-ins with someone from the Porter household. She breathed deep, finding the chilly air refreshing as she moved along the property in search of the hidden door on the stonewall.
