Let There Be Life

by Melissa Storm

  “Really?” Henry asked. “You did all that?” Maybe he already regretted trying to defend the other man, but no one seemed to regret Dorian’s choices more than he did himself.

  Dorian nodded sadly. “But I didn’t know her, and I didn’t know how crazed my employer would become. You have to believe me when I say I thought I was helping.”

  “But you didn’t help,” Scarlett pointed out. “You made everything worse.”

  “Yes.” Dorian shifted his weight from foot to foot as if ready to flee. “But I’m trying to fix it now.”

  Liz had regained some strength and was ready to jump back into the fight—if fighting was what it would take to finally win her battle against all the secrets and lies. “How? How can you fix a problem you won’t even identify?”

  “I already told you. It’s not my place. Talk to your father, then give me a call.” Dorian turned to leave once more, and Scarlett was quick on his heels to prevent his escape.

  “Stop!” Liz shouted to her friend. “Let him go.”

  “But he still hasn’t told you anything,” Scarlett argued.

  “He told her to talk to her father,” Henry said as Scarlett walked back to their group. Yes, he had. Her father who had refused to call the police, who had let his new wife block Liz’s attempts to speak to him in the aftermath. Could she really expect to get more from him than Dorian had given?

  “He was just saying that to get away. And look, there he goes.” Dorian had wasted no time reversing out of his spot and pulling onto the main road. It seemed Scarlett really had put the fear of God into him.

  “No,” Liz said, her voice shaky. “I believe him.”

  A sinking, falling feeling took over Liz. She already knew this would be a lost cause, but still…

  She had to try.

  Liz watched Dorian depart for a second time in the span of just ten minutes. Why did he go through all the effort of tracking her down today if he still didn’t want to tell her the full truth? She wished she could go back to trusting the people in her life, but it felt as if everyone was suspect now. Was there anyone left she could trust?

  “Are you going to be okay?” Scarlett hung an arm over Liz’s shoulder, reminding her that at least her friends would never hurt her. She’d always thought that about her father, too. And now…

  “I don’t know. I can’t stop thinking about what he said. That my father knows this secret, whatever it is.”

  “Henry? Give us a minute?” Scarlett said to her fiancé before leading Liz back toward the car. She climbed into the passenger seat and handed Liz the keys. “Go talk to him. Do it now. Like ripping off a Band-Aid.”

  “But Henry—?”

  “Won’t mind if I blow him off, if that’s what you want.” Scarlett’s breaths came out labored. She was frightened for Liz, just as much as Liz was for herself. “Do you want me to come with you to talk to your dad?”

  Maybe that was the biggest difference between the two friends. Scarlett put her fears aside, while Liz often felt consumed by them. What if talking to her dad changed everything? What if there was no going back? She shook her head and stuck the key into the ignition before she could change her mind. “No. This is something I need to do on my own.”

  Scarlett smiled and took a long, slow breath out. “Atta girl. Now take my car. I’ll have Henry drop me back at the apartment later. If you need anything—anything—call me. I’ll be there in a flash.”

  “Thank you.” Liz sniffled, and her friend was quick to grab a tissue from the glove compartment.

  “Do one thing for me?”

  Liz nodded before blowing her nose.

  “Remember that you are you, no matter what. Nothing can change that.” These words shook Liz to the core. It seemed she and Scarlett were of one mind, that they both knew this revelation would change everything. But was it possible Scarlett knew more than she’d let on? Liz had to know what she was walking into.

  “Do you know what it is?”

  “I have my suspicions, but I’d hate to guess and be wrong.”

  “Could you—?”

  Scarlett shook her head. “No, Dorian’s right. You need to talk to your dad. Now, are you sure you don’t want me to come with you?”

  Liz placed a hand on each side of the steering wheel. “I can do this.”

  “I know you can.” Scarlett gave her a quick squeeze before getting out of the car. She waved as Liz drove slowly away, back to the house she’d escaped less than two hours ago.

  Liz made it as far as the turn in for her father’s street when she chose to head to the apartment and pick up Samson for moral support. Even though she’d told Scarlett not to come, she needed someone to be there for her, to be on her side. The worst part of it all was she didn’t know how she would feel about her father once he’d told her everything he’d been hiding presumably for years since she had no memory of Warwick.

  Samson hung his head out the rear window and broofed happily when the two of them arrived at the house.

  Her father came out onto the driveway to greet them. “Back so soon?” he asked brightly, the confrontation from that morning already behind him.

  “I met with Dorian,” she said, slowly unbuckling her seatbelt and exiting the car. She let Samson out from the back, and he immediately raced over to shower her dad in kisses.

  The smile disappeared from his face almost as if it had been flipped off by a switch. “The one who called me at the resort?”

  “Yes.” Well, that confirmed her suspicions on that point. What else would she learn before the day was through?

  Her father didn’t say anything, and Liz took a moment to examine his face. He wore a steady blankness. The switch had turned off all his emotions, not just his smile.

  “How do you know Charles Warwick?” Liz asked, crossing her arms to defend herself from whatever words were spoken next.

  He cast his eyes to the ground, and that was when she knew her father planned on lying to her. “I don’t.”

  “Well, he definitely seemed to know you.”

  He faltered, took a step back. “It was all a misunderstanding.”

  “Then why didn’t you call the police?” She couldn’t let him do this to her, not anymore. She deserved the truth, and she would get it, no matter what.

  “Please, Lizzy. Please stop asking all these questions. Don’t ruin what we have.”

  “I’m not the one keeping secrets,” she answered with a tone she’d never expected to use on her beloved father.

  “You don’t understand. You shouldn’t be burdened with it. I…” His voice cracked, and he let out a strangled cry. He tried to choke it back down, but it was too late, the weight of his emotions too heavy.

  And now she was crying, too. She had to remind herself that she hadn’t done anything wrong, that she’d been dragged into this situation, that more than likely it was her father who had brought her here. “Daddy, please,” she begged. “What happened? Tell me.”

  Hearing her voice break, Samson rushed to Liz’s side and placed his giant head between her hip and dangling hand.

  “I just can’t. We’re already too far gone.” He glanced toward the house as if contemplating an escape from the one person he’d always loved the most. Or so she’d thought. Liz didn’t know what to believe anymore, and she was sick of all these non-explanations.

  She raised her voice in desperation. “I don’t understand. What does that mean?”

  But her father stood firm. “It means it’s too late now. I did what I did, and I would do it all over again, too. It’s only because I love you so much. You are my favorite person in the world.”

  The front door opened and Vanessa stepped out onto the porch. “What is going on here? Why are you making a scene? Ben, why are you crying?”

  Liz’s father refused to take his eyes off her. She wondered if he could even see her that well through all the tears. “You’re supposed to say ‘in the whole wide world’ and then I’m supposed to say ‘a million times a
round,’” he said, reciting the lines from their favorite goodnight game.

  Liz stiffened. She loved her father, but what if that was all based on a lie so big she could never forgive him for it? “No,” she said. “I won’t. Not unless you tell me the truth. All of it.”

  He sobbed again, and Vanessa charged toward Liz. “Get out of here,” she said through gritted teeth. “I don’t care who you are. Anyone who would upset my husband like this isn’t welcome in our home.”

  Liz wanted to argue, to say that this was her home first, that he was her dad first. But…

  An unsettling thought flashed in her mind, the one she’d tried so hard to keep in the darkness. What if he wasn’t her father? What if that was the lie? The DNA? Warwick’s search? What if…?

  Dorian and her father had both told her Warwick was dangerous, but what if he was the only one willing to give her answers?

  “Fine by me,” Liz told Vanessa at last. “You won’t see me again until I have some answers. If he won’t give them to me, I’ll find someone else who will.”

  Liz took the next couple days to decompress. She went to work, tried to go about her day normally. When neither her father nor Dorian made any additional effort to get in touch with her, she began to wonder if she should let the whole thing go—if there was any universe that would allow her to pack away all that she had learned and put it out of her mind for good.

  But, no.

  The longer she went without solving this mystery, the more it would eat at her, drive her crazy. She already felt as if she’d lost her grip on reality. She needed to ground herself in this new truth, whatever it was, and then take it from there.

  “Are you sure you’re going to be okay without me?” Scarlett said as she crammed another dress into her suitcase Tuesday evening. “I mean, a lot’s going on,”

  “I’ll be fine. I just can’t believe you’re leaving already. I only just got back home. But I guess that’s just the way wedding season goes.” Liz smiled, tried to play things off lightly so that Scarlett wouldn’t suspect what she planned to do while her roommate was away that week.

  “Aww, I’ll miss you, too. Hugs!”

  Liz loved how her friend both said the word aloud and made the gesture. It was like a double sign of affection, and she needed it, though Scarlett had no idea why…

  “So tell me again, who’s getting married?” Liz planned to make small talk until Scarlett left for the airport, and luckily Scarlett never ran out of things to discuss when she had a willing conversation partner.

  “It’s my friend—hey, his name is Ben, too—who’s getting married, and most of us never thought we’d see this day. I certainly didn’t. And his fiancée, Summer, totally—I’m rambling, aren’t I?”

  “You wouldn’t be Scarlett if you didn’t ramble.” Liz laughed and handed her friend a little clutch of toiletries to pack in her bag. “I can tell you’re excited to see your Texas family.”

  Scarlett gave Liz another hug and said, “You know you’re my Alaska family, right?” She could tell her roommate was nervous about leaving her alone in the wake of everything that had happened the past week. Even though things had quieted down during the past couple of days, she must have also sensed that this was merely the eye of the storm. Liz needed to put her at ease, make her feel good about going home—and she knew just how to do that.

  “Of course I do. Besides, while you’re gone, I’m going to go stay with our extended Alaska family.”

  “You mean?”

  “Yeah, Lauren and Shane said the dogs and I could hang at their place for the week. Sofia gave me the week off, and I figure it’s best for me to be far off the beaten path while everything’s still so much up in the air.” This was the truth. Liz did plan to go to Lauren and Shane’s, but not until tomorrow.

  Scarlett’s lingering tension notably left her body. “That’s a great idea.”

  “It was Henry’s, actually.”

  Scarlett smiled proudly. “God love that man.”

  “I can see that.” Liz laughed again. Now she felt lighter, too. “Is he nervous about meeting everyone in your hometown?”

  “I think he is, a little. But I have all week to butter them up. He’ll fly down after his exams on the day before the wedding.”

  “Sounds like you’ve thought of everything.”

  “Naturally.” Scarlett placed a hand on each of her hips and surveyed the room. When she was satisfied with her packing efforts, she turned the full force of her gaze on Liz. “Look, Liz… Ben’s my friend, but you’re my best friend. It’s not too late for me to cancel the flight and stay here to help you.”

  “There’s nothing to help with. Until either Dorian or my father is willing to talk to me, I don’t really have any options.” The last thing Liz wanted to do was reveal her actual plan for that evening. Her friend needed some time to get back to her Texas roots—and Liz needed her out of the way in case anything truly dangerous went down.

  “See you in just over a week, okay?”

  “Call me when you get there.”

  “I will.”

  Liz waited a few minutes to make sure Scarlett had fully departed and didn’t need to come back for any forgotten luggage, then she texted Lauren.

  Still okay for me to come stay with you for the week?

  Of course! Are you leaving now?

  I’ll be there tomorrow. Late, probably.

  Briar Rose will be so psyched to see the dogs, and I’m psyched to see you!

  Liz smiled, then dropped her phone into her purse. Technically, she hadn’t lied to anyone, but she’d also worked very hard to keep her plans for the evening secret. She would go to Lauren’s that night, but first…

  She was going to see Warwick.

  Who am I?

  What am I to you?

  When did we last meet?

  Why are you only looking for me now?

  How come I can’t remember?

  These were the questions that ran through Liz’s mind as she drove toward the hotel downtown. The whispers of answers all warned her to stay away from Warwick, but at this point, he seemed to be the only one willing to offer information.

  They said he was dangerous, but he hadn’t hurt her despite the flurry of punches and kicks she’d sent his way. He’d been alone with Victoria for hours in that very same room but hadn’t hurt her, either.

  What if Warwick was the good guy in all of this? What if he was just misunderstood the way Scarlett’s fiancé Henry had been?

  She parked on the curb, and the gusting wind slammed her door shut behind her almost as if the very hand of God had decided to aid her in this mission. She stood on the sidewalk, staring back at her car. It wasn’t too late to change her mind, to drive away toward Puffin Ridge and the safety of Lauren and Shane’s country cabin.

  But it was too late—too late to go back to who she’d been before the desperate need to know consumed her. She was a husk of who she’d been, a ghost.

  Only the truth could return her to life.

  “Is everything okay, miss?” a bellhop asked, peeking his head out through the glass entryway.

  Liz ducked her head and smiled shyly. “Yes, I’ve just come to see my father, but I forgot what room he’s staying in.”

  Father. Her father. Someone other than Ben Benjamin. She hated it, but even as she said the words to this perfect stranger, she knew they had to be true.

  The bellhop smiled. “C’mon in. The front desk can help you find him in a jiff.”

  This was it.

  She lifted her head high and marched into the hotel’s lobby. She didn’t even remember speaking with the concierge, but now she was getting onto the elevator.

  Now she was exiting on the fourth floor.

  Now she was standing in front of his door.

  Could this be the last thing she ever did?

  What if he hurt her? Kidnapped her and took her away from all she’d ever known?

  What if he was kind and placid and told her the truth l
ike she wanted, but it was a truth she couldn’t handle?

  Who would she be when she finally found out?

  What would she do?

  Liz closed her eyes and raised her fist to the door. Knocked.

  She’d expected to hear a shuffling, hurried footsteps, to see his look of surprise and relief when he opened the door to her. But the only sound came from the buzzing lights overhead, the only sight when at last she opened her eyes was the worn paint on the door and the outdated wallpaper pattern that flanked it on either side.

  She took a deep breath and knocked again. And again. And again.

  Harder, louder.

  Knock, knock, knock.

  Her knuckles pulsed with pain, her heart sped at an exhilarating pace. But no one answered the door.

  Now what?

  Liz waited in the lobby for more than an hour, hoping it wasn’t too late to catch Warwick that evening. As she did, she skimmed through hundreds of pages of search results, hoping the next link would lead her to the “Charles Warwick” she knew. Most linked to a man who had died in the eighteen-hundreds. None matched the man she had met on two separate occasions now.

  In the end, her Internet sleuthing proved just as fruitless as her hotel stakeout. Warwick didn’t show, and she learned nothing new to aid in her investigation. Finally, Liz gave up and drove home in defeat.

  She thought back to the way the wind had slammed her door, how she’d envisioned the hand of God interceding in her mission. But He had shut the door for her, not opened it. What if it was a sign that she needed to let this go before someone ended up seriously hurt?

  She wished she could talk about it with somebody, but both Dorian and her father refused to tell her more, and her friends would only worry or try to stop her in her quest, especially as far as Warwick was concerned.

  No, he was the only one who could help her now. She had to take the chance, accept the risk.

  The next morning she stopped by the hotel again, but the concierge told her Mr. Warwick had checked out late last night.