“Yes, although I don’t think that’s very funny.”
“That’s my Uncle Wilbur,” Eva said. “Uncle Wilbur is Hans’ twin. That’s why he reminded you of Hans. Did he have a beard?”
“Yes.” Zoe nodded. “Glasses too.”
“That’s my uncle.” Eva smiled. “Of all the Muller men, Wilbur was my favorite.”
“You’re accumulating relatives faster than I can keep track of them.” Zoe giggled. “To be fair, you had Wilbur beforehand. So why was he following us?”
“Uncle Wilbur is shy,” Eva said quietly. “He used to suffer from chronic shyness for as long as I could remember. My father didn’t suffer from that affliction, but Wilbur did. He really is a very smart man, a good businessman who kept AEMullerStahl operational. His brothers just didn’t take much notice of him. He probably was told by Beatriz to follow me.”
“I’m beginning to really dislike this woman,” Zoe muttered. “I just don’t understand her.”
“You’re not supposed to. That’s her game. She wants to keep you off balance and not understand her.”
“That’s cold.”
“Welcome to the Muller family.” Eva shrugged.
“I don’t understand, Evy. You have some really happy memories growing up.”
“I do. Most of them involve my mother.” Eva took a deep breath. “I never connected with my grandmother and now I know why.”
“Why?”
“I’m not her blood.” Eva had finally accepted that however much she wanted her grandmother to love her, it wasn’t going to happen.
“You’ve accepted that.”
“What else is there to do?” Eva asked. “It must have been easy for her not to care about me since I’m not her blood.”
“That’s just cold. Surely—”
“That’s my grandmother.”
“There’s one missing puzzle piece. Why did she send Mrs. Muldoon to concoct that whole story on the ship?” Zoe asked. “If she doesn’t love you, and it pretty obvious she doesn’t, why go to all that trouble?”
“It’s about control, Zo. She wants absolute control over me and anyone else in the family. I suspect we will find that out soon,” Eva said bitterly.
Marlene knocked on the door and stuck her head in. She smiled. “The bed is a little too tall, isn’t it?”
“Just a little,” Zoe replied with a giggle. “Um…”
“You can call me Aunt Marlene, if that was what you were trying to ask.”
“I was. Aunt Marlene, we have a question about Beatriz, but first we have to tell you about something that happened on the ship. We met a Mrs. Muldoon who is the wife of the owner of Muldoon & Sons, one of the largest iron-ore mining companies in Australia. She was organizing a Jewish refugee trip where the Jews that were displaced were going to return home. She hired Eva initially as an interpreter and then as a photographer. She offered me a job and other enticements. She eventually told us that she was doing Beatriz a favor to approach Eva and that all Beatriz wanted was for Eva to come home.”
“I’m sure she did.”
“She also told this story that Beatriz saved her sister’s life during Kristallnacht and that she was indebted to her,” Eva said.
“Really? How did Beatriz save her sister?”
“She worked at our factory and somehow the Brownshirts had entered the factory. Beatriz stopped them with Wilbur’s help.”
Marlene shook her head. “That could not have happened. Beatriz had gone to Bonn to attend some Nazi function.”
Eva and Zoe looked at Marlene in astonishment.
“Are you sure?” Eva asked.
“Positive,” Marlene replied. “Beatriz Muller helping a Jew? There was more chance of Hitler becoming a priest than of that happening. Why don’t you girls get cleaned up and we will have supper?” She gave Eva and Zoe a kiss on the cheek before she left.
“So Beatriz Muller is a liar; that’s not a shock.”
“No, it’s not.” Eva stood up and went to the balcony door where she gazed across the rooftops to the house on the hill. A house she knew so well and one that used to be a safe haven, but now the idea of stepping into that house was horrific. It was akin to her walking back into Aiden.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
It was going too fast. Her life was just spinning around and around and Eva felt like those children’s tops where there was no end until the toy ran out of puff. She stood at the balcony and watched the sun setting. So much had happened to her, to them, since they had docked in Athens that she just needed time to process everything in her mind. The problem was that as soon as she tried to do that, something else took its place.
Eva looked down at the street and could barely see someone outside, hidden behind the thick foliage. The smoke from his cigarette drifted upwards. She smiled.
“Uncle Wilbur, you could never be a good spy,” Eva mumbled. She took a deep breath, left the balcony, and walked out of the room.
“Is he still there?” Zoe asked when Eva entered the living room.
“Still there, and he probably hasn’t had anything to eat all day,” Eva said in passing.
She opened the front door, walked down the driveway, and stopped just inside the gate and to the right of the thick foliage.
She leaned against the brick fence. “Psst, Uncle Wilbur.” She grinned when he chuckled. “You want to come inside? It’s going to be easier to keep an eye on me.”
“Am I going to be safe from Zoe?” he asked.
Eva leaned back against the fence and laughed. “Yes, quite safe.”
“Oh, good,” Wilbur said as he came around from the brush and stood in front of the gate.
Eva released the gate and Wilbur approached her. Slightly taller than herself, he wore a black hat over his short gray-blond hair. Thick black-rimmed glasses framed deep-set dark blue eyes. A full black beard with flecks of white made him older than his fifty years.
Wilbur stood his ground for a moment and then Eva took a couple of steps and engulfed him in a hug. He put his arms around her and closed his eyes.
“It’s so good to see you again,” Wilbur said.
“Come inside. We have a lot to discuss.” Eva took his hand, and they walked up the driveway. Wilbur took off his hat as they entered the house.
“How long have you been courting Aunty Marlene?” Eva whispered.
Wilbur’s shocked expression confirmed her suspicions. “How?
“Aunty Marlene is smoking the same cigarettes as you.” Eva giggled.
“That’s no way to greet your uncle,” Wilbur said with a slight grin. He cupped Eva’s face in his large hands and kissed her on the cheek. “I missed you.”
“You’re the only one I missed,” Eva replied as she melted into his embrace. “I want you to meet Zoe.”
“As long as she doesn’t have a gun.”
“Did you go and see Dieter?”
“I did. He was always such a hothead.” Wilbur shook his head. “I can’t believe he tried that.”
“I can’t believe he was still walking free.”
“He’s not walking anymore,” Wilbur quipped. Eva slapped him gently on the arm. “Whatever hit him caused his face to cave. There goes the pretty boy looks.”
“It was a poker.”
“Ouch. Ah, well, he had it coming.” Wilbur shrugged. “So where is she?”
The door swung open and Zoe walked through carrying a tray with a teapot and cups. She set the tray down and adjusted her shirt before she looked up at Wilbur.
“So you are Uncle Wilbur?”
“I am. You are Zoe.”
“I am.”
“I heard what you did to my brother.” Wilbur folded his arms across his chest and looked down at Zoe over the top of his glasses.
“No need for thanks,” Zoe quipped. “It was my pleasure.”
Wilbur’s mouth twitched as he clearly attempted not to laugh. “You are more beautiful than your photographs.”
Eva coughed to hide her ch
uckle. That was the uncle she remembered.
“Oh, that is not fair.” Zoe wagged her finger at Wilbur, but her twinkling green eyes betrayed the genuine likeability of the man.
Wilbur smiled shyly and sat down on the sofa. “So did you enjoy your walk? The city is very different from when you left.”
“Where is my grandmother?” Eva asked impatiently.
“She had to go to Bonn and will be back tomorrow night.”
“She’s waiting for me to go to her?”
“Yes.”
“No,” Eva said quietly. “That’s not going to happen.”
“You will have to see her. At some point, you will.”
“Why is she doing this?” Zoe asked as she leaned back on the chair and regarded Wilbur with a slight tilt of her head.
“Money,” Eva responded. “It’s all about money with her. My inheritance from my grandfather.”
“Not just that. My father put aside a trust fund in your name and property. When you turned thirty, it became yours.”
“I don’t want it,” Eva said quietly.
“Well, that’s not smart.” Wilbur tapped Eva on the knee. “I don’t take you for a dumb woman.”
“I’m not dumb but—”
“That money was not given to you by my mother. That is a gift from my father—your grandfather.”
“He’s not—”
“Hush,” Wilbur replied sternly. He took off his glasses and regarded Eva. “He loved you so much. Don’t cheapen that love by throwing his gift away.”
“But I wasn’t even his blood.”
“Eva Muller, you do not disgrace that man’s name or his love for you.” Wilbur’s voice rose a little. “You can say whatever you want to say about your grandmother, and she deserves it, but not about my father and your grandfather. He was an honest man who worked hard to build his business. You know he loved you. Don’t let your heart overrule your head.”
“I know,” Eva said. “It’s difficult.”
“No.” Wilbur shook his head. “No, it’s not difficult. He never once gave you an excuse to doubt his love. He loved you. Now, your grandmother on the other hand…well, we both know what I think of my mother.”
“Why shouldn’t Eva be feeling like that when your entire family has betrayed her?”
Wilbur gazed at Zoe for a long moment. “I never betrayed my niece. She may not be related to me by blood, but that doesn’t mean I stopped loving her.”
“Uncle Wilbur, Zoe—”
“I know why Zoe said that,” Wilbur replied. “I’ve always known that Hans was not your father. I loved you not because of whose blood was flowing in your veins, but because you were the child I never had nor would have.”
Zoe looked down at her hands, and then looked back up. “I’m sorry.”
“You have every right to question my motives, Zoe. It’s perfectly understandable.”
“What did Opa leave me?” Eva asked.
“He left you ten thousand Swiss francs and—”
“Ten thousand Swiss francs? Ten thousand?” Zoe asked. “Wow.”
“Your father owned Aiden Hospital, and that is now in your name.”
Eva shook her head in disbelief. “I own Aiden Hospital?”
“Yes. You inherited that when your father died. You also own the Research Facility attached to the hospital and several cottages in town.”
“How do you know this?” Zoe asked.
Wilbur glanced at Eva with a tiny shake. “You really do question everything, don’t you?”
“The only person I trust completely is Eva, so, yes, I question everything.”
“Not that I blame you,” Wilbur replied. “I’m a lawyer and I am the legal counsel for AEMullerStahl and the other companies under the control of the Muller Company.”
“Oh, yes, you would know, wouldn’t you?” Zoe said, looking a little sheepish.
“You will have one problem with the property and the money my father left you. It was stipulated in his will that when you turned thirty years old you would inherit it.”
“I’m already thirty,” Eva replied with a wry smile. “January 20.”
“Yes, I remember, but there is also another caveat. This one your grandmother told me to include in 1938.”
“She can’t do that, can she?”
“She can. She is the executor of my father’s estate.”
“What is the caveat?”
“You need to be married to receive the inheritance.” Wilbur looked at Zoe apologetically.
Eva fell back on the sofa and laughed. “Oh my, that conniving woman thought of everything.”
“I don’t think that’s funny.” Wilbur looked puzzled and he scratched his beard.
Eva held up her left hand and pointed to her ring finger. “I am married.”
“Yes?”
Zoe laughed. Wilbur’s face went from confusion to embarrassment. “I’m sorry, that was rude of me.”
“Yes, I’m married to Zoe’s brother, Theodore Lambros.”
“Er…”
“I’m also married.” Zoe held up her left hand and showed him her ring. “I’m married to Eva’s cousin.”
“You married Randolph Muller? Really? How could you do that to her?” Wilbur turned to Eva, his face a mixture of disgust and sorrow.
“Oh, I love you.” Eva cupped Wilbur’s face with her hands and kissed him on the cheek.
“I’m surprised Zoe is still talking to you after that marriage,” Wilbur replied.
“No. Zoe is married to Thomas Lambros, my cousin on my mother’s side.”
“You have a cousin named Thomas Lambros? Isn’t that Zoe’s last name?”
“It’s a long story, but suffice it to say that I am married.”
Wilbur chuckled heartily. “Oh, this is going to be the wind up my mother’s skirt. I can’t wait to tell her.”
“No, don’t.” Eva put her hand on Wilbur’s shoulder. “Don’t tell her. I want to see where she is going to go with this clause.”
“Wilbur, how do you know so much about me?” Zoe asked.
Wilbur sheepishly gazed at Eva. “My mother had private investigators follow you.”
“Since when?”
“She didn’t know where you were until Hans showed up and was arrested.”
“1947? She’s been following us since then?” Zoe’s voice rose in anger. She quickly glanced at Eva, who shook her head.
“Yes.” Wilbur nodded. “She also had a private investigator take photos of your house.”
“Our house?”
“Large house, large trees at the front,” Wilbur said quietly. “I saw the photos.”
“Inside or just outside?”
Wilbur pursed his lips. “Inside and out.”
Zoe got up and walked to the window. Wilbur followed her with his eyes and then glanced at Eva, who shook her head. Eva could see Zoe was trying to keep the anger at bay.
Zoe turned to Wilbur. “Which rooms did you see?”
“Um…”
“What color were the walls?”
“I don’t know. They were black-and-white photographs.”
“What was on the walls?” Zoe asked.
“Um… I don’t think I recall seeing anything on the walls.”
“I told you.” Zoe wagged her finger at Eva. “I told you that couple across the road was being a little too nosey.”
“We got new neighbors who rented the vacant house across the road from us just after we moved in,” Eva explained to Wilbur. “Zoe didn’t like the way they were always looking at us.”
“I’m with Zoe,” Wilbur said. “I know how you feel, Zoe. My mother has tried to keep an eye on what I do, who I see, and where I go.”
“Ugh,” Zoe muttered. “If you didn’t see anything on the walls, then that means they were taking photos from outside the windows.”
“Um, not exactly.” Wilbur gazed at Eva. “They did break in.”
Zoe groaned loudly and muttered under her breath several expl
etives in Greek. Wilbur raised his eyebrows. “I knew it. I knew it because they moved that damn easel. I told you that someone had been in the house.”
“Zoe, it’s gone, it’s done.”
“It’s our house. Our life. How dare she stick her nose where it doesn’t belong?” Zoe raised her voice higher and threw the pillow across the room where it struck the door.
Eva and Wilbur looked at each other.
“I’m sorry, Zoe,” Wilbur said.
“Not your fault,” Zoe muttered darkly.
“Are you coming to the house?”
“No. Beatriz Muller will be coming to me,” Eva said.
“Here? You know she hates Marlene.”
“Why does she hate Marlene?” Zoe asked.
“Marlene never liked her hero Adolf Hitler, so I doubt you will get my mother in this house.”
“Not to worry,” Eva said calmly. “She will come to Dahlem.”
“What’s in Dahlem?”
Eva glanced at Zoe before she turned to Wilbur. “My great aunt Irene and my uncle Johan.”
“I have a feeling I’m going to find something important to do at the office.”
“Have they charged Dieter yet?”
“I don’t know. I’m not his lawyer.” Wilbur shrugged. “I’m not a criminal lawyer, and even if I was, I wouldn’t defend him.”
“How is it you are the only ethical member of this family?” Eva asked as she snuggled up to her uncle.
“You’re wrong. I’m not the only one.” Wilbur looked down at Eva’s head resting against his shoulder. “You are a member of this family as well, and as far as I can tell, you are a very ethical woman. I don’t want you to deny your roots.”
“Are we back there again?”
“Yes, we are. You didn’t grow up in an orphanage,” Wilbur gently admonished. “Your mother, your grandfather, my Clarice, and myself were there for you.”
“Clarice?” Zoe asked.
“My late wife. She passed while she was giving birth. We also lost our baby.” Wilbur met Eva’s eyes. “You became the daughter I never had, so don’t deny the chance for me to claim you as my niece. You are my niece.”
Eva wiped the tear that ran down her cheek and nodded. Without a word, she kissed Wilbur’s cheek and snuggled up against him.
Awakenings (Intertwined Souls Series Book 4) Page 29
