"Wilhelmina," she says softly.
"What about her?"
"Wilhelmina is your mother?"
Sydney says nothing.
"She's your mother?"
Sydney simply nods.
"I'm so sorry."
"You can't tell anyone, actually, on second thought, you should tell everyone."
"You don't look like her."
"I got lucky. The only thing that I got from her is her impatience."
"I can't believe that she's never mentioned you before. How old are you?"
"I'll be thirteen in June."
"Wow,"Claire answers in astonishment. Caught off guard by Wilhelmina's new level of callousness.
"She says that she's trying to protect me from the world, but I think that she just doesn't want my father to find out about me. I think that's why she doesn't want me to stay her. She's probably afraid that he'll find out, and I'll meet him, and like him better."
"You don't know who your father is?"
"No."
"Do you know anything about him?"
"Not really."
"Sydney..."
"Yes?"
"Why did she name you Sydney?"
"Something about how she went there, and she loved it so much she named me after it. That's what she tells me, but I don't really believe her."
"When is your birthday?"
"June twenty first."
Claire and Sydney stop and have ice cream, and then Claire has the driver drop Sydney off at Wilhelmina's apartment. Claire returns to Mode. She's sitting at her desk when Marc waltzes in.
"I found the file that you wanted," he groans as he lays the manilla personnel file across her desk.
"You should stay," she tells him.
He rolls his eyes, and sinks into a seat. "Why?"
Claire flips through the pages of the personnel report. "She took a one year leave of absence."
"What are you talking about?"
"Wilhelmina took a one year leave of absence starting January first nineteen-ninety seven, for a family emergency. Which is complete crap, we all know that she hates her family."
"Claire why did you want Willie's personnel file?"
"I'm just curious."
"About what?"
"About Sydney."
"About what?"
"Drop the act, if I know about her, then you know about her."
"How do you know about Sydney?"
"I met her earlier today."
"What did she tell you?"
"Just how she hates Wilhelmina."
"Why would she tell you that?"
"She's a teenaged girl with no friends in the city she had to tell someone about her frustrations with her mother."
"She did what?"
"Wilhelmina has done a lot of inconsiderate, cold-hearted, selfish things, but this is a new low, even for her. Why would she keep her own child a secret? What would motivate her to do such a thing?"
"I don't know," he shrugs.
"I'm going to find out."
"Let me know when you do," he answers.
October 10th 1996 6:00 A.M.: Claire bangs on the hotel door, but no one answers. She checks her watch, and exhales in frustration. She jiggles the lock, but the door doesn't open. She walks down the hall to her own room. She opens the door, and steps in. She grabs the spare key off the counter, and leaves the room. She returns to Daniel's room, and sticks the key in the door. Before she can turn the handle the door opens. Claire stares at the person standing before her in horror.
Wilhelmina's head aches as she stares at Claire. She holds her shoes in her hand, and tries to step past her without an incident.
"What are you doing?" Claire questions.
"I'm just leaving," Wilhelmina replies.
"Why are you in Daniel's room?"
"I had a lot to drink last night. I think that I must have gone into the wrong room," she answers.
"Is Daniel in there?"
"It's his room," Wilhelmina answers.
"Did you sleep with him?"
"I would never sleep with Daniel," she replies.
Claire looks past Wilhelmina, into the room. She sees a pair of black underwear laying on the floor. She returns her glance to Wilhelmina.
"Are you wearing underwear this morning?"
"It's not any of your business," Wilhelmina answers, realizing that she's going commando.
"I think that you left your underwear over there," Claire points.
Wilhelmina grabs the underwear off the floor. "Leave my son alone," Claire warns.
"I don't want anything to do with your precious son."
"Wilhelmina don't even think about it."
"About what?"
"Digging your claws into him."
"I'm not. Daniel is the last person on the planet that I would want to dig my claws into," Wilhelmina pushes past her, and makes her way down the hall. Claire enters the room. She finds Daniel asleep in the center of the bed, lying on his stomach. She pulls the sheet up over his naked ass. She shakes him.
"Daniel get up. We're leaving for the airport in half an hour."
"Mom, I'll catch the next flight," he mumbles.
"Get up, now!"
Claire does the math in her head. She grimaces when she realizes how things add up. She thinks back to earlier in the day. She sees Sydney's face, and Daniel's smile. She picks up the phone, and dials. She talks for a few moments, and then hangs up. Minutes later Marc returns to her office.
"What now?"
"Close the door," she instructs.
Marc closes the door. "Yes Claire?"
"Did Wilhelmina tell you who Sydney's father is?"
"No, she won't even tell Sydney."
"This isn't happening."
"What isn't happening?"
"I think that she's Daniel's."
"What? Why would you think that?"
"That stupid, goofy grin."
"I thought that too," Marc admits.
"And I remember the day we left Sydney. I found Wilhelmina leaving Daniel's room as I was going to wake him up."
