So, here it is the chapter that will reveal if Christian has another child and where the actual storyline for Broken II comes into full motion...
Chapter 6 - She is my what?!
Christian
It's been two days since the birth of Aria and Ana has just seen her once. She is still mostly sleeping, but the doctor's keep telling me that this is good. That her body is taking the rest it needs to heal.
I still haven't had the heart to tell Ana that she can't have anymore babies. I just don't want to do or say anything that could put a damper on her recovery. It has been a close call for her and even thinking about telling her anything that might upset her is just not an option.
That is also why I have been avoiding to tell her that Susannah is still out there. The police went to the farmhouse to arrest her, but she wasn't there. The police and FBI are looking for her, but so far there is no lead.
I have tripled security on all the Grey's and Cross has done the same for his family. I'm not taking any chances and neither is he. Mia and Ireland were pissed about all the security and the strict safety protocol, but neither of us is budging on the subject. Not with that insane bitch out there trying to hurt my family.
Susannah better hopes and prays that it is the police who finds her first, because if it is my security I will fucking end her and make sure her body will never be found.
"Miss Grey is with your wife, Sir." Ryan informs me when I step out of the elevator in the hospital.
"Really?"
"Yes, Prescott came to get her, your wife wanted to see her daughter." He explains and I thank him and get back into the elevator to get to Ana's floor.
Outside her room I hear Ana humming a lullaby and silently open the door to find my wife holding our daughter. I notice that she is no longer wearing a hospital gown, but one of her own night gowns and her hair is still a little wet.
"Good morning, beautiful. You look good, were you allowed to take a shower?" I ask and kiss first her and then our daughter.
"No, I am still not allowed to get up for more than a minute or two. One of the nurses took pity on me, my hair was such a mess and it smelled so nasty that I was ready to shave it all off, so she washed it in here." She says and for the first time I hear Ana's beautiful giggling.
"Did you just imagine what I would look like bald?" She asks and I grin.
"Maybe, but even bald you would be the most beautiful woman in the world."
"Liar." She laughs, but looks serious all of a sudden.
"How is Emily doing?"
"Emily?" I ask... who the fuck is Emily?
"Oh no... I forgot to tell you... the call got disconnected before I had the change to tell you... where is she Christian... the girl... Susannah's daughter?"
"I don't know, she was admitted when you were, too... I think CPS is going to take care of her."
"No! Christian... Emily, she... she is your daughter." Ana says and I stare at her.
Did my wife just tell me that I have a daughter... and not with her?
"Ana... I... I don't understand... what are you saying?"
"Susannah she... she saw you as her paycheck for a good life. She didn't take her pill and she got pregnant before you ended the contract. She waited until an abortion was no longer possible, then she contacted Elena to tell you. Elena has lied to her, she told her that you didn't want the child and it all went downhill from there for Susannah. She kidnapped me to hurt you... and after a couple of days she wanted to demand ransom for Aria and me... but... but that wasn't all... she was about to let Emily starve to death... she wanted you to live with the knowledge that you couldn't save her." Ana tells me and I feel like the walls are closing in.
I have another child... a girl... fuck no, how can I expect Ana to accept her... can I accept her? Will she want me as her father? What if she hates me... she must be what eleven maybe even twelve... that's a long time for Susannah to fill her head with lies...
"I promised Emily that she can live with us... Christian she is such a sweet girl... please just meet her, get to know her... she is your baby, just like our other children." Ana pleads and I look at her.
"I can't ask you to raise a child I have with another woman, Ana."
"Well, I sure as hell can kick your ass if you even think about giving her into state care, because I'm taking her home, home to her siblings and family where she belongs. Christian, she is part of you, do you really think I won't love her, that I will turn into some sort of bad stepmother?"
"No... of course not, Ana. It's just, I'm afraid you will resent me one day." I confess. Every time I think that my past is finally behind me, it comes back to bite me in the ass.
"Resent you for what? I know that you weren't a virgin when we met, so there was always the possibility that one day a woman from your past steps forward with your child in tow. I know this must be quite a shock for you... but Emily deserves a chance of a better life... she didn't have a chance to be a child until now, I don't want her to lose the chance of having fond childhood memories by having to bounce from foster home to foster home."
"I... I need to think about this. Can I leave you here with Aria for a while... I would like to take a walk."
"Whatever you need." Ana replies and I ask Prescott and Reynolds who are outside of Ana's room to listen if Ana needs help.
Leaving the hospital grounds I walk to a close by park and sit down on a bench by the small lake in the middle of the park.
I have a daughter. One I haven't known off your over a decade... all the lost time and now she will probably hate me.
Fuck, I need to get my head straight. Usually I would talk to Ana, but I can't... she still needs to recover and I can't burden her with my inner turmoil. So I keep thinking about someone to give me some advice and find myself calling Flynn.
I haven't seen him a whole lot in the last couple of years. I usually stop by his office three or four times each year to catch up and otherwise we meet at occasions like birthdays or family events, but today I really need his take on this situation.
"Christian it's so good to hear from you. How is Ana doing?"
"She is doing fine, all things considered. Listen John, I need your advice, something came up."
"What is it?"
"I have a daughter... Susannah my former sub, she was the one who kidnapped Ana. She has a daughter and Ana says she is mine."
"Oh... well that is unexpected... how do you feel about that?"
"Really John? You give me that lame line?"
"Yes, because I really want to know how you feel."
"Fine, mostly I am shocked. I'm worried the girl might hate me... I'm scared Ana is going to resent me if I want to move the girl in with us and she has to raise her too. I mean won't the girl be a constant reminder for Ana of what happened to her?"
"Christian, I have so far only the knowledge from the press coverage, but didn't Ana take the girl with her?"
"Yes... I... fuck." I mutter and close my eyes.
"Christian, this isn't about, Ana. It's about you, am I right?"
"Yes... I just... the girl, she was starving and beaten. I know that much. If I take her home with me... won't she hate me because she had to live in that hell, while I was living a happy life?"
"You can't think like that and your daughter won't think like that either. She has to be around eleven right?"
"Yes."
"You can talk to her then, explain it to her. It won't be an easy process to grow together as a family, but you can do it. You love your children, Christian and Ana seems to have already accepted her otherwise she wouldn't have taken the child with her. But before you do anything and I know this may sound rather harsh, but you have to get a paternity test done. This is not just for you, but also for the girl. If you invite her into your life... your family and it turns out she is not your daughter, things could become even worse for her."
Flynn's words are with me all the way back to the hospital and at the entrance I call Gideon. He owns half of New York, so he can get this done for me quickly and only ten minutes later he calls me back that I'll get the results within the next couple of hours.
The lab at the hospital still had a blood sample of the girl and I went to their lab to give them a sample of mine. On my way back to Ana I call Taylor and tell him that I want security on the girl. Even if she is not mine, I won't allow her fucked up mother to hurt her anymore.
Five fucking hours later I still haven't gotten the results. How fucking long can this shit take? Finally my phone rings and I am asked to come to the lab.
I meet with the doctor who took my blood samples and he asks me to sit down.
"What are the results?"
"Well, Mr. Grey, the results show that you are related to the girl." He says and I'm not quite sure how I feel about this.
"So... she is my daughter?"
"No, you see we only get these kind of results with siblings... I'd say you and the child either share the same mother or father." He says and I stare at him in horror.
I know it can't be my birthmother. She is dead... so this leaves my birthfather. Fuck! I know nothing about him... I don't fucking want to know anything about that son of a bitch. Had he been there, maybe he could have prevented Ella from getting hooked on drugs and dying the way she did... only twenty fucking years old...
"Thank you." I murmur and leave.
Before I know it, I am back in Ana's room and she looks at me.
"She is your daughter, right?" Ana says and reaches for my hand.
"No... the girl... Emily, she is my sister. The doctor said we either share the same mother or father... Ella is dead, so that leaves only my biological father."
I sit down on the edge of Ana's bed and she gently strokes my hair.
"What do you want to do?"
"I want to find Susannah and demand answers... then I want to find that son of bitch and confront him. Or more likely beat him to a pulp." I mutter and look up at Ana.
"I was talking about Emily, do you want to meet your sister?"
"Do you think she would want to meet me?" I ask Ana, suddenly I am a nervous wrack. How does one act when he meets his kid sister for the first time?
"Christian... she is all alone, she will be thrilled to meet you. We can go together if you like?" Ana offers, but I shake my head.
"You are on bed rest, Mrs. Grey. If Emily is up to it, I can bring her to see you, but you are not leaving this room. There is a gift shop downstairs what do girls her age like?"
"I don't know... buy her a stuffed animal. Something she can hold onto when she feels alone." Ana says and the thought of my little sister being scared and alone hurts.
"I'll be back in a while."
"Please, take your time... there is no rush." Ana says and I kiss her before I leave her room.
After a quick stop at the gift shop, where I bought a stuffed animal and some candy I make my way to the third floor where Emily is on the children's ward.
Opening the door I only see one girl in the room. She has long curly hair, the same color as mine and she is staring at me with huge grey eyes... my eyes.
Suddenly, I seem to have lost the ability to talk.
"The other children are in the playroom." She whispers... of course she doesn't know me or think someone would come to see her and that alone makes me want to cry.
"I'm here to see you, Emily. Here this is for you." I tell her and slowly get closer. A quick glance at her chart tells me that she is younger than I thought. She was born in December of 2011, so she is only 10.
"For me?"
"Yes, I thought you could use some company and well, some candy is always a nice treat right?"
Shit, I shouldn't have bought her candy, she looks malnourished, her skin is too pale and she looks so fragile... I need to remember to ask Gail to bring over some fruits and veggies for her... screw this, I'll have Gail send over her meals from now on.
"Who are you?" She looks eyeing me with a mixture of fear and curiosity.
"Do you remember Ana?" I ask and she gives me a small sad nod.
"It's my fault isn't it? I couldn't help her and that's why she went to heaven." She whispers. Fuck, she thinks Ana is dead. Why has no one told her that Ana is alive?
"Emily, Ana isn't dead. She is here at the hospital. She wanted to come visit you, but she is not allowed to get up at for a while. I'm sorry no one came to tell you earlier." I tell her.
"Can I go and see Ana? She was very nice to me... and she shared her food with me when momma wouldn't see it."
"Didn't your mother give you food?" I ask and feel sick to my stomach at the thought that Susannah let Emily starve because she wanted to get revenge against me.
"Not for a while. Sometimes I could eat an apple, when one fell of the tree. I would have climbed up the tree to get more, but I fell down when I tried and hurt myself, so I didn't try again." She explains obviously frustrated with herself that she couldn't get up that tree.
"I tell you what, you'll never have to be hungry again. The place where you are going to live, there will always be food for you."
"I don't know where I will live now." And looks so lost that in this moment I make a vow to myself that I will take care of her.
My biological father might be son of a bitch, but that doesn't mean that I have to feel the same dislike or even hatred for the little girl in front of me. I want to tell her, that she will live with us, but I stop myself. CPS is already involved in her case and I know we have to get approved and everything, but if Ana agrees, I will do anything I can to help her.
"I promise you, you'll have a good life from now on." No matter where she is going to live, I will provide for her... she will never have to hungry, scared or alone again.
"Maybe I can live with auntie Maxine." She says and I vaguely remember that Susannah had a sister by that name.
"Did she stop by to see you?"
"No, but Miss Logan said she is looking for my aunt Maxine."
"Have you lived with her before?"
"No, I lived with my granny and gramps, but they are in heaven for a long time now. Auntie Maxine wanted me to live with her, but then momma came and she took me with her." She tells me sadly.
"Did you like living with your grandparents?"
"Uh-huh, granny and I would bake cookies and cook together and gramps took me swimming and to the zoo and he showed me how to tie my shoes and ride a bike and read books before I went to school, but when I lived with momma she took me out of school and we never lived at the same place long and I was never allowed to go out and play or go to school."
"Have you ever met your daddy?" I blurt out and want to kick myself. She is just a kid, Grey... you can't press her for information!
"I lied to Ana." She whispers barely audible.
"When did you lie to her?"
"Momma told me to tell Ana that my Daddy is a bad man or else she would hit me again and I don't want to get hit anymore. Do you think Ana will be mad at me?"
"No, sweetheart, she won't be mad."
"Momma and I have lived with Daddy for a while, he is mean. He said some mean things to me and hit me in the face." Fucking son of a bitch!
"Do you remember what he looks like?"
"A lot like you, but older. Why do you look so much like my Daddy?"
Shit, this is it, I have to tell her... she doesn't like him... our father, I hope to hell she doesn't hate me too.
"Well, I found out today that there is a reason why not just your daddy and I look very much alike, but you and I too." I start, but she interrupts me.
"I don't look like a boy." She says with a cute pout.
"No you don't, but we have the same eye and hair color. And that's because we have the same father. I'm your big brother Emily."
"But you are old." She says and bites her lip, clearly she didn't want to say that out loud.
"Older than you, that's for sure, though I would object to being old."
"Do you know daddy?"
"No, I have never met him, at least not that I remember. I was adopted when I was a young child."
"Was your mommy like my mommy?"
"No, well... she didn't take good care of me, but she was very young and sick, so it wasn't her fault." And it only took me decades of therapy to finally understand this, but you don't need to know that.
"My mommy just doesn't like me. She says I'm a nuisance, but I don't know what that word means."
"It doesn't matter, it's not true. Your mommy made a lot of bad choices, none of which are your fault."
"Can we visit Ana now?" She asks obviously not wanting to talk about Susannah, our father or herself anymore.
"Sure." I hold out my hand to her and she stares at it for a while, but in the end she takes it, puts her slippers on and so we had to the elevator to go Ana.
Who would have thought that at the age of thirty-nine I would get another sibling, but for some reason I felt this immediate bond with her and I know that moving forward I will not allow anyone to hurt my little sister ever again...
Updates for Seduction, The Mile High Club and A Different Life will follow until Wednesday at latest...