AUTHORS NOTE: Apologies for the delay in posting but as most of you know who follow me and my stories I work six days out of seven, and even during this whole global pandemic lockdown I have continued to work as here in the UK I am classified as a Key worker and my job is essential. I also have a home and family to take care of and the past few days at work have been really hectic and I've also had a few things going on at home which needed my attention and I just didn't have the time for fan fiction. I can only apologise for that, but as I am sure you can appreciate real life has to come first.
CHAPTER 27
I stand silently watching the tearful farewell in front of me. Eva is returning to New York and neither Ana nor Eva are very happy about it.
Angus is hovering, waiting to escort Eva onboard one of Gideon's planes as Eva is whispering in Ana's ear and she is nodding.
"Come on lass we need to go" Angus says gently and Eva looks up at him and nods.
Then she turns towards me and leaving Ana she walks up to me and looks at me questioningly.
"Can I hug you?" she asks and I grin at her.
"It's never bothered you before" I say as I hold open my arms to her.
She grins back at me and slowly steps into them. "That was back when I was in blissful ignorance" she retorts as she gives me an affectionate squeeze.
"Take care of my sister" she says and I let out a little snort.
"That was unnecessary as you should know by now that I will always take care of Ana" I say and Eva lets out a sharp laugh.
"Smart Ass" she says and then she pauses and looks at me seriously. "Good luck for when you meet your biological family today. I hope it all turns out as successful for you as it did for Ana and I" she adds kindly.
"Thank you, that means a lot" I say sincerely.
She grins at me again and gives me a little shove with her elbow, "Bye then bro!" she says and my face breaks out into an amused grin.
"Goodbye Eva and have a safe flight" I say.
With that she stands on her tiptoes and gives me a small peck on the cheek before turning and giving Ana another hug. She pulls away and I hear her promise to Skype this evening. Then she turns and walks up the steps and when she reaches the top, she pauses then turns and waves at us before disappearing inside.
I walk over to Ana and wrap my arm around her. "Are you ok baby?" I ask as I can see she is visibly upset by this.
She sniffs loudly and nods before looking up at me and giving me a brave smile.
"I'm fine" she says simply.
We watch the plane take off and then leave the airport.
As Taylor drives us into Seattle Ana is sitting silently beside me holding my hand.
"We can go to New York whenever you want to" I say, reiterating my promise to her that she can see her sister whenever she wants to.
Ana nods, "Thank you" she says. She looks up at me. "How are you doing?" she asks warily.
I am uncertain as to whether she is talking about my monumental conversation with my father yesterday or the events which are going to happen in a few hours' time.
"If you are referring to what happened yesterday then yes, I'm fine… I'm still a little bit amazed that he apologised and admitted that he was wrong after all these years as I never ever expected that to happen, but now that it has it has almost laid something to rest inside me". I pause as I reach over and caress her face, "Thank you baby, as it would never have happened if it wasn't for you".
Ana smiles up at me, and lifts her hand to cover mine. "I would do anything for you Christian, you should know that by now. I will always have your wellbeing as my number one priority".
She cocks her head to one side and her smile turns into a grin and her eyes flash with amusement as she adds, "Besides I think you quite comprehensively thanked me last night!"
I feel a self-satisfied smug grin fill my face as I remember last night. Not to mention the fact I also feel myself getting aroused again at the memory.
"So, what is the plan for today?" Ana asks, effectively pouring cold water on my libido.
I sigh as I mentally run through my schedule for today. "After I've dropped you off at Grey Publishing, I'm going to show my face at the office. I think I've left Ros in charge for long enough" I say wryly and Ana giggles.
"You have not left Ros in charge though. I've heard you talking to her on the phone at times during this time you've been away. You have always been in complete control" she says.
I nod, "As it should be" I say simply.
"And then?" Ana asks gently.
I sigh, "Then I will come and fetch you and we are due to meet Arnie and my biological family at the Heathman for lunch at 1pm". I say and I feel Ana give me a reassuring squeeze which gives me more comfort than I would like to admit.
"How are you dealing with the prospect of that meeting?" she asks me warily.
I look down at her and think about it. How do I feel about it? "If I was to be totally honest, I'm not entirely sure" I say eventually. "I had no idea these people existed and I'm naturally apprehensive about it. I've spoken to Arnie and the DNA tests have been completed and he should get the results today in time for the meeting. Although he is confident that it is a foregone conclusion… as am I" I say.
I feel the car come to halt and look up to see we have arrived at Grey Publishing. "Time to go to work" I say as I pull Ana even closer to me and hold her tightly.
"Well, you'd better let me go then" she says simply.
I nod, but don't release her immediately.
"Are you sure you are ok?" she asks and I smile down at her and after giving her a sweet kiss I release her.
"I'm fine" I say.
oooOOOooo
After a very productive morning, the time I have been looking forward to and dreading in equal parts arrives and I somewhat reluctantly reach for my jacket and shrug it on. I grab my phone and make my way out. I pause at Andrea's desk and she looks up at me expectantly.
"I'm heading out now for lunch and I'm out of the office for the rest of the day" I say.
"Yes, Mr Grey" she says politely and I nod as I walk away confident in the knowledge that she will handle everything here admirably. That makes me pause as I have never actually thanked her for the fine work she does. I just bark orders at her and she quietly and competently handles everything I throw at her.
I turn and walk back to her desk, "Andrea" I say quietly and she looks up again.
"Yes, Mr Grey" she says as she reaches for her tablet, but I shake my head.
"You don't need that" I say, she puts it down again and looks at me questioningly. "I… I don't believe I have ever told you what a magnificent job you do. I am always confident that if I ask you to do something, that it will be done… I just wanted to say thank you" I say.
I watch as Andrea's jaw drops open, but she quickly composes herself and she smiles at me.
"Thank you, Mr Grey" she says simply.
I nod and without another word I leave the building.
I see Taylor waiting outside and standing by his side is Arnie and he has a brown envelope in his hand.
"Arnie" I say as I hold out my hand to him.
"Hello Christian" he says kindly and as I shake his hand; I fix my eyes on the envelope.
"The DNA results" he says as he watches me carefully. I nod in understanding, as he quickly explains. "I thought you might want to see them in private before we meet everyone" he adds.
"Thank you" I say.
We climb into the SUV and he wordlessly hands me the envelope. "Have you seen the results?" I ask and he nods.
"I have. This is your copy but I, along with everyone else has theirs and we have all read them" he says.
"I'm assuming it confirms our suspicions?" I say and he nods once.
"It does" he replies.
I clear my throat, "And how is everyone taking that information?" I ask warily.
He smiles kindly at me, "They all knew as soon as they Googled you that it was a forgone conclusion" he says.
"They Googled me?" I ask in surprise and he lets out a small laugh.
"Yes, believe it or not none of them had heard of you or Grey Enterprise Holdings. To be fair, rural Ohio news doesn't tend to dwell too closely on the business dealings of Seattle Billionaires but as soon as Alex Banks saw you he said it was like looking at Liam, albeit a slightly older version as you are now older than Liam was when he died" Arnie says.
"Does… does who I am bother them?" I ask carefully.
Arnie smiles kindly at me, "No, it doesn't. I have warned them all, that if the media get wind of this there may be some publicity and I told them what happened to Ray when you took up with Annie. They are all fully aware and completely prepared to deal with whatever happens.
"I don't want them to be thrust into the spotlight because of me, it was awful for Ray and they still hound him when something of interest occurs, for example when it all came out about Ana and Eva being sisters. Although that was more due to the fact of who Eva is married to. The story of the two billionaire wives being sisters was too irresistible for them" I say slightly bitterly.
Arnie nods and then he reaches for me and pats my arm. "Stop worrying Christian, they are all fine about it and they are all looking forward to meeting you and Annie. Hal has heard me talk of my pal Ray's daughter over the years so he is looking forward to finally meeting her" he says.
We realise that we have arrived at Grey Publishing. "I'm going to collect my wife" I say and Arnie nods.
"I'll get into the front with Jason, he says. As I climb out of the car he also gets out and slips into the front as I stroll into the Grey Publishing office.
I am immediately greeted by Claire the receptionist who beams at me. "Good afternoon Mr Grey, Ana is in her office" she says and I politely thank her and make my way to Ana's office. As I open the door she is on the phone laughing and I pause and just watch her.
She turns almost as if she can sense me and she smiles widely. "Got to go, Christian has just arrived" she says, and then she pauses as whoever she is talking to is saying something in response. "Yeah… talk to you later, bye!" She adds and then ends the call.
"Who was that baby?" I ask.
"Eva, she called to say that she has just arrived back in New York safely" she explains. She glances at my hand and I realise that I am still holding the envelope.
"What's that?" she asks nodding at the envelope.
"The DNA results" I reply and I see her eyes widen.
"Is it… are they?" she stammers and I nod.
"Yes, Arnie has seen them. This is my copy… Will you… do you mind if we open it and look at it here together before we go out?" I ask and Ana's face softens with compassion and she nods.
"Of course we can" she says.
I take a deep breath and rip open the envelope. In a second Ana is at my side and her arm is secured tightly around my waist.
I pull out the papers and see that every single one is conclusively positive. I swallow hard as this is a huge moment for me. I am related by blood to someone. I am related to my parents and siblings by a court ruling, and I am related to Ana through marriage but this… this is different. I am a part of these people they share my DNA and my blood... I belong somewhere and for the first time in my life have ancestry and roots. Something I have never had before and never really known apart from my hazy memories of my birth mother.
"Are you ok?" Ana asks me as I continue to gaze at the paperwork.
I look at her and pulling myself together I push them back into the envelope. "Yes… I'm fine. It's just a big moment that's all" I say with a shrug.
I feel Ana squeeze me, "I know it is, and if you need to take a moment then that's absolutely fine" she says.
I shake my head, "No, I want to meet them" I say. I grasp Ana's hand purposefully then I turn and march out of Grey Publishing.
I open the door to the SUV for Ana to climb in and as she does so, I hear her greet Jason and Arnie. I climb into the other side and hold up the envelope to Arnie.
"I… I wanted to be with Ana when I saw it for the first time… you don't mind do you?" I ask and he shakes his head.
"Of course, I don't mind Christian. I assumed that is what you would do" he says simply and I let out a sigh of relief as I was concerned that what I had done could be construed as a bit rude.
We make our way to the Fairmont hotel and the closer we get the more nervous I get about this.
"Did you reserve the private dining room?" I ask looking at Jason and he nods.
"Yes sir, all sorted" he says.
"Thank you" I reply as I reach for Ana's hand and grip it tightly.
The car pulls up and we all climb out; Ana immediately slips her hand into mine and squeezes gently to reassure me.
We all go inside and are led to the private dining room. "Your guests are all inside waiting Mr Grey" the concierge says politely.
"Thank you" I reply and then pause in front of the shut door, I glance at Ana and she steps forward and grasps the handle.
"It will be fine Christian" she says as she pushes open the door.
We enter the room and the hum of chatter immediately stops, all heads turn to face us and all eyes are on me. I feel a surge of panic as I look at each member of my biological family in turn. Almost immediately the two older men step forward. One is tall and has my stature; he is leaning on a stick, but as I look at him I see my eyes looking back at me. He also looks like an older version of me so I am assuming that this is my paternal grandfather Alexander who I was named after. Then my eyes rest on the other man and I take a sharp breath in as I see his eyes are also familiar, but in recent times I have only seen them in my nightmares. I look at Arnie, he must favour his mother as I don't see him in this man. I grip Ana's hand even tighter as I realise I seem to have lost the ability to speak.
"It's ok" she whispers and then she smiles brightly at the two men.
"Hello, I'm Christian's wife Ana and I'm so pleased to meet you. I am assuming you must be Alexander and Edwin?" she says and both men nod in unison.
She glances at the other man standing in the room; this one favours Edwin in looks and I realise this must be Arnie's brother Hal.
"So, you must be Hal… am I correct?" Ana asks and the man's face breaks into a wide smile.
"Indeed I am, and I have heard a lot about you over the years. Arnie always talked about his pal Ray and his daughter Annie" he says.
Edwin gasps, "This is Annie? "Little Annie Steele" he says and Arnie grins.
"Yep, this is her… in the flesh". He turns to us, and shrugs in embarrassment, "I may've talked about Annie quite a lot from time to time" he says.
This relaxes me slightly, "Well, I can understand why. She is an incredible woman and far more interesting than me, any day of the week" I say as I gaze down lovingly at my wife. I smile as I see her face flush a little as she hears my words.
Edwin takes a step closer to me and holds out his hand to me. "Arnie told me about what happened to you. I just wish Ella had come home when Liam died" he says sadly.
I grasp his hand and smile at him. "It's in the past and it cannot be changed" I say simply.
I look around, "Shall we sit down?" I ask and there is a general murmur of agreement as we move to the table and sit down.
"How are you feeling about all this son?" Edwin asks me carefully.
I let out a small snort, "Overwhelmed" I say, "Everything happened so quickly" I add.
"How did it all come about? I mean, did you actively search for us? I'm a little unclear as to how it all came about. We had no idea until Arnie called us out of the blue saying he'd found you and that he now knew Ella was definitely dead. We asked him how it came about and he mentioned something about Annie's biological father and so I'm a little confused as to what actually happened" Alexander says.
I take a deep breath and lean my arms on the table. "It's quite incredible how events unfolded. It all began when Ana got an email from the company Finding Family informing her that she was possibly the sibling of a woman searching for her biological father. That woman turned out to be Eva Cross, the wife of the New York billionaire businessman Gideon Cross and when the two ladies got together it transpired that the man who fathered both of them and who was considered long since dead was still very much alive. After a rather unsuccessful meeting with their biological father where afterwards he went to the media, Ray got in touch with Arnie to report the fact Frank was alive and had deserted the army years previously and faked his own death. Arnie contacted us to inform us that Frank had been picked up by the military police in California. As it happened, we were also in California at that point in time as Eva had taken Ana to meet her father… the man she always assumed was her father. So, Arnie decided to come and meet up with us and it was during the course of a conversation regarding family that he mentioned his sister who was missing and as the conversation progressed it became apparent that his little sister and my biological mother was the same person".
You can hear a pin drop as I complete my explanation and as it comes to an end, I look at the men warily but see nothing but compassion in their eyes. I clear my throat, and work out what I want to say next.
"Erm… while you are all in Seattle, I'd like to introduce you to my family. I was hoping that you'd all come to my home for dinner and meet my parents – Grace and Carrick Grey and my siblings?"
I wait and there are immediate nods of agreement and the murmurs of yes and of course we will. I look at the three men in turn. "Do I have any other biological family?" I ask and Alexander nods.
"You do, my wife Betty is looking forward to meeting you at some point. She is unwell at the moment and the flight to Seattle would've been too much for her, but she was overjoyed when she heard about you and she made me promise to ask you to come to Ohio to meet her. I also have another son, your uncle. His name is Brad and he is younger than Liam by two years. He lives in Minnesota. He is married and he has three children, your cousins Sarah, Natalie and Jennifer". He pauses to let me take all that in.
"Do they know about me?" I ask and Alexander nods.
"They do, they wanted to come but we felt that it would be too overwhelming for you to meet too many people in one go. So, we decided that the initial meeting should be just your biological grandparents and Hal, as you were already aware of him from your conversations with Arnie".
I nod in understanding and look towards Edwin questioningly but he shakes his head, "On our side Arnie is married to the military and has stayed a bachelor" he says nodding towards his son. Arnie told you we lost Evette as well as Ella, and Hal…" he pauses and shuffles in his seat nervously.
"I'm gay" Hal says finishing the sentence which was hanging there. He looks at me carefully as if he is judging my reaction. To be perfectly honest it doesn't concern me at all.
"Are you married or do you live with someone?" I ask politely and I see everyone sag with relief at my almost blasé response.
Hal grins at me, "I live with my husband Derek in Colorado, and yes we are married" he says. "We've faced… hostility for who we are and so we felt it was best if Derek stayed at home… but he is looking forward to meeting you".
"Do you have a family Christian?" Edwin asks and I shake my head.
"No, not yet. Ana and I aren't ready to be parents yet. My brother Elliot has a daughter Ava, so at the moment we are happy just playing the role of doting aunt and uncle". I rummage in my pocket for my phone and pull it out. I quickly find my photographs and show my grandparents the photographs I have of my family.
"That's Grace and Carrick… my mom and dad" I say slightly awkwardly and I wonder if they are offended by me calling them that, but they just look intently at the photographs and nod. "That's my little sister Mia, that one is my brother Elliot. That particular photograph was taken at the official opening of one of his buildings in Seattle. You very rarely see him dressed liked that as you can see by this photograph, as that is El with his daughter Ava" I say as I point at the screen.
I see the three men smile widely at Ava. "She's beautiful" they say.
I swipe the screen once more and I pause and look at the two men. "This is my grandfather Theo Trevelyan and my grandmother Beatrice. They are my mother's parents" I say and I wait for some kind of response to this.
"Will we be meeting your grandparents tonight?" Edwin asks.
I am surprised but quickly recover, "You can do… if you want to, I wasn't sure if…" I fade off and the two men smile kindly at me.
"We would love to" Alexander says and Edwin nods in agreement.
"Do you have any paternal grandparents?" Alexander asks and I shake my head.
"No, my fathers' parents are both dead" I say. "I have vague memories of Gladys and Carrick senior, but they died shortly after I was adopted. So, I didn't really have the chance to get to know them" I say.
This seems to prompt Alex to pull out his wallet and as he does so he also pulls out an envelope and hands it to me. "I thought you might like these; they are photographs of Liam and there are also a few of him with your mother" he says.
I swallow hard as I take it, "Thank you" I say.
Alexander smiles and then shows me the photos he has in his wallet, I am shown a photograph of his wife Betty, his son Bradley with his wife Gina and then a photograph of his three granddaughters.
"I also have this one" he says as he pulls out a familiar photograph, it is the same as the one that Arnie showed me.
"I've seen this… Arnie has…" I say as I glance at Arnie.
Alexander nods, "We all have this one" he says sadly.
"I was told I loved the orchard" I say quietly and Alexander laughs as he turns to Edwin.
"You did, we couldn't keep you out of it" Edwin says, "And as soon as you knew how to pick the apples, that was it and you were helping yourself. Ella freaked out many times seeing you climbing up to reach the apples as you had no fear or sense of danger" he says.
I glance at Ana and she squeezes my hand gently as for as long as I can remember my life has been ruled by my fears and my heightened sense of danger. I clear my throat and glance at Hal.
"Do you have a photograph of your husband?" I ask and Hal beams at me and reaching inside his pocket he pulls out his phone and shows me photographs of him standing with his arm around a tall blonde-haired man.
"That's Derek" he says proudly.
The ice has been well and truly broken now and we chat easily and freely. As we eat our lunch, they ask me about my business and what I do and I do the same. I learn that both Edwin and Alexander are retired. Alexander is a retired firefighter and Edwin is ex-military. I tell them about my mom being a doctor and my dad being a lawyer. I also mention Mia's events planning business and of course Elliot's construction company.
"How are you feeling now that you have met us Christian?" Edwin asks suddenly.
I pause and think about that, "I'm… I don't know, oddly complete is the only way to describe it I think" I say and I feel Ana reach for me and squeeze my knee. "I know where I came from now and it's the truth not what I had put together and assumed in my own mind" I say.
"And what were those assumptions?" Edwin asks gently.
I shake my head, "I don't think I should tell you that" I say carefully yet firmly.
Edwin smiles kindly at me, "Christian, Arnie had told us how you were neglected and mistreated. We want to know… we want to know everything about you Christian, as we have waited far to long to discover the truth". He pauses and takes a deep breath, "I assure you nothing you will say will offend us or turn us against you if that is what you are concerned about".
I hesitate, was that what I was thinking subconsciously? That if I told them what my previous assumptions were that I would lose my biological family as soon as I had found them?
I take a deep breath and decide to go for it. "My assumptions were that there was nobody. I assumed due to the fact my biological mother was… that she…"
"That she sold her body for drugs" Edwin finishes for me and I nod.
"Yes, because she did that… I just assumed I was the result of a dodgy condom and my biological father was one of her many clients. That fact was confirmed for me when I spent six months in foster care while my biological family was traced and nothing was found, leaving the way clear for my mom and dad to adopt me". I pause and look at the two men who are just nodding and smiling at me.
"Scott Fairbourne has a lot to answer for" Alexander says bitterly.
I frown wondering who the hell Scott Fairbourne is. "I'm sorry who is Scott Fairbourne?" I ask.
Alexander looks at me bleakly, "Scott Fairbourne was a disgruntled postal worker. He had been fired for incompetency and theft of mail. In revenge he burnt down the postal office in Fremont. We didn't get any notification about you. Liam was listed as Ella's next of kin and he was dead so I assume the authorities would trace both myself and Edwin as the next link and as we didn't get anything, we can only surmise that the letters were lost when the postal building burnt down.
I lean back in my seat, surprised at this revelation. "I see" I say simply.
Alexander nods, "Fremont post office took a long while to recover from that. It was nearly a year before everything was back running as it had been before the arson attack".
I let out a loud sigh. Now I know, and it was as my father had surmised. The only reason I hadn't been claimed by my biological family was due to the fact they simply hadn't received the letters sent to trace them. Not because they didn't care.
I feel a sudden surge of anger towards this Scott Fairbourne person and Ana reaches for me and touches my arm.
"Christian" she says carefully, and I see the men around the table looking slightly nervously at me.
I quickly reign in my temper and shake my head, "I'm sorry I was just thinking how the actions of one person has had such devastating effects for you… what happened to this Scott Fairbourne person?" I ask.
"He was sent to prison" Edwin says simply.
Alexander nods, "He had a long list of charges against him. There was the theft of mail and arson but he was also charged with three charges of second-degree murder as three postal workers died in the fire he set. He argued that he had no idea they were there and he had no intention to kill anyone. He said he just wanted to get revenge for being fired".
A long silence fills the room after that and I make a mental note to find out more about not only this man but the families of the postal workers who died.
I decide to change the subject and I look around the room. "I'm planning a trip to Detroit soon. As Arnie is going to show me where my father is buried and I am going to show him where my mother is buried… would you… I'd like it if…?" I pause unable to finish my question.
Hal smiles at me, "I'd love to come" he says immediately. "I feel a huge degree of guilt that I never managed to persuade Ella to come home when Liam died, had I done more then everything that happened…" he trails off and I see the pain in his eyes.
"Don't blame yourself" I say simply but he shakes his head and doesn't say anything.
"I'll come" Edwin says simply and Alexander nods.
"I'd like to come too, but I'm sure Betty would also like to accompany me so if we could leave it until she recovers?" he asks and I nod.
"What is wrong with her?" I ask simply.
Alexander shakes his head sadly. "She has always had problems with her breathing and when she catches colds and the like it quickly escalates into something much worse. She has had pneumonia a few times in her life and it has left her with a weakness". He explains.
I wonder briefly if they have adequate health insurance to cover the cost of the treatment that she receives, but I realise now is not the time to start throwing around my wealth. But I make another mental note to ask Welch to make discreet checks to find out if my biological family are adequately protected.
"When you come to Fremont, to meet Betty we will show you where all your ancestors lived and where Evette is buried" Alexander says and I nod.
"I'd like that" I say simply, as now I have roots for the first time in my life, I also now have the desire to know more and find out about the past generations whose blood also runs through my veins.