"Right, that's it, eat your food, I will get some juice and then you are going to tell me Ana, ok?" the volume of his voice doesn't help my pounding head. I nod reluctantly, he takes the glass of wine and Christian disappears out of the door.
I attempt a few mouthfuls of Salmon, on any other day it would have been lovely but the stress and headache are making me feel sick but if I don't it will incite Christian more. I hear his footsteps returning and my heart rate increases rapidly. The door opens and Christian enters, hands me the juice and sits on the bed beside me.
"What's wrong baby? I hate seeing you like this, you have been worried about something for a while now" he says calmly although I know once he finds out what I have done, his temper will surface and I will need earplugs.
"Ok, I will tell you but you have to promise to hear me out and not shout" I know that's not going to happen but worth a try.
"I am not promising you anything Anastasia"
Never a good thing when he calls me by my full given name.
"Ok, a while ago, a few weeks, I got suspicious of Niamh; I found her trying to get in to the 'red room', she brushed it off as a rookie mistake so I let it be but then I seemed to find her in places, for example around the desk in the office, when she shouldn't have needed to be there" I take a deep breath
"Whaa…" Christian starts but I hold my head
"Let me finish!" I say loudly.
"I asked Gail if she had noticed anything but other than a feeling, nothing solid. I didn't want to bother you with this as Gramps had just passed away; you had enough on your mind without this so I asked Taylor if it would be possible to install cameras in your office, the nursery and our bedroom so…"
"WHAT THE FUCK ANA! AND TAYLOR IS INVOLVED IN THIS TOO!"
"I'm not finished yet!" I yell back but regret it when the thumping in my head escalates.
"Taylor installed 3 cameras, I had the password to all but Taylor only had access to your office and the nursery. Nothing much happened until we went to your parents for Gramps ash scattering, Gail went out and Niamh systematically went through all three rooms, I don't know what she was looking for but I don't think she found it as she looked pretty frustrated" I pause to rub my forehead again.
"Taylor has got a connection in the SPD and he is meeting with him tomorrow afternoon, the detective is looking closely at Niamh to see if any further clues or information could be found" I pause again.
"Now I understand she has to be fired but I want to know what she wants and what she is looking for otherwise she may return to haunt us in a bad way and I don't think I could take that"
I can see Christian is ready to blow his stack; I shrink back and cover my ears.
"Oh my FUCKING god I don't know where to start with this, what the fuck were you doing Ana? And just wait until I see Taylor, collaborating with you, Gail too. This fucking stinks, and that bitch searching through our stuff, I want that detective to come around and fucking arrest her NOW!" He sits heavily on the bed, and he is panting with exertion clutching his chest.
"Well that achieved a lot" I say quietly before adding "My head is ready to explode, you have over exerted yourself and not actually made any rational decisions about where to go from here" I feel pissed off and brave.
"Well what do you expect Anastasia, you have just dropped this on me and I am supposed to decide in an instant? I need to talk to legal, Taylor, the police and anyone else I can think of to reduce any potential scandal or headlines. I don't like my name being dragged through the mud believe it or not, after all it has been the main topic of conversation in the press for weeks AND it has been brought to my attention someone has leaked details of Gramps funeral but I managed to get an injunction to prevent that being published"
"That's awful Christian, I'm sorry" I feel a little guilty now.
"But having this conversation with you now I am beginning to wonder if Niamh might be our leak, a few other things have been leaked, like our where about and hospital details" Christian has calmed slightly, his mind is in over drive and has that slightly devious look on his face.
"What is that look for?" I ask
"I am going to have a chat with Taylor now and Gail if she is still here, you go to sleep baby, rest up and get some sleep and get shot of that headache, don't worry I'm not going to fire them" he chuckles.
"Ok, if it helps I didn't tell you because I didn't want to burden you until after Gramps funeral, you had enough on and I could deal with it" I confess.
"I know baby and I am sorry for shouting" he leans in and kisses my forehead.
I rest back feeling exhausted and drift asleep again. The following morning Christian isn't lying next to me but his side of the bed has been slept in. I grab a pair of sweats and a t-shirt and go to the office.
I hear voices as I draw closer and I freeze when I recognise Niamh's voice. I move in as close as I can to listen.
"I realised we hadn't had a chance for an informal chat since you started, to find out how things are progressing and if there are any concerns you may have" Christian asks.
"Oh err well err everything is fine Mr Grey" she fumbles and I have to snigger. Christian has that effect on most women.
"That's encouraging Niamh, as long as we are not over working you but you will tell Mrs Jones if you need anything to help" Christian chuckles but I can tell it won't have reached his eyes.
"Oh no not at all Mr Grey, everything is fine, I am very much enjoying my time here, Mrs Jones is lovely and was very patient in the beginning"
"Thank you for taking the time to come and see me but if I can just get you to sign here to acknowledge our chat today Niamh"
At that point I turn and go to the kitchen; Gail is there with Max and Melissa.
"Good morning my beautifuls" I lean in and kiss them both
"Morning Ana, how's your head?" Gail asks
"Much better thanks but I am starving as I didn't eat much last night" I smile.
"Toast and tea? Or Croissant?" Gail says and I nod eagerly for either.
"How was yesterday?" I look directly at her hoping she understands my question.
She mouths "talk later" and smiles, Niamh has walked up behind me.
"Morning" I say trying to act nonchalant.
"Oh Gail, I am going to take the twins to see Kate later this morning so I will be out for a few hours"
"Oh that will be nice, just let me know when you go" she smiles again.
To be honest I don't want to be in the apartment with Niamh, I am scared I will let something slip but mostly to feeling even more uncomfortable around her than before.
I take some Tylenol as my head is worsening again before getting the twins bag and food ready. I tell Taylor I want to leave at 10.30am; Sawyer will drive me as Taylor has business to attend to today.
At Kate's I finally feel I can relax for the first time in a couple of days, I kick off my shoes, tuck my legs up on the sofa and I briefly tell her what has/is happening with Niamh, she looks horrified but relieved that Christian and Taylor are on the case.
We have a good girly chat whilst the children are on the floor under two activity centres with hanging mirrors, teddies and rattles. We both express our amazement at how big they are getting and developing quickly, grabbing the toys and squealing when they make a sound. We end up laughing at hem more than once but after a few hours I have to think about returning to Escala.
I think Kate senses my reluctance and mentions a trip out somewhere tomorrow; I am grateful for the suggestion and say I will let her know. Sawyer is ready to leave and begin the short journey to Escala.
As soon as I enter the apartment I sense the air is thick with tension. Christian and Taylor would have met with the detective from SPD by now. Gail comes over and takes Max in his car seat from me.
"Everything ok Gail?" I question and she shakes her head.
"As soon as the twins are settled, Christian wants us all in his office. He really didn't look happy" she looks a little apprehensive.
"Oh boy that's not great" that's an understatement.
An hour later the twins are fed, watered, changed and asleep so Gail and I go in together for moral support.
"Hey baby, did you have a nice afternoon with Kate?" I nod and take a seat.
"What's going on Christian?" I ask.
His demeanour and tone changes immediately
"Taylor and I had a very interesting chat with Detective Andrews, he has dug up some information, it appears that Niamh has quite an interesting past including the fact she has been living under a number of aliases. Firstly, Loretta Wiesnewski from Alberta in Canada, secondly Candice Jackson from Miami and lastly as we know her, Niamh Carter with Irish roots. She has undertaken a lot of child minding or housekeeping jobs under all her various names and the references from all of the positions she held have been favourable" he pauses.
"So what is the problem with her, why do I feel very uneasy around her" I ask.
"I spoke to Mrs Nelson who was Niamh's previous employer before she came here. She evidently had similar feelings about Niamh but couldn't quite put her finger on what was wrong but unfortunately her husband got made redundant and their house went into foreclosure so Niamh was let go before any investigations could take place" Christian pauses again.
"I hired a trusted Private Investigator last night to do some more digging as in no way did I want to get Detective Andrews in to trouble. Niamh, as far as we can tell has not committed a crime and his jurisdiction ends there"
"Her real name is actually Candice Carter from Baltimore originally and she does have some Irish roots however she has likely been involved in some identity theft at some point to be able to create all these aliases so regardless of what happens here, she will be arrested and questioned about these other names by Detective Andrews"
"Candice Carter has had a chequered past, she was fostered at birth but sadly it wasn't a happy time, she left there at 6 years of age and was fostered to another family after a year in a children's home but things didn't work out there either so a ten year old girl who had been passed from pillar to post was eventually adopted by Ted and Lillian Carter when she was 11 years old. School records show intelligence but an unwillingness to learn until something changed and she started working as a housekeeper in a hotel and worked up through their training scheme before moving to residential housekeeping"
"The most relevant part though and most disturbing thing is that our private investigator found out who her birth parents are…"
A/N; Bonus Chapter, Next chapter asap. As always, thanks for reading, reviewing and your continued support x