Chapter 24
LPOV
I'm very impressed with my wife. How she managed to unearth that tidbit of information surprised me. It had to be the most obscure detail she detected to uncover the plethora of secrets. Frank asked the question before I had the chance. "How do you know Ellen isn't Mallory's biological mom?"
"Dad, Ellen received the yellow fever vaccine on March 15, 1982. Valerie and Mallory were born on July 16, 1982. If Aunt Ellen was pregnant with Mallory, they wouldn't have given her the vaccination. It isn't safe for the fetus. She was also on a flight back from Australia on July 16, 1982 at 0900 our time," she answered.
"Valerie was born at 0903," he confirmed.
"When Mallory was missing around 8 years ago, her DNA was flagged in a San Diego lab. Uncle Andy, do you remember what happened?" Stephanie asked. I could tell she already knew the answer.
"A medic and MP were dispatched to investigate. They learned the sample belonged to a very pregnant Mrs Sutton. Her husband demanded a paternity test to prove her unborn child was his biological child. Mallory was rescued a few days later," he answered.
Frank asked, "What was Mrs Sutton's full name?"
"Valerie Helen Sutton," he replied. If I judged the look on Frank's face correctly, it's his oldest daughter's married name. "Mallory already knows she has an identical twin. She's been actively searching for her biological family."
"That isn't the only thing she knows," my wife added. "Mallory knows Emily also had a twin. I found her message in the deep web."
FPOV (Frank's point of view)
Helen never mentioned her sister Ellen was her identical twin. She only said it was her younger sister. I was on leave from the Army when I married Helen. We didn't have a huge wedding ceremony or get married in the church. Edna and Henry discovered Helen was pregnant and took us to city hall to get married. Before she had her ultrasound appointment, I was deployed and couldn't return until the day after Valerie was born. I never thought she'd keep secrets from me.
Stephanie interrupted my musing, "Daddy? Mallory wants to meet you. Will you visit her with me?"
"Visit Mallory with you?" I asked. She nodded. "Sure."
"Saturday at 1300. At Princeton coffee shop," she quickly provided.
I used my phone to program the date into my calendar. My phone indicated I had new emails. When I opened the program, I discovered the attachment was password protected. Using 'Eclipse' opened them for viewing. "You sent me everything?" I asked Stephanie.
"Of course. The files only open when you enter the password," she told me. Stephanie is an outstanding programmer. If there's a way to secure data, she'll find it. She was a huge help in the Army. Her intel kept my team safe.
"Are you planning to confront Helen?" Andy asked.
"I am. She has a lot to answer for. I've missed my chance to meet Emily, I missed out on watching Mallory grow up. If Helen doesn't have a logical reason for giving away my daughters, she will be served with divorce papers," I stated exhausted from the mental stress.
"Would you like me to come with you?" Stephanie asked.
"This is something I need to handle on my own," I answered.
"You're welcome to stay here if you need a place," Lucas offered.
"I'm going to read these at the lodge. Thank you Pumpkin," I said giving her a hug.
"Take care daddy, let me know if you need anything," she offered.
"I will." Andy and Bernie left the house with me. Hector and Roger stayed behind.
I drove to the lodge with Andy and Bernie. We used a private room to view the documents. Bernie set up a large screen for us to view the documents without printing copies. They used various databases to cross reference Stephanie's information. "She's thorough," Bernie commented.
"I told you so. You didn't have to waste your time searching the databases," I mumbled.
"Ellen only gave birth to one child. Craig Price is the son of Ellen Miranda Price, nee Mazur and Victor Price. She's the adoptive mother to Emily Miranda Price and Mallory Ellen Price," Andy read off his search.
"Emily Price died on September 16, 2003 in Columbus Georgia. She fell down a flight of stairs while five months pregnant. Mother and child died in route to the hospital. Emily was in a relationship with Ricardo Carlos Manoso. He was also listed as the father in her medical records," Bernie read. "It's a very small world."
"It certainly explains why Ranger kept chasing after Stephanie," I mused. "He should seek therapy before you ship him off again, Bernie."
"We never realized Emily was Stephanie's twin or he would have been ordered to see a therapist. I will insist he sees one before his next mission," Bernie agreed. Carlos must think he lost Emily all over again when Stephanie married Lucas.
An hour later, we verified all the data Stephanie provided. I had no doubt it was accurate. It was imperative to have irrefutable proof. Armed with paper copies of Emily, Mallory and Craig's birth records, adoption papers and Emily's death certificate, I thanked my buddies and left. Bernie had his lawyer prepare a divorce petition in case Helen lies or doesn't have a logical explanation.
I spent the drive home thinking of a way to approach Helen. She'll automatically become defensive. Helen will most likely say she gave the girls to Ellen because she couldn't have her own children. I have proof that wasn't the case. It would be interesting to see what lie tale she attempts to spin.
Bernie gave me a wire. He will be parked up the road to record our conversation. His lawyer said we could use it to defend our case, depending on what she says. I walked in the door and heard her talking about Stephanie.
"That's right Angie. I'll invite Joseph over on Sunday. Stephanie said she'll be here for dinner." She must have been waiting to hear Angie's response. A few minutes later she said, "Yes and I'll send you money for the deposit. I will book the church. Thank you Angie. We'll start planning their wedding and they will have to go through with it so they don't embarrass us. I'll call you Sunday night, bye Angie." She ended her call and jumped when she saw me.
"Whose wedding are you planning?" I asked. Helen was surprised I showed any interest in what she was doing.
"Oh. Angie and I are planning Joseph and Stephanie's wedding," she answered sweetly.
"Stephanie is already married Helen," I finally informed her.
"Don't be silly Frank. If she was married, I would have helped her plan her wedding. We would have picked out a dress, bridesmaid gowns, flowers, catering, a hall, set a date and talked to the priest," she insisted. "I would have been at her wedding and her last name would be Morelli."
Joe Morelli was the last person I wanted my daughter to marry. Lucas is the perfect husband for my pumpkin. He has the same ideals and honour code as my daughter. Stephanie trusts him with her deepest, darkest secrets. I know he'll never betray her trust. Using my phone, I opened the video and played it for her. Her face turned red from anger. "As I told you before, Stephanie is already married."
"How… how dare you lie to me!" she screamed. "You knew she's been married for weeks and never told me. Her marriage isn't sanctified by the church. Stephanie needs to apply for an annulment so she can marry Joseph."
"She will do no such thing," I sternly stated. "Stephanie is not a liar, you are."
"I don't lie," she yelled.
"Is there anything you should have told me that you haven't Helen?" I goaded her.
"Absolutely not. You know everything. I have no secrets from you," she said.
"This is your final chance Helen. Is there anything you need to tell me about our daughters?" I asked.
Her face paled before she squared her shoulders and said, "There are no secrets regarding our daughters."
I carefully laid out the birth records of our four daughters. "Busted," I stated.
SPOV
Bernie and Andy had an emergency so they asked me and Lucas to cover for them. Lucas and I listened as Mom made plans to invite Morelli over for dinner on Sunday. We were planning to tell her about our marriage, but Dad had to spill the beans sooner. I heard him questioning her and she blatantly lied to him.
"What did you do with Mallory and Emily?" Dad asked.
"I don't know who you're talking about," she lied.
"Mallory… Valerie's identical twin. Emily… Stephanie's identical twin," I heard him thump the table with each name. "I have proof," he added. Mom stammered, but didn't answer him. "Who is this?"
"Me," she answered.
"Where was this taken?" he asked.
"An Australian display at Epcot centre," she lied. I knew it was a photo of Aunt Ellen. Mom was in labour with Valerie and Ellen was coming home.
"How do you explain this date stamp? It couldn't possibly be you. On that day, you were in St Frances giving birth to Valerie and Mallory." His tone he used would have me shaking in my boots. "Tell me the truth," he demanded.
"You can't handle the truth!" she shouted. "Ellen couldn't have children of her own. When I discovered I was pregnant with twins, she promised to raise the younger sibling. We have the same DNA, so if anyone ordered a test, it would prove she was her biological mother. Then I got pregnant with Stephanie. Just like Valerie, she had a twin too. Ellen agreed to take the younger sibling to raise as her own."
"Ellen could have children. In fact, she had a child with her husband. Why is she listed as the adoptive mother if you intended to pass our daughters off as her own?" he asked. "If a maternity test was adequate proof, why have me sign over my rights?"
"I had you sign medical slips for a school trip," she continued to lie.
"These documents?" Dad asked.
"Yes, those are the ones," she finally answered honestly.
"Pages one to three are missing. As you can see, this page has a four in the bottom left corner. Both of our signatures are on this final page and it's dated five years after Stephanie and Emily were born. The year Ellen discovered her pregnancy. If they were medical forms for Valerie and Stephanie, shouldn't they have their names? These papers clearly have Mallory and Emily," he stated. I've never heard dad use this tone of voice. For the first time in my life, I was slightly afraid of him.
"It was obviously a mistake," she attempted to cover her tracks.
"I'll tell you what the mistake was Helen," he started. "Marrying you was a big mistake. If it wasn't for Valerie, Mallory, Stephanie and Emily, I would regret the day we met."
"Frank, stop being ridiculous. Stephanie obviously poisoned your mind with all of her lies," she snapped.
"You're right Helen. I'll stop being ridiculous," he sounded resigned. I knew better; he was just changing his tact. "Do you mind signing this paper for me?" he asked.
"What am I signing?" she thoughtfully asked.
"My pension papers," he decided to lie. "It's to make sure you receive my full Army pension when I die."
"Don't I already receive your full pension when you die?" she wisely asked. Mom was more cunning than I realized.
"Only half. Valerie and Stephanie will get the other half," he lied. I knew mom was getting everything.
"Okay, I'll sign," she answered.
"Make sure you sign all the copies. Thank you, Helen." I heard a scratch of a pen before he said, "Now get out of my house."
"What do you mean 'get out of your house'? It's my house too," she insisted.
"You signed the divorce papers and signed over your portion of my pension. We are done. Now leave," he demanded. I heard some shuffling before silence filled the line. Dad had disconnected his microphone.
LPOV
Frank gave Helen plenty of chances to come clean, but she chose to lie every single time. If she lied when presented with irrefutable proof, what else is she lying about? "Steph, do you think Frank is really your father?" I had to ask.
She started laughing. "When daddy and I were in Italy, we had a paternity test done. He is definitely mine and Valerie's biological father. Dad used the sample Valerie provided 8 years ago," she answered.
"What made him check?" I wondered.
"Something he overheard when she thought he was sleeping," she replied. "But it's dad's story to tell. If he gives me permission to tell you, I will."
"I understand." Stephanie was a vault. If she wasn't supposed to divulge a secret, she wouldn't. I had a feeling it wasn't good news.