CHAPTER 7
"Thank god for that!" Eva whispers as the door closes. I look at Eva and I see her visibly relax. If I am to be totally honest, I also feel that same relief now that our husbands have left the room. She turns to look at me, we roll our eyes in unison and then we both burst out laughing.
"I know they are trying their hardest to behave and not take over, or do something stupid but it was just too oppressive with them in here. Now we can sit and talk and relax a little" I say and I hesitantly reach for my sister. She reacts positively and grips my hand tightly.
"Yeah, don't get me wrong, I love Gideon with all my heart. But sometimes… he is so intense and I just need some space," she says.
I nod, "I know exactly what you mean as Christian is the same. I love how I know he would do anything for me and how he is so protective of me… but sometimes that intensity can be too much… a little bit stifling" I reply.
We move to the sofa and sit down next to each other. A short silence spreads out between us which is broken by Eva as she reaches for me and speaks.
"Please tell me you are ok with all this?" she whispers and I smile at her and grip her hand.
"I am more than ok with this. Yes, it was a shock as I had always been so sure of everything, I was an only child. My mom is Carla and my biological father was Frank - but my dad is and always will be Ray, it was that simple for me. I had always dreamed of having a sibling as a child, I longed for a sister… now it seems my wish has come true and I couldn't be happier about it…" I pause as I work out how I am going to word the next part. I take a deep breath and squeeze Eva's hand reassuringly. "But things are slightly more complicated for you aren't they…? How are things between you and your mom… and dad?" I ask warily.
Eva shrugs, "Mom and I aren't talking at the moment, she doesn't seem to want to take any responsibility for what she has done… I had Stanton on the phone having a go at me about it all, and in a huff because my dad had called my mom, and quite understandably had a go at her," she says.
I frown, "Stanton?" I ask and Eva smiles.
"Sorry… Stanton, that's Richard Stanton… he's mom's latest husband. She… my mom, has made a career out of being a trophy wife, he is husband number three" Eva says bitterly and I can't help but snort.
"Well my mom is currently on husband number four, so I have no room to comment about that" I say.
Eva's eyes widen slightly at that, "Do you get along with your mom?" she asks me and I shake my head.
"No, not really. She was never really a proper mom to me and I was just an inconvenience to her. Her needs and dreams came first, she seemed to forget at times she even had a daughter. If it wasn't for Ray…" I pause and look towards the door of the office where my beloved stepfather has just gone, "He gave my life stability… he has been mom and dad to me all my life, and I love him with all my heart," I say.
As we sit and talk and describe our lives, it becomes apparent very quickly that there are numerous parallels and coincidences between us. Despite the fact Eva grew up in a privileged environment and I grew up at the other end of the wealth spectrum, we could still relate to each other as we had experienced many similar things in our lives. The biggest one being our husbands and how we met them. We both had laughed as we shared our less than dignified experiences of meeting our husbands for the first time, as we both heard that we had not made a great first impression. I had told Eva how I had fallen head first into Christian's office and she had described how she sprawled on her ass in the lobby of the Crossfire building when she first met Gideon. We had both gone on to describe how despite that the men concerned had practically stalked us and how we had both married quickly. I thought I had married Christian quickly, but Eva told me how Gideon had put a ring on it after only a month or so as well. As we talked I felt a closeness to her, I felt I knew her and I articulated my feelings.
"I don't want this to sound creepy or weird, but I feel a connection to you. I feel like I have always known you" I say carefully.
Eva smiles and nods, "I was thinking exactly the same thing, we may have grown up in completely different worlds but I feel it too… there is a bond between us, and I almost feel it growing as we sit here and talk… do you get what I am trying to say?" Eva looks at me and I nod.
"Yes, I do" I say simply.
I glance at the box on the table and I hesitate, biting my lip I reach for it and I hold it for a moment just looking at it. Eva is watching me as I struggle with the decision of whether or not to give it to her. But I quickly come to the conclusion that I have to as that is the reason I am here, to help her try and understand who her biological father was. Before I can over think it anymore, I hold out the box.
"This is all the information I have managed to gather for you. In here are photographs of Frank, and copies of letters he wrote to my dad and to Jose Rodriguez senior, who was a mutual friend of my dad and Frank. They were all in the military together. I warn you though, from what I have read… Frank was a misogynistic asshole. He used women with a total disregard for their feelings. What he says about my mom and your mom… well, it's not nice".
Eva takes the box from me and nods. "Alright, I'll bear that in mind… I take it you have read the letters?" she says and I nod.
"Yes, I read everything. You see, I had no idea about Frank either, I had just taken what my mom had told me about him and accepted it. He was dead, and I had always looked upon Ray as my father so I didn't see any reason to delve deeper… until now. Mom always spoke of him as if he was the love of her life. She was either ignorant of what he was really like, delusional, or she was simply trying to protect me from the truth. I am pretty certain it wasn't the last one, as mom isn't known for unselfish gestures. So, it was either ignorance or delusion and I am choosing to believe she was ignorant of what he was really like" I say.
Eva nods, she opens the box and on the top is a photograph of Frank with my dad and Jose. I lean forward and point.
"That man there is Jose Rodriguez senior. That is Ray and that there is Frank" I say and I watch as Eva swallows and gazes at the photograph.
"That photograph was taken when they were all in California, so that was the Frank your mom would remember" I say.
Eva nods as she stares at the photograph, "He was very handsome" she says quietly and she looks up at me, "I see myself clearly in him, I have his eyes… you don't".
I shake my head, "No, everyone says I take after my mom" I say with a shrug.
Eva nods, "Yes but I see Frank in you too, look here" she says and she leans towards me, "Your face shape and chin, and your mouth… look" she says and points.
I look at the photograph and for the first time I see what she means. I smile, "So you got the top half of his face as your forehead, eyes and nose shape look like Frank's and I inherited the bottom half of his face" I say with a grin and Eva giggles.
Eva continues to rummage through the box and I move closer as she pulls out letters and reads what Frank really thought about our mothers and women in general.
"It doesn't make for pleasant reading does it?" I say after a few moments and Eva shakes her head.
"No he really was an asshole, I just wonder what mom saw in him?" she says as she shakes her head sadly.
I shrug, "He was probably very good at telling women what they wanted to hear. He probably turned on the charm to get what he wanted… Stephen was like that, until he showed his true colours" I say, almost to myself.
Eva looks up at me, "Who is Stephen?" she asks and I shiver involuntarily.
"Stephen was one of mom's husbands… he was husband number three to be precise, he promised mom the earth and yet he was a complete monster when he showed his true colours," I say quietly.
Eva reaches for me, "Did he hurt you?" she asks and I close my eyes. I have never spoken of that brief yet awful time in Texas when my mom had insisted that I went with her. She had torn me away from Ray and everything that was familiar to me and taken me to live with a monster. When I don't say anything, Eva thankfully doesn't push it and changes the subject.
"Did your mom marry Frank?" Eva asks and I shrug.
"She said she did, but I have never found any evidence of that and believe me Christian has helped me look. I found evidence of her marriages to Ray, Stephen and Bob but there is nothing for her and Frank. I do wonder if he left her high and dry, like he did your mom because she did seem to marry Ray quite quickly after his death".
There is a short silence which is disturbed by Eva's phone ringing. She flushes and apologises as she fumbles for it. She smiles as she looks at the screen and then she looks at me.
"Do you mind if I take this?" she asks.
"No, not at all" I reply.
I watch as she answers the call, and when she says the word daddy my heart lurches.
"Hi daddy" she says brightly.
She glances at me and smiles.
"Yes, I'm with her right now… that's ok don't worry about it… alright then… yes I'll call you later… ok dad… stay safe… I love you too…. Yes… bye dad". She ends the call and apologises once more for the interruption.
"I'm sorry about that. That was my dad, he knew that I was meeting you today and he was just checking in to see if I was ok" she says.
I reach for her hand, "There is no need to apologise… how is he now?" I ask.
Eva smiles, "He's doing well, he was released from hospital and he is back at work. I think it's too soon but he is restricted at the moment, he is on office duties and it is driving him insane as he wants to be back out there on the streets" she says.
As I go to speak again there is a knock at the door and it slowly opens. We both turn to see Christian and Gideon standing there, looking at us nervously. I smile brightly at Christian and I see Eva's face light up at the sight of Gideon.
"How's it going?" Christian asks carefully.
Before I can answer Eva smiles and jumps in. "Very well, we have loads in common and we both feel a bond forming… it's like we have known each other all our lives" she says and she reaches for me as she says this. I grin as I accept her hand in mine and give it a squeeze.
Christian comes to me and wraps his arms around me, I drink him in as I watch Gideon move to Eva and do exactly the same thing. I turn and see Ray and I move away from Christian and go to him.
"Are you ok?" I ask him as I reach him and he nods before leaning in close and whispering in my ear.
"I think getting those two out of the room was the best thing to do, and while you two have been talking they have as well. I think the ice has been broken between them now and things won't be awkward anymore. They both want what is best for you two, but I think they have accepted that they can't manipulate the situation, they have to let your relationship evolve naturally. I think the fact neither of them has any real control in this is killing them both".
Ray stops speaking as Eva walks up to us. She reaches out and holds out her hand to Ray.
"Mr Steele I am looking forward to sitting down with you and hearing all your memories and recollections about Frank" she says.
Ray smiles as he takes her hand in his, "Please, call me Ray and I'm happy to tell you everything I remember. He treated your mom and Annie's mom very shabbily, along with many, many other women. I don't condone anything he did, I want to make that point very clear to you. Having said that though, he was still my best friend and I miss him".
"How… how did he die?" Eva asks.
Ray gestures to the sofa and we move across the room and sit down. I glance at Christian and Gideon who are sitting on another sofa, side by side and are watching and listening in silence. My attention returns to Ray and I listen as I wasn't totally aware of how my biological father died, my mom always told me that it was a training exercise and there was an accident, but I didn't know the details.
I listen as Ray starts to explain.
"There was a training exercise… to be fair, I'm not certain of what happened as the details were unclear. But from what I do know, Frank was in a jeep. The other members of the unit he was with explained they had spotted the jeep and it was decided he would go and fetch it as it could be useful for them to aid them as part of the exercise. But when he didn't return, they raised the alarm. A search was sent out for him and the jeep. It was discovered that somehow Frank had lost control and went over a cliff into a lake. The jeep was recovered but Frank was never found. The military dragged the lake and nothing was ever found. He was declared missing and then eventually when he didn't show up, he was officially declared dead".
I listen to this and I look at Christian, as his eyes meet mine it appears from the look on his face that he is thinking exactly the same thing as I am… what if Frank is still alive? I turn my attention to Eva who voices exactly what I am currently thinking.
"So, if there was no body found, there is a slim chance he could be still alive?" she asks carefully.
Ray nods and shuffles uncomfortably. He hesitates a moment and then he sighs, "To be honest with you I have always believed he is still alive". He pauses again and then leans down and rests his elbows on his knees. "I have never told anyone this, but Frank was a maverick. He was always getting court marshalled for his wilful behaviour. He didn't play by the rules, don't get me wrong he was loyal to his friends… to a point, but there was only one person Frank Lambert looked out for and that was Frank Lambert". Ray pauses again and then looks up at Eva.
"When your mom got pregnant with you and told him, his response was to run away. He put in for a transfer to another unit. He left California and went to Washington. He stayed in touch with us – that's Jose and myself. He wrote us letters, and called us from time to time. You have to remember this was in the days before the internet and global communication as it is now. Jose and I tracked down your mom and told her he had been transferred. I think she had realised by that point what he was like though and that he wasn't going to step up and be a father. She seemed to accept it, we tried to keep in touch with her to check on her and then the next thing we heard was that she had taken up with a cop. When we heard that, we stepped away and we let it go and got on with our own lives. A couple of years or so down the line our unit was transferred to Washington and we were reunited with Frank. It was not long after that that Carla came on the scene and then well… Frank said at the time, you'd think I would've learnt my lesson after the last time".
Ray smiles bitterly, "Carla was persistent though, she wouldn't let him wriggle out of his responsibility and she started talking about marriage. You could tell he felt trapped, he said a few times, I wish I could just disappear. So, when he did… well, it crossed my mind that he had engineered the whole thing. But as the years passed, I accepted that maybe he had genuinely died. I was the one who went to tell Carla he had died… she was devastated. I saw you Annie, and I decided there and then that you deserved to have a father who cared and loved you, so I took up with Carla and… the rest you know".
We are all sitting in stupefied silence upon hearing this. Did Frank really go to the extremes of faking his own death, just to get out of his parental responsibilities?
As Eva and I process this information, I see both Gideon and Christian lean forward to speak. They look at each other and then Gideon speaks first.
"Angel, do you want me to ask Angus to look into this?" he asks warily and I look at Eva wondering who Angus is and if she is going to agree.
Eva looks at me, "Angus is Gideon's chief of security. He was in the British Secret Service so he would know how to track down someone who has effectively erased themselves" she says as she answers my unasked question. She pauses and bites her lip. "I am really tempted to say yes, what about you Ana, how do you feel about this?" she asks.
I lean back and think for a moment and as I do so Christian speaks, "Baby, if you want to find out I'll get Welch on board too". He turns to Gideon, "Perhaps put Angus and Welch on it together… two heads being better than one and all that?" he suggests and Gideon nods in agreement.
I think about it for a moment and look at Ray, "What do you think dad?" I ask him and he looks up at me and shrugs.
"Annie, this isn't about me. This is your decision, yours and Eva's, but I can't stress to you both strongly enough what kind of person Frank is. If he did fake his own death just to get out of any parental responsibility, well that strikes me as a bit extreme as well as incredibly low, so if you do decide to go ahead with this, then you need to be aware that he may not want to be found and if he is that his reaction probably won't be very positive… and I wouldn't want either of you to get even more hurt by him".
I nod and then look at Eva once more, "I think I'd still like to try and find out for sure one way or the other. We have to accept that nothing may come of it and he is genuinely dead. But if he's not… well I'd just like to know that every avenue has been explored so we are not left with what ifs".
"I agree" Eva says with an emphatic nod of her head, she turns to Gideon and Christian who are both watching us carefully.
"Yes, get Angus involved and if your man could also help it would be great," she says to them.
We watch as both Gideon and Christian spring into action, pulling out their phones and making demands. Eva and I look at each other and grin. This is what they needed, something to focus on and give them a purpose.
I turn towards Eva another thought crossing my mind, "Eva… What if… What if we are not the only ones?" I say quietly.
Eva thinks about what I have just said and realises what I am saying, "You mean that Frank may've fathered more kids as well as us?" she says and I nod.
"It is more than possible. Ray has said there were many other women, it is a reasonable leap to assume your mom and mine were not the only ones he got pregnant" I reply.
Eva lets out a loud sigh, "I don't know, obviously it would be nice to find out if we have any more siblings, but then you have to take into consideration our lives. We were lucky as we are both married to wealthy, powerful men so we both understand the need for privacy and we both know how to deal with the media. Someone who lives a simpler life and not used to being in the media spotlight would probably find it intimidating to have that sort of attention thrust upon them. That was what concerned me the most when I started this and Miranda called me to tell me they had found a sibling. My first concern was it all getting out and you being hounded by the media because of me and who Gideon is. Thankfully though it worked out as you had exactly the same concerns and knew what you were getting yourself into, if there are others and they are happily living in anonymity they are not going to want to be thrust into the spotlight" she says.
I nod in agreement, "I totally agree with you, plus there is also the concern that as soon as they do realise who they are dealing with, greed may take over and they may want to cash in on the link between us which would be even worse".
Ray looks at us, "My advice would be, take it one step at a time. You have decided that you want to find out if Frank is actually dead or not. I say focus on that first, don't get piling too much on yourselves. There is also the fact that you two have only just met, get to know each other and build your bond before you get adding any more potential siblings into the mix," he says wisely.
I smile affectionately at my stepfather and I stand and fling my arms around him, he looks embarrassed by this public show of affection but he responds and pats my back.
"Thanks dad, you always give the best advice" I say quietly in his ear.
Ray grins, "That's what I am here for" he replies.
Our attention is taken by Gideon who is calling Ray's name, I turn and see Gideon has his phone in his hand.
"Sorry to interrupt" Gideon says apologetically but I wave my hand dismissively.
"Don't worry about it" I say.
Gideon smiles at me and turns his attention back to Ray. "Ray, do you know any basic details about Frank, such as date of birth etc?"
As Ray goes to open his mouth Christian answers, "I have all that information available, I'll get Welch to forward it to Angus" he says.
My mind goes back to the background check Christian did on me when he first met me. All that information was in my file. It was from that file that I discovered that there was no record of any marriage between my mother and Frank despite her telling me she had indeed married him.
I watch as Gideon and Christian continue to organise things and make demands. When they both finally hang up and push their phones away, Eva makes a suggestion.
"Well, I don't know about anyone else but I am starving. I've only had a snack from the room service menu at the hotel. How about we all go and grab some lunch?" she says.
I quickly agree and I see Christian smile happily at my enthusiasm. He is always happy when I am enthusiastic about eating. As we are deciding where to go for lunch there is a knock at the door.
"Come in!" Christian calls and the door opens slowly, Miranda appears and smiles warily at us all.
"Hello, I just thought I'd drop by and see how everything is going?" she says.
Eva walks towards her, her hand outstretched, "I just want to thank you Miranda, for everything you and everyone here at Finding Family has done. I know you took this on as a favour to Gideon. He told me about how he knew you from university, but I just want to thank you for all the time and effort you and your team have put in".
Miranda flushes at the praise. "It was my pleasure and I am happy you trusted us with this. I take it the initial meeting has gone well?" she asks.
I step up to Eva's side, "It has, we have discovered that we have a lot in common and we are hoping that this is just the start. I just want to reiterate what my sister said and offer my own thanks at the professional way this has been handled; I couldn't be happier with how it all has been dealt with".
Miranda beams at us, "Well I am very happy to hear that" she says with obvious relief.