Amanda was sitting on the bed with her youngest son. He was falling asleep. Her poor son. What had he been through? She listened to his breathing slowing down. Gosh he even breathed like Lee. It was strange because he looked more like her. But his expressions, mannerisms, and even the way he breathed were like Lee. Her son just didn't have the same nervous energy Lee did.
Why had she just assumed the worst about her son? She had not even entertained the possibility that Lee might have passed him off to someone in Barnstorm. It had just been such a bad time after the warehouse exploded. Of course, Lee would have had Barnstorm there. That was just like him. Except he usually told her everything, but they had not been together the entire day. It must have been a last-minute backup plan that he forgot or didn't have a chance to tell her about. Everything had been so crazy that day. But who would Lee have trusted their son with that she didn't know? It had to be someone she knew. Someone obvious that she was missing.
Matty was in England. Had it been someone connected to Emily? It couldn't have been. She had talked to Emily quite a few times since Lee had died. Emily would not have kept her son away from her. It had to be someone that Lee trusted.
Then it hit her. Lee's grandfather but he had died last year. Oh my gosh! She knew who Michael Winthrope was. Why that name was so the paperwork in the office down here or upstairs in her bedroom? She looked over at her son. He was fast asleep again. She kissed his forehead and went to the office.
She went to the file cabinet and found the legal paperwork that was sent to Phillip King for him. She had thought it was weird that it was addressed to Phillip and not her. She should have at least sent a sympathy card to the family. But that had been right after the boy in New York that had turned out not to be her son. It was something she was going to investigate later when her daughter was older. More so that Leann could learn more about her family. Amanda could care less about the money.
Lee had left her and her sons more money than they have ever had in their lives. Especially her two sons. He had split his trust fund between them. Amanda was pretty sure that it was actually a third of the trust fund. that there was another third of his trust fund still out there somewhere. She guessed that one of the strange letters would show up for her youngest son when he was found. Lee hadn't known that she was pregnant because she didn't even know she was pregnant then. They had only conceived Leann that morning.
She went in the office and found the paperwork. There was a letter from the British lawyers. She read it. Alex was the next in line to inherit the Hamilton estate and the title of Lord if anything ever happened to Matthew Winthrope who was the current heir. She kept reading the letter. The estate and the trust was currently being run by Irene Hamilton and Michael Winthrope. It said for her to reach out to Irene Hamilton with any questions about the trust.
Matthew Winthrope and Alexander Stetson were the same person. Joe was going to love figuring this one out. She could hear him complaining already that he was just an environmental lawyer. She knew Joe would figure it out though.
Why had his Lee's grandfather not contacted her though? His Grandfather knew about her. He would not have wanted to take care of Matty. She would have to ask Matty about it. But at least she had something to go on now.
She needed to show this to Phillip. She wanted to call Francine for help, but she figured it could wait until after things died down a little. She could be patient.
Amanda took the paperwork to the game room. Phillip was sitting on the couch. He had a glass of Scotch in his hand. He smiled at her and pointed to the coffee table where there was another glass of Scotch that was obviously for her. She picked up the glass of Scotch and took a swig of it. She handed Phillip the paperwork.
Phillip looked at it. "Holy crap! Alex I mean Matty's been at Lee's grandfather's estate this whole time. It is weird that all of this was addressed to me instead of you. You met Lee's grandfather. You invited him to the wedding. He knows about you. This is weird. Why didn't we question it before?"
Amanda thought that was weird too, "We got that right after the boy in New York. I decided to deal with it later. I thought it was strange too. I should've reached out but that was right after New York. I figured I would reach out to them when Leann was a little older. If she was interested in her family history. I didn't care about the money. Lee left us all quite a bit already. Enough so that we never have to worry about money again."
Phillip looked at her, "But he didn't leave you as much as Jamie and I, Mom. He gave his trust fund to Jamie & I. You just got his bank accounts and pension."
Amanda loved that Lee had given the money to her sons instead of her. "Sweetheart that was plenty for me. I love that he took care of you and Jamie first. He didn't know about your sister. Before Lee and I got married we were struggling, remember?"
Phillip nodded, "Yeah but you always made it work, Mom. We never actually had to sell our goldfish. But that is crazy if Matty was there the whole time. It would have beenso easy to find him."
Amanda nodded, "I know. We all just assumed the worst. I should have thought about Lee hiding him with Barnstorm. We should have called that number Lee gave you and Jamie with the money. Except I'm pretty sure that is just the Barnstorm hotline that TP runs. We talk to TP all the time. If he knew Matty was alive he would have told me. He lost his own son. He knows what it feels like. He would not have kept that from us. Hiding Matty with Lee's grandfather is brilliant really. Nobody liked that man. The only person that might have talked to him was the Colonel. Lee's grandfather made the Colonel seem warm and cuddly."
Phillip laughed, "Warm and cuddly? The Colonel? That's funny. Speaking of him we do need to make sure that we remember to let him know that Matty is home when all this blows over. If it does blow over. Do you think they'll take him away from us?"
Amanda nodded no, "No. I'll call your father a little later. I'm going to need to finish the Scotch first. I think we will just be stuck down here until the DNA test results come in. What happened with Matty when he was brought in. Once it's established who he is and that I'm his legal guardian. They shouldn't be able to take him away. He's not dangerous. If the Agency decides to be reasonable. I'll let them send Pfaff to evaluate him."
Just then Amanda heard soft crying and moaning coming from the bedroom. She immediately went to Matty. He was having a nightmare. She took him in her arms and comforted him, "I've got you sweet boy. Momma's here. You are safe. Nobody is ever going to hurt you ever again."
Phillip was behind her. "If anyone even thinks about touching you again. I'm going to make them wish they were never born."
Matty just started snuggling into her. It felt so nice that he was starting to warm up to her. There were so many questions she wanted to ask him but she knew now wasn't the time. She wanted him to feel safe with her and Phillip. She needed to be patient. She would get answers soon enough.
"Do you fellas want some dinner? I brought the leftover lasagna downstairs. I can heat that up. We could watch a movie. Do you want to stay in bed sweet boy? I can bring the food in here. There is a tv down here. Or do you want to watch the big tv in the other room?"
Matty pointed to the gameroom.
Amanda gently grabbed Matty's hand. Even though he had broken fingers. She was holding very gently so it didn't hurt. She led him to the couch.
"I'll start heating up dinner. Phillip show your brother where the movies are. Let him pick one out. Do not give him a hard time about his choice. Whatever he wants."
Phillip looked at her. "Mom, I would have anyway. I only give Jamie a hard time about his movie selections. Just little dude please not the Strawberry Shortcake or Care Bear movie. Trust me kid you are going to get your fill of those."
Matty looked confused by Phillip's statement. Then Amanda realized he probably did not even know about his little sister. She had been born after he was taken. She would have to tell him about his sister later. Amanda was thankful that the timing of her mother and Leann's trip to Aunt Lillian's house was perfect. Gosh her mother was going to be so excited to have Matty home. Leann would probably just complain that he was another boy but be happy that he wasn't old like Phillip and Jamie.
They ate together and then then they watched the movie. Matty was cuddled up into her and she went to adjust him a little and he winced. Then she remembered Matty was like her husband when he was sick or hurt. He tried to tough it out and pretend he was fine. The drugs that Doctor McJohn gave him today probably were wearing off by now. He must be in pain.
Amanda looked at her youngest son "Oh my gosh you are so much like your daddy. You are in pain, aren't you? Phillip go into the bathroom and grab that pain medication from when Jamie got his wisdom teeth out. I will give you a half dose."
Phillip ran into the bathroom and grabbed the bottle of pills. Then she broke the pill in half. "You take this. It will help with the pain."
Matty made a disgusted face when looking at the pill. Gosh it was strange how much he looked like her but made the same kind of expressions as Lee.
She looked at him gently and smiled. "We know you are a tough guy. Your Daddy was the same way. Made the same face when he was in pain and never wanted to take anything ever. Now you are a lot quieter and a lot less grumpy than he was but you're going to take this."
Matty sighed and nodded yes. He took the pill and drank some iced tea. Matty yawned and put his head down on her lap. She could tell he was trying to stay awake for the rest of the movie. She started gently rubbing his back in a way she knew put all four of her kids to sleep when they were fussy. It had worked a few times on her late husband too.
After a few minutes she motioned to Phillip. Phillip came over and gently picked Matty up and brought him back to the bedroom.
Amanda decided that now would be a good time to call Jamie and let him know what was going on. She wanted him to have a heads up if the agency reached out to him.
She dialed Jamie's number, "Hello sweetheart, it's Mom."
Jamie spoke, "Oh good. I was just going to call you. I'm really worried about Phillip. I can't get a hold of him. Dad just called me. He got a weird message."
Amanda answered, "Phillip's fine. He is with me. Neither one of us have had a chance to check our messages since this morning."
Jamie sighed, "Mom before you tell me anything. Someone from Barnstorm reached out to Dad. I guess they were trying to get a hold of Phillip, but he wasn't available. It was in that silly Star Wars code that Lee, Phillip & I made up years ago. Mom we are all in danger. Are you in the basement?"
"Yes, the scrambler is on. You can talk freely."
"The message said that Barnstorm was sending Alex home. Someone else was coming too. It didn't say who. The weird thing is though. That code only Lee, Phillip and I know you too. We made that up. It's a silly and stupid code we made up as joke. Who else would know that?"
His mother sighed, "Lee might have taught someone in Barnstorm the code. Probably as way to get messages to you or Phillip so you would know it was really from him. It means whoever Alex was with was someone Lee really trusted."
Jamie spoke, "Who? Lee didn't really trust anyone like that except maybe you.I would almost think that maybe Lee wasn't actually dead if there hadn't have been a body. That code we made up was just for fun. That was when I went through my Star Wars phase. What it says about Alex. Do you think he's really coming home?"
Amanda smiled, "He's already home, sweetheart. He's here in the basement with Phillip and I. The only thing is I kind of took him home from the Agency without asking first. The Agency isn't too happy with me right now. They aren't sure he is really your brother but I am. Phillip gave him some of those granola bars as his version of a DNA test. He still loves those disgusting things."
Jamie spoke, "Oh wow. I can't believe you let Phillip give him one of those. Those things weren't new when Lee bought them like ten years ago. Nobody likes those things except him."
Amanda grinned, "I know. I made Phillip try it first. Your little brother he's wonderful. The only thing is he lost his hearing in the warehouse explosion. He's deaf now. But other than that, he's the same sweet little boy he always was. Although he wants us to call him Matty. That's the name he's been using."
"I can't wait to see him. I wish I didn't live so far away. I already started packing a bag. Maybe I'll go to JFK and take a plane instead of the train."
"No sweetheart. Don't come home yet. The agency will use you to get in here. Or if you come go to your father's. He is a lawyer. You have done nothing wrong, but I have."
Jamie huffed, "Mom, he's my brother too. You're my family. I need to help."
His mom smiled at him, "I know sweetheart. I need you to help by not coming to the house. Go to your father's house. It may be a few days before Phillip, and I can leave."
"I want to help. What can I do to help, Mom? Alex is my brother too. I'll do whatever you need me to do."
She loved Jamie so much, he was such a good kid, "I love you, sweetheart. Just if you come. Stay at your father's. It's safer for you there right now. The agency will try and use you to get in here. Phillip told them Lee never gave you the codes. I love you sweetheart. Please go to your father's. Do not come here until it's safe."
Jamie sighed, "Fine, I'll go stay at Dad's. But I am coming home the first opportunity. Whatever you need me to do to help. Name it, Mom."
She smiled, "I need you to stay with your father. Help him navigate our Agency issues. Tell your father to have the Agency research Michael and Matthew Winthrope in London. I'll call him later. I love you, sweetheart."
"I love you too, Mom. I'm so happy I'm going to get to see the little dude again. Do you think he still likes books?"
Jamie was so thoughtful, "I'm sure he would love that sweetheart. See you soon. I love you."
Jamie spoke, "I love you too, Mom. Talk to you later."
Amanda went back to the game room.
Phillip smiled at her, "How's the doofus doing?"
She smiled, "Don't call your brother a doofus, sweetheart. He's fine. He is making arrangements to come here."
Phillip looked at her, "He can't come here. The Agency will try and use him to get to us."
Amanda nodded. "I told him that but he promised that he would go to your Dad's first. But knowing him, he might try to sneak down here too. I hope he knows the house is being watched."
Phillip nodded. "He's not that much of a worm brain. Are you going to tell Grandma?"
"I will but her and Leann are at Lillian's until Saturday. I do not want her bringing Leann back yet. I will call her tomorrow after we see how the inevitable showdown with the agency plays out."
Phillip looked at her. "What are you going to do with Leann if it does drag out mom? We should at least warn Grandma if they send agents to Vermont"
His mother sighed. "Let's see how the showdown goes in the morning. I am sure your dad would let Leann and Grandma stay at his place. He is a lawyer that will offer them some protection if Dr. Smyth tries to use them against us. It's Jamie I'm more worried about the Agency grabbing. He's more likely to do something hot headed.
Phillip smiled. "I'm the hot-headed one remember? Jamie's the smart one."
Then his mom smiled, "You both can be hot-headed. Jamie's just sneakier and more devious about it."
Phillip then smiled at her. "Actually, that is very true. I know it should not be, but I have not had this much fun in a long time. And Alex, I mean Matty he is the same mom. Unbelievable. He is still the same smart and sweet kid after everything he has been through. I wish he could talk."
She put her arm around Phillip. "Me too. We are going to have to learn sign language."
Phillip nodded. "Yeah, I know a little from the Junior Trailblazers. But Jimmy the deaf kid was more Jamie's friend. Remember?"
His mom smiled, "I remember. God it will be good to see Jamie again too. Have all my fellas together and your sister. All 4 of my babies together."
Phillip smiled. "All 4 of us have never been together mom. It will be the first time." Amanda grinned. "I know. I can't wait until I have all my babies in the same room together. We will have to have to have a big welcome home party for Matty if we ever get out of this mess."
Amanda saw movement out of the corner of her eye and turned to see her youngest son step out of the shadows. He looked shocked. He must have overheard them talking about his sister.