The Forgiven Page 8

  “She’s a beautiful girl, isn’t she?” The man’s voice was deep and well modulated, a cultured drawl, but there was something unpleasant below the surface. Something dangerous.

  Naomi’s hand gripped the door handle, even though she knew it was hopeless. The door was locked in such away that it couldn’t be opened from the inside. And even if she could somehow disengage the mechanism, the car had picked up speed. To jump from a moving vehicle would be risking life and limb, but given the opportunity, she thought she just might take that chance.

  “Who are you?” she asked again, trying to hide the tremor of fear in her own voice.

  “My name is Joseph Bellamy. Ah,” he said, when he saw her react. “I see you’ve heard of me. But then, I expect you checked this scam out thoroughly before you tried to pull it off.”

  Naomi gaped at him. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  He cocked his head slightly, regarding her. “Spare me the denials. Your ilk used to pass through my courtroom every single day, Miss Cross. Con artists. Petty thieves. I granted them the same mercy they had bestowed upon their victims. Which is to say, none.” His gaze met hers again, and a shudder ripped through Naomi.

  They turned down a main thoroughfare, and as they left the shade behind, sunlight filtered in through the tinted windows. She could see him clearly now, the prominent nose, the once strong jawline now sagging with age. His eyes were the color of a frozen pond in the dead of winter, his hair a slightly darker shade of silver. On first glance, Joseph Bellamy was a handsome, distinguished-looking man, but a closer scrutiny uncovered the cruelty in his mouth, the arrogant set of his jaw and chin.

  Naomi’s stomach started to churn. How did he know her name? How had he known where to find her?

  “What do you want from me?” she demanded.

  “I want to have a few words with you. In fact, I’d like to tell you a little about my family if you’d indulge me.”

  What choice did she have?

  Think, Naomi, think! She had to find a way out of this. She had no idea what Joseph Bellamy had in store for her, but she didn’t think it was going to be pleasant.

  As if her desperation had communicated itself to him, he smiled slightly. “You won’t be harmed. You have my word on that.”

  Small comfort, Naomi thought.

  “Since you’ve undoubtedly done your research on my family, you may already know that the Bellamys have a long and distinguished history in Louisiana. My grandfather was a two-term governor, my father a U.S. senator. I was groomed at an early age to carry on the tradition, but I was never cut out to be a politician.” He sighed heavily, as if the burden was still something he hadn’t gotten use to carrying. “I couldn’t win over the crowds the way my father could, and the way his father had before him. I had no charm, no charisma as the truly great politicians all have in abundance. My father used to say that I didn’t have the magic.” Something flashed in his eyes, a curious mixture of regret, anger and shame, but then his gaze came back immediately to settle on Naomi. “I didn’t have the magic, but my daughter did.”

  “Aubree was a natural. Smart, beautiful, glamorous. She could work the crowds like no one I’d ever seen before. They worshiped her, adored her, and she loved them. She had a glorious future ahead of her, and then she met Alex DeWitt.”

  Naomi had never heard mere words convey such contempt. He had all but spat Alex’s name.

  “Everything changed when she met him. She dropped out of law school to pursue him, that nobody who came from nowhere. She gave up everything for him.” He drew a quick breath, as if trying to beat back a rage that had been building for years. “The marriage was a mistake from the first. They both knew it. When Alex went off to London, I thought that would be the end of it. Aubree would be rid of him forever, but she was as willful as she was beautiful. She wouldn’t let go. She allowed that man to destroy everything that was good in her life. And then he destroyed her.”

  He fell silent then, and the car was so well insulated that all Naomi could hear was the sound of her own pulse pounding in her ears. “And then he destroyed her.”

  “When Aubree died, she took everything with her,” Joseph said softly. “My hopes, my dreams. I once aspired to the Supreme Court, and when a new administration took office, my name was mentioned as a possible nominee. I was no politician, but I could have had power and fame. I was destined for greatness in my own right, but without Aubree to carry on the dynasty, it seemed...pointless. My wife, Gwen—” He flicked his wrist, an unconscious gesture of dismissal that spoke volumes. “She was happy here in New Orleans, so I retired from the bench and prepared to settle into my old age. To eventually die still mourning the loss of my daughter.”

  Naomi didn’t know what to say. Given her own circumstances, she could almost feel sorry for him except that Joseph Bellamy was not the sort of man to engender pity. Naomi suspected he used emotions the way he used everything else—to his own advantage.

  “I thought my life was over,” he said, “but then one day, a miracle happened. I saw Aubree in Taryn. She has the same beauty, the same grace and natural charm. Oh, she’s rough around the edges. I’ll admit that. I wouldn’t expect anything else being raised by Alex DeWitt. But she is her mother’s daughter, and someday she’ll fulfill the destiny that Aubree never got the chance to fulfill.”

  So that was it, Naomi thought. He had plans for Taryn. He had her future all mapped out. She would carry on his family’s tradition. She would do great things in his name. She would accomplish what he had never been able to do.

  But in all his glorious scheming, he’d never once mentioned the word love.

  No wonder Alex had taken his daughter to London, far away from Joseph Bellamy’s twisted sense of family and destiny. Naomi felt that same protective instinct rise inside her, and she knew she would do anything to protect Taryn, to keep her from falling prey to this cruel man’s manipulations.

  Naomi’s hands curled into fists at her sides. “I don’t know how you found out about me,” she said coldly. “But if you know my name, then you also know why I’m in New Orleans. Fifteen years ago, my baby was given to your daughter. I don’t think she ever knew. I think she always believed that Taryn was hers. But the truth of the matter is, Taryn is my daughter, and nothing you say is going to change that.”

  The car had pulled alongside Naomi’s Jeep, and Joseph Bellamy leaned forward to rap sharply on the divider. The man on the passenger side got out and opened the door. But before Naomi could slide out, Joseph Bellamy’s hand closed around her wrist. His grip was surprisingly strong, his fingers like an icy vise against her skin.

  “How much do you want?”

  Naomi shuddered at his touch. “What?”

  “You came here looking for money, so name your price.”

  “There isn’t enough money in the world to keep me from my daughter.” She tried to jerk her hand away, but his grasp only tightened.

  “Taryn is all that I have left of Aubree. If you try to take that away from me, I will destroy you. That’s not a threat, Miss Cross. It’s a promise.”

  * * *

  AS ALEX SAT ACROSS the table from Taryn at dinner that night, he wondered again what had happened to his daughter. Who was this brooding, dark-eyed stranger who had stolen his daughter’s sunny disposition, her natural optimism, her contentment in spending a few quiet hours with her old man?

  She was growing up too damn fast, and changing so rapidly, both inside and out, that he couldn’t keep up with her. Didn’t want to, he had to admit. There were times lately when he would give just about anything to turn back the clock to the happier times he and Taryn had shared in London. Or even farther back than that, so that he could undo the time he’d missed with her.

  But there was no going back, and even if they left New Orleans and returned to London, or someplace else, Alex didn’t think anything would ever be the same again. Taryn was going through something he couldn’t be a part of, and instinct told h
im it would be wise to give her some space. To be patient. But no matter what he did, he had an uneasy feeling that he was going to lose a part of her forever.

  Their relationship was so fragile these days, the last thing he wanted to do was start a fight, Alex thought wearily. But he had parental responsibilities that couldn’t be ignored.

  He laid aside his knife and fork. The glazed pork roast Louise had prepared for dinner was tender and succulent, but he didn’t have an appetite. Too much going on in his life, he supposed. Or perhaps it was something Foley had said to him earlier that had left him so unsettled.

  “Ever given any thought to remarrying?”

  No, Alex thought bitterly. One marriage was quite enough, thank you.

  He picked up his wineglass. “So where were you today?” he asked Taryn.

  She glanced up, immediately wary. Her dark-rimmed eyes narrowed on him, and Alex’s first inclination was to stop the conversation right then and there and demand that she go upstairs to scrub her face. When he’d agreed to the makeup, he’d made it clear he was giving permission for only the lightest shades of lipstick and eye shadow. She was far too young, in his opinion, to wear black eyeliner and heavy coats of mascara, but if he’d learned anything in the past few months in dealing with a rebellious teenager, it was to pick his battles carefully. Wage them one at a time, and tonight he had a more pressing issue.

  Taryn flung her dark hair over her shoulder. “I was at school. Where do you think I was?”

  Alex sighed. “I’m talking about after school. Louise went to pick you up and you weren’t there.”

  “I tried to call her,” Taryn said defensively, “but she wasn’t home so I left a message. Crystal invited me to go home with her so we could study for a Spanish test tomorrow. Her mother picked us up.”

  Alex took a careful sip of his wine. “So you just decided to go to Crystal’s even though you knew Louise might be worried.”

  “I said I called.”

  “Yes, and when you couldn’t reach Louise, you should have waited for her at school,” Alex said sternly. “But you thought nothing of worrying her, let alone wasting her time, did you?”

  Taryn gave an exasperated sigh. “I didn’t think it was going to be such a big deal. She gets paid whether she picks me up or not.”

  “That’s not the point.” Very deliberately, Alex set his glass aside, trying to curb his irritation. “You know Louise worries when she doesn’t know where you are. Just as I do.”

  “Here we go,” Taryn muttered. “Pack your bags because we’re going on a guilt trip.”

  “That attitude is not helping your cause,” Alex warned her. He stared at her for a moment, but she refused to meet his gaze. “At any rate, you didn’t go home with Crystal. I called her mother to check.”

  Something that might have been fear flickered across Taryn’s face before it was replaced almost immediately by defiance. “So you’re spying on me now?”

  Alex glared at her. “It seems I have to. It’s bad enough that you went off somewhere without seeing fit to tell us where you were going, or who you were going with. But I won’t tolerate lying, Taryn.”

  “It’s not a big deal!” she insisted. “I went shopping with a friend.”

  “What friend?”

  She hesitated. “No one you know.”

  “Oh, that’s just great.”

  Taryn rolled her eyes. “I’m fifteen years old, Dad, and it was broad daylight, for crying out loud. And besides that, his family lives only a few blocks over from here. They just moved in, and I was showing him around town. You know, being a good neighbor. Okay?”

  “No, it’s not okay.” Alex tried to hang on to his temper, but it wasn’t easy. His daughter had gone off with a boy. No way in hell was he ready for that. “Until I tell you otherwise, you’ll wait after school for Louise to pick you up, and you’ll come straight home with her. No TV, no phone calls, no Internet, and no friends over. You understand?”

  A look of complete disbelief swept over her features. “What about this weekend? Grandfather invited me to his house. He said he would call and talk to you about it.”

  “Well, he didn’t,” Alex said, wincing at the thought of Joseph Bellamy contacting Taryn behind his back. “And I’m afraid you won’t be going anywhere without Louise or me for quite some time.”

  Taryn flung her napkin to the table as she scooted back her chair. “That’s not fair! You’re just doing this to keep me away from my grandfather! You hate him! I know you do!”

  “Taryn—”

  “You hate him just like you hated my mother!”

  Stunned, Alex stood and faced her. “That’s enough, young lady. I think you’d better go on up to your room and think about all the trouble you’re in. Then maybe afterward, you’ll decide to come down here and apologize to me for this outburst.”

  “Don’t hold your breath,” she lashed out at him.

  Alex shrugged. “That’s up to you.”

  They stared at each other for a long, stony moment before Taryn’s rigid expression finally wavered. “Why are you doing this to me?” she asked in a tiny voice.

  Alex’s heart melted. He had to swallow past the sudden lump in his throat. “Believe it or not, I’m trying to protect you, Taryn. I’m trying to do what’s best for you.”

  “Like you even care,” she said sullenly.

  “I do care and you know it.”

  “If you cared so much, why did you take me away from New Orleans after my mother died? Why did you take me away from the people who loved me?”

  It was Taryn who was speaking, Taryn who glared up at him angrily, but it was Joseph Bellamy’s embittered words Alex heard.

  “If you cared about me, why weren’t you around when I was little?” she taunted. “You weren’t even there the night I was born, that’s how much you cared. You didn’t want me back then, so why pretend you do now?”

  * * *

  NAOMI SAT AT THE DESK in her hotel room. It had been hours since her confrontation with Joseph Bellamy, but she was still shaken by the cold hatred in the man’s eyes, the threat she knew he had every intention of carrying out. “If you try to take that away from me, I will destroy you.”

  Naomi shuddered, knowing he meant every word, but if he thought he could frighten her away, he was dead wrong. If anything she was more determined than ever to prove that Taryn was her daughter. She didn’t have Joseph Bellamy’s power or Alex’s money, but she could give Taryn something that no one else could—a mother’s love. And she had so much love to give, Naomi thought.

  Blinking back tears, she stared down at the last picture of Sadie that had been taken before she’d gone missing. In the days following her disappearance, that photograph had been printed on thousands of flyers that were distributed all over Jefferson County, and it had run in newspapers and on news broadcasts for days on end. That same picture had been blown up into posters and sent to law enforcement agencies and missing persons organizations all over the country.

  As the years had gone by, Naomi had stared at the picture a million times, but never with more sadness than she had during these past several days when she’d first learned of the remains that had been uncovered in Grover County.

  She’d called the sheriff’s office in Eden an hour or so ago after arriving back at the hotel, but there was still no news. It could take several more days, or even weeks to complete all the tests, and even then, a positive identification might never be made, although with current technology, including DNA, that seemed less likely. But somewhere deep inside Naomi, she already knew the truth. After all these years, her daughter had finally been found.

  With her fingertip, she traced the shape of Sadie’s precious face, her eyes, her nose, her mouth, while in her mind, she could still hear that sweet little voice telling her goodbye on that fateful morning.

  “Bye, Mama.”

  “Bye, bye, Sadie Belle. Have a good day, you hear?”

  “I will.” Then, as if she’d had a pr
emonition, Sadie slid back across the front seat and threw her arms around Naomi’s neck. “Love you, Mama.”

  “I love you, too, Sadie Belle. So, so much.” Naomi had touched her fingertip to Sadie’s dimple, and they’d both laughed before Sadie climbed out of the car and ran happily toward her teacher.

  That was the last time Naomi had seen her daughter.

  When she got to school that afternoon a few minutes late, no one could find Sadie. She’d disappeared while playing a game of hide-and-seek with the other children. At first, everyone thought she’d just hidden too well. But as the minutes crept by, and then the hours, the horrible truth had gripped them all. Sadie had been taken by a stranger.

  What happened afterward was a haze. The hours of frantic searching. The countless interviews with police and the media. The fear, the nightmares, the endless, endless waiting.

  And still Sadie hadn’t come home.

  For ten years, the waiting had gone on. For ten long years Naomi had existed in the awful purgatory of not knowing. Her life had been put on hold the day her daughter had disappeared, and for the past decade, Naomi’s sole purpose for existing was to find her daughter.

  But now she had a new purpose.

  She touched her fingertip to the dimple at the corner of Sadie’s mouth, then lifted the photograph to her lips. “I love you, Sadie Belle. So, so much. That’s never going to change.”

  There would always be a hole in her heart where Sadie had been taken from her, a wound in her soul that would never heal. But she had another daughter to think about now. Another daughter who needed her.

  Naomi hadn’t been there ten years ago to protect Sadie from that terrible evil, and for that, she’d never forgiven herself. She hadn’t been there when her daughter needed her the most, but she wouldn’t make that same mistake twice.

  Taryn was a girl in trouble. Naomi knew that without a doubt. And if it was the last thing she did, she would find a way to help her.

  * * *

  ALEX SAT ALONE in his study, briefcase open, a stack of contracts on his desk. He ignored the work, however, as he turned his chair and stared with a brooding frown out the window.