Page 33 of Brax

“I am not. I was nine months old when my parents married. She was never married to my biological father. I don’t even know his name. Mom became pregnant with her second child almost immediately after marrying Dad, Dr. Rubenstein. Then, as you know, she died during childbirth, and the child died shortly thereafter. How did you know?”

“This woman that we’re searching for, the one that we believe is out to harm our friend, he used her to attempt to clone your mother and sister. We found it odd that he wouldn’t have used your DNA and other material.”

“Yes, I can see where that would be confusing. My grandmother and aunt made sure that I was taken away from him almost immediately. They knew that he wasn’t in his right mind and promised that he could come to Houston and see me whenever he wanted to. They also didn’t want me to be raised in a laboratory. I know he meant well, but there is no doubt in my mind that we would have lived in that lab. Of course, he never came to Houston. I mean, once or twice, but I think it was out of guilt.”

“I’m sorry you had to go through that,” said Riley.

“If it helps you at all, I do remember him having an argument with my aunt. She was my mother’s sister, and he was trying to get her to return to Maine with him. He said he only needed a few samples from her, and he could bring mother back. They thought he was mad.”

“I think he was,” said Riley. “I hate to say that. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry. From what I know, he was indeed a mad scientist. And yet, there’s a part of me that wonders what it would feel like to have someone love you so much that they would want to bring you back to life.” The women just looked at the screen. “Oh, don’t worry. I’m not suicidal or anything, and my husband loves me very much. I’m quite happy. But I seriously doubt if he would ever go to such lengths for me.”

“I’m happy he wouldn’t,” said Gabi. “No offense.”

“None taken,” smiled Ashley. “I’m happy to answer any other questions, but if I could do it tomorrow, I’m afraid it’s quite late or early here in Italy.”

“Of course. We’re terribly sorry,” said Riley. “If we need something, we’ll send an e-mail.”

“Please do,” she nodded. “It sounds as if this young woman desperately needs help.”

The screen went dark, and they all stared at one another, shaking their heads.

“She had her mother’s DNA, but there was something he didn’t like in her. He didn’t want to use her for the recreation,” said Stephanie.

“I know why,” said Suzette, looking at the notes that had been translated thus far. “Ashley’s biological father was Ashkenazi Jew. Rubenstein is a German name, often Jewish. He identified as being from German immigrants, not Jewish. He didn’t want the clone of the infant to have Jewish DNA.”

“Man, this guy was seriously screwed up,” said Gabi.

“Yes, and he’s screwed up at least twenty people that we’re aware of,” said Stephanie. “We have to find Ines before it’s too late. She deserves a chance.”

“I couldn’t agree more,” said Riley. “Alright, ladies. We work together with the tech boys on this. We’re all brilliant in our own right. We understand how women think, especially women in pain. We’re going to find this poor woman.”

“And what about Victoria?” asked Marilisa.

“We’ll do whatever we can for her, honey,” said Gabi. “But right now, it’s going to be in her hands. She has to make some decisions, and so does Hayes. Let’s just hope it doesn’t tear them apart.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Stephanie and Brax were curled on the sofa, listening to the pounding rain. They’d been soaked while walking back to their own cottage, like the rest of the property. Happy to make it a night in just for the two of them, they changed out of their wet things and picked a movie.

“Maybe choosing Frankenstein wasn’t a smart choice,” smirked Brax.

“It does appear that dear Dr. Rubenstein was a bit of a Dr. Frankenstein, but there’s nothing we can do about him now. What I want to do is help Ines. I think it’s sad that she changed her last name to Ruben.”

“She changed it?” frowned Brax.

“Mmhmm,” yawned Stephanie. “Her real last name was Gage. I’m guessing she felt a weird sense of connection to Dr. Rubenstein.”

“Or she didn’t want anyone to know her real name,” said Brax.

“I guess so,” she said with a sad expression. “Brax? I want you to make love to me. Help me forget all of this tonight.”

“Are you sure? We don’t go back from this. We go forward.”

“I know,” she smiled. “That’s all I want to do is move forward with you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, here, being the best aunt and uncle we can be to all of our friends’ children.”

“I can’t think of anything that would make me happier,” he smiled. “Did you know that my father was adopted? Him and all his siblings. My grandmother couldn’t have children either, and my grandfather promised her they could adopt as many children as she wanted. They rescued my father, aunts, and uncles and adopted all of them.”

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