Page 57 of The Heiress

“You’ve got to go back. You having some influence over a company with this magnitude of power could be a game changer, Sam.”

Growing up, one of the things my parents taught me over and over again was to find a way to do good in the world. They meant small ways. This was…more. A lot more.

“It’s dangerous,” I said, not looking at him.

“Living is dangerous. Serving in the military is dangerous. Teaching is dangerous these days. Are you going to hide at home or are you going to do something about it?”

I took a long, slow, deep breath and let it out just as slowly. David was an idealist. He always had been. It was part of why he loved Excel Research so much. He felt that data was the key to making everything better, to making the world run more smoothly and more transparently. If I really thought about it, I wasn’t surprised in the least he wanted me to do something with my opportunity.

“What have you learned about my parents?”

And just like that he changed gears without missing a beat. “Your parents have a pretty straightforward story. They struggled with infertility and decided to adopt, but because of their modest income they were in limbo for several years with the process. They fostered during that time.”

They fostered?“I didn’t know that.” Just another in a long list of things they lied about.

“They moved to Calusa Key in 1992.”

“Wait.” Wait just one freaking minute. “They movedtoCalusa Key?” That made no sense. They lived there for years before I was born. Dad was born there.

David cleared his throat. “Uh, yes. They lived in Dayton, Ohio for nearly a decade before moving back to the island.”

In pretty much the same way my brain shut down when I received the letter, my mind went completely blank all over again.More lies.Why was I still surprised at this point? Probably because I thought I’d known my parents, thought I’d understood my life, only to find out my whole reality was nothing but fantasy.

David kept going. “According to your adoption paperwork, they moved a month before they adopted you.”

“So you found out more about the adoption?”

“Yes, look Sam, this is where I need you to listen. The company they used...there isn’t much on them. I’m looking into it. But also, your birth records are probably falsified.” He rushed on. “There is a period of six months where all the birth records from Calos County went missing. It was blamed on the move from one storage space to another. The records were said to have been accidentally shredded. They reissued the birth certificates, but everything from that six months has a different stamp indicating it isn’t an original record.”

A perfect time to slip in a missing child. Whoever did this, planned it. They knew what they were doing. And they wanted my birth record to look real.

There was no question now. Someone wanted me to disappear...and never be found.

21

“Wine?”

“As if that’s a question.” I hugged Yara. Jace had somewhere he needed to be—he wouldn’t say anything else about it—so I had Storm and Riddick watching over me from outside.

“Okay then, red or white?”

“White today.”

She nodded and pulled the cork from the bottle of sauvignon blanc. “Welcome back! We missed you.”

I chinked my glass against hers and sipped. It was nice to be back with my best friends, to have our wine time back, but this also felt different. Like I was in a television show watching my life play out instead of, you know, just living it.

Weird.

Weird, weird, weird.

“What’s that thing you’re doing with your face?” Hazel asked, making a swirling motion in my direction all while she scowled.

“You tell me.”

“It’s all…confused.Also, are you wearing Gucci?”

I glanced down at the red $1300 pants from my new wardrobe. “Uh, yeah. I had a princess makeover while I was in the Keys.”

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