Page 77 of The Heiress

Iset up my fancy Excel Research computer on the table in my bedroom. It didn’t use the house internet at all and had some sort of intricate VPN that David insisted I needed to be able to do my own research.

“Sam?”

I blinked up at Jace. Boy was he tired. I could see it in his eyes but also in the way his tie was askew. Like he’d been pulling at it for a while.

“Yeah?”

He bent down and kissed the top of my head, brushing his fingers over the back of my hand. “I’ve got to go out for a bit.”

“Why?” It was…I glanced at the clock at the top of my computer screen. Nine. What on earth did he have to do at nine in the evening?

“It’s just some shit I’ve got to take care of. Striker is downstairs. Someone will always be posted downstairs.”

“How long will you be?”

“An hour. Maybe two.” He hooked his fingers under my chin and kissed me lightly on the lips. Then he pointed at my computer. “Dig up some information while I’m gone.”

It didn’t sit well with me the way he left for unspecified reasons. He did that from time to time and I always assumed it was work or club business. But now that part of the club was here, I wondered if that was true. He’d just say “club business” or that he was going to deal with security stuff.

He said none of that.

So I was a little distracted as I clicked through all the reports and background info I’d collected. No mentions of a fight. But I began to wonder about Bernard and Georgia Roark. As members of such an elite circle, Georgia was always appearing and entertaining. Was it the same twenty-eight years ago?

Let me tell you, photography has come a long, long way. Most of the images I found were fuzzy or digitized versions of actual newspapers, so they were grainyandblack and white.

Not great.

The captions were pretty generic too.Pictured: Bernard and Georgia Roark.

So helpful.

But then I hit a small gold rush of articles by someone named Skye Summers. This Skye person was fascinated with my biological parents. She covered everything Georgia wore, who she dined with, where she appeared. The articles were short and gossipy.

They were perfect.

Another day, another gala. Snooze! NYC, you need some flavor.

Thank God for Georgia Roark, who once again turned fashion on its head with a divine tropical dress. And guess what? It has pockets!

Now if she could just drop that dead weight that follows her around. Bernard, do you hate life or just everything fun? I’m sorry, but how is it possible to scowl when you have art, champagne,andJohn Stamos?

I suppose I should mention the rest of the guest list…

It sounded an awful lot like Georgia and Bernard were opposites. But opposites attract, right? Mom and Dad were…okay they weren’t all that different. Mom was gregarious and Dad was an introvert, but they both loved the outdoors. Jace and I were two sides of the same coin. I was quiet and he was dangerous, but we both loved books and research. Not that different. Maybe opposites of a kind complimented, while if you were too opposite…boom.Explosions.

Or maybe Bernard wasn’t a social guy. Maybe he hated being dragged out to events and dressing up. The sad fact was I didn’t know anything about my biological parents. Not on a familiar, childhood, intimate level.

But Skye was making me feel, article by article, like I was getting to know them better.

And then I hit the motherload.

Pregnant!

Oh my gawd! Georgia “My-Fashion-Obsession” Roark is preggers! How did she keep it secret for so long?

I glanced at the photograph and had to agree. Georgia was visibly quite pregnant. The series of photographs below the main photo though, really told the story. Georgia glowed in a form-fitting gold and purple gown. Bernard, however, appeared to be shell-shocked. In the first photo his mouth hung open and his eyes popped out of his head. In the second photo his expression was the same, even though they’d clearly walked several steps. In the third photo his hand was over his mouth like he was freaking out.

Daddy dearest appeared most shocked of all when Georgia stepped out of the limo to join him at the Children’s Hospital annual fundraiser. Having arrived fifteen minutes earlier, he waited on the red carpet only to be surprised by his very pregnant wife! (Guess you should have gone on that European vacation, Bernard.)

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