Chapter Twenty Two - The Sherlock Twins: Reunited!-1

The air felt tense and thick; it made it a bit hard to even breathe. My father, who I now knew as Adam, and I sat across from each other. We had been in the room together for close to three hours and so far, I studiously ignored the man. I had nothing to say to him at the moment or in the previous moments. He left - he didn't deserve my attention. He completely lost the right to a conversation when he walked out on my family. "Can we please talk, Gabrielle?" "No, you left. You chose to leave and that revoked all the rights for our relationship." I snapped quietly, looking away from him. I couldn't even bear to meet eyes with the man who abandoned my mother and me. While I was thankful for a little noise in the room, I would have preferred some other source. Having a heart to heart with my biological father in the midst of a kidnapping didn't rank up high on my list. "Gabrielle, I never wanted to leave you or your mother. I loved you both very much and I still do." I heard him plead, but I turned a deaf ear. My mind remained firm, steadfast in the resolution to tune out his words. But of course, my heart wanted answers. My heartstrings were being tugged in the general direction of my father and I just wanted to know what caused him to leave my family on the sidelines. Why did I go so long without knowing my father? So I decided to make my move before my nerve flew out the window. "Then why did you walk away?" Raking a hand through his hair, Adam looked towards the floor and his face showing a bit of happiness and shock at my soft spoken words. "Gabrielle, you have to understand. I did what I had to do." He looked up at me and placed his elbows on his knees, hands clasped together. "You were born before your mother and I even married." My eyes widened. Mom failed to mention that gem of insight. "We didn't have much to begin with, but once we found out that you would be coming along, your mother and I started to stress. She picked up more shifts at the diner she worked at and I tried to be the perfect factory worker, hoping that I would get promoted or get a raise. Your mom managed to pick up a few extra shifts, but I got laid off." I watched as the man in front of me morphed; more and more he was starting to seem more like a human being than the heartless jerk I had imagined him to be all these years. Then again, the story wasn't over yet. There could still be some redemption for the jerk category. "When Charlotte was about seven months along, I had to make some sort of a choice. The apartment we were living in wouldn't be able to house three people. It barely housed just two. We needed more space and we needed more money to properly take care of you." His eyes darted towards the door and he hesitated before the next part. "When I was still working at the factory, there were a couple of men in a similar position as I, not as dire, but a pickle all the same. They told me they went to an extremely wealthy man a couple towns over and were able to get a loan from him. His name was ... is Dean Landon." So that's the creepy old guy's name, I thought. "I went to him and asked for help; we needed money, he could provide the money. He gave me a substantial amount. It was enough for us to get on our feet. We were able to put a down payment on a home, we bought you everything you would have needed as a baby. All I had to do was pay him back the money. But ... he got really greedy really fast. You were only about nine months old when his goons came to our house. They practically burst the door down getting in. Charlotte grabbed you from your playpen and ran up to your room, hiding. They roughed me up a bit and told me that Landon wanted his money in only a couple of weeks." Adam shook his head and looked at me. "I feared that you and your mother would get hurt for my stupid decision. I thought that by leaving, I would take the trouble with me. But I never lost contact with Charlotte." Now that surprised me. Mom never made any mention of him keeping in touch. In fact, she only told me that he left. "I helped support you two up until she was killed. When you were adopted, I knew you would be well taken care of from that point, so I just slipped under the radar. I didn't want you to have connections to me just in case Landon decided to give me incentive." He smiled sadly at me and shook his head. "I guess that didn't work out too well, did it?" I shook my head in response, tucking my feet under my body. "Not really, no. Good effort though," I replied, forcing a smile out of myself as well. A few silent beats passed as I mulled over the brand new information. So my biological father left to protect me from this Landon fellow to whom he owed a great deal of money. Almost like he put me in some witness relocation program. Just ... without the relocation. I bit my lip, narrowing my eyes at nothing as one piece of information stuck out like a sore thumb. "Wait. You said you basically have some sort of a debt to him, right?" I asked, my eyes drifting over to the desk. The connection between the money and what I found earlier couldn't be coincidental. "Yes. And the man is stupid enough to keep several copies laying around in various places. Why?" My mind wondered how in the world Adam even knew about the multiple copies, but I decided to save those questions for later. For right now, I had an answer to his conundrum. Jumping up, I made my way to the desk, beckoning him to follow. Yanking open the drawer that held interest to me earlier, I pulled the leather notebook back out and held it out to my dad, his hand immediately taking it and opening the first pages. Wow, I thought, the words striking me for the first time. My dad. My real dad is standing right here next to me. It felt surreal; I honestly never though I would meet him, never in my wildest dreams. I shook my head and watched as Adam started flipping through the pages, eyes widening. Looking to me, he said, "Do you realize what this is?" "Sort of. I mean, it seems like he's keeping track of different debts that he has. Right?" Nodding his head, Adam replied, "Exactly. I bet mine is in here somewhere as well. I can't believe he just left you in here with all his important files." I shrugged a little, closing the desk drawer. "Yeah, well, apparently standing at five foot one and weighing in at 132 pounds doesn't strike much fear into the hearts of criminal masterminds. I probably looked so innocent that they felt I could be completely overlooked," I retorted, crossing my arms. "Whatever, though. I mean, it worked in our favor, right?" Flipping a few more pages, he stopped and looked up thoughtfully. "It's not just debts he has in here. He's got his gambling records in here, his shady business deals that he takes part in. Gabrielle, his entire business is in this book!" he exclaimed. Snapping the book shut, he held it up and shook it slightly. "This is exactly what is needed to take him down. I've been dying for a chance like this for years." Turning to face me, he grinned. "Heh. Well look at us. We're practically Sherlock twins," he joked, his smile fading when he saw the look on my face. "You know, cause our last name is Holmes?"