66__Chasing truth

She would meet Belinda Harris.

Amelia looked at herself in the mirror of her bathroom, her mind replaying the words Marc had spoken to her.

He’d said he loved her…

She had been so shaken and she still was. She barely remembered what she’d rambled in response. Something about him confusing his attraction to her for love.

He’d looked confused and had gone silent. Amelia assumed he’d believed she was right but didn’t dwell on it.

She couldn’t afford to dwell on it. All she could think of was the danger that he might not be confusing his emotions at all. What if he really had fallen for her, just as she’d fallen for him?

What a mess that would be. Who was she kidding? This was already a mess.

With a sigh, she sat on the closed toilet lid and buried her face in her hands. She didn’t know what to do.

She’d wanted to call her dad and ask for his opinion, but he wasn’t picking up his phone. That had only added to her stress.

Left with no choice, Amelia figured there was only one thing she could do.

She would at least meet Belinda Harris. She would see what the evidence was and then she’d decide what to do. If it was bad enough, Amelia would have no choice but to stick to her original plan. But if it wasn’t anything of substance, she would let it go. The thought made her feel sick inside, but she’d gotten to the point of not wanting to leave Marc, even if it meant changing her plans.

She was willing to do it. For Marc, she’d do it.

********************

Vincent Harris marched into his son’s bedroom. “Thomas!”

The bathroom door burst open and Thomas Harris jolted upright.

“Where on earth is your sister?” demanded his father.

Coughing, Thomas rushed to rinse his mouth before looking at his dad. “I’m brushing my teeth here!”

“Never mind that!” spat Vincent. His head was spinning, his blood pressure shot through the roof. “Where is Belinda?!”

Tom shook his head cluelessly. “I don’t know. Why? What’s happened?”

Huffing, Vincent shut his eyes for a moment. “Linda’s been up to no good,” he muttered. “I knew she was up to something but I had no idea it was this grave.”

Thomas picked up on the urgency of the matter and followed his father out of the bathroom, wiping his hands on a towel. “Wait, what did she do? Dad!”

Weakening, Vincent sunk onto the bed. “She’s… she’s used up large amounts of money to uncover the truth behind that incident that happened years ago.”

Thomas frowned. “Incident? Which one?”

“The biggest one, Thomas!” Vincent said in frustration. “The one where the vault door got stuck with several employees inside.”

“Oh. Wait, that was considered a suicidal murder by quite a few people—"

“Well, not by me!” said Vincent. “Professor Parker wasn’t some looney head to lock herself and her subordinates in a storage room full of toxic chemicals.”

Shaking his head, Thomas waved it away. “Okay, but what’s Linda doing looking into that?”

Vincent sighed. “It appears she’s discovered something. Professor Parker was… she was Marc’s wife’s mother.”

Thomas’s mouth fell open, his eyes widening. His father’s voice was weighed down by a distinct tone of disappointment and it even showed on his face. Frowning, Thomas went silent. The initial shock at Amelia’s mother having been the infamous Dr Parker was quickly nudged aside by the realization that this discovery shifted his father’s perspective on everything.

Everything regarding Amelia and how much she resembled Tom’s late mum. If she already had parents…

“Dad,” he started quietly. “It doesn’t make it impossible.”

Vincent waved it away. “Forget it. I haven’t got the right to dwell on that, I should focus on keeping your sister under control.”

Thomas suddenly grew uneasy. “Wait. She’s looking into that accident because…”

“Because it wasn’t an accident. Professor Parker was killed.”

“What?!”

“Yes. Belinda’s gone and acquired the evidence, she plans to hand it over to Marc’s wife. She believes that she married Marc simply to gather evidence in the first place, so if she gives her the evidence…”

“Dr Parker will leave Marc…” His face darkened as he thought it over. Crap. Letting this happen would make things worse between Thomas and Marc. It would make his chances of getting Elizabeth and James back even slimmer. He had to stop Linda.

Grabbing his phone off the bed, he dialled his sister’s number.

“She isn’t picking up her mobile phone,” Vincent said tiredly. He shook his head. “Why does Linda always think she needs to go so far for us? She’s going too far, this isn’t right.”

“Partly, it is,” Thomas said, frowning at his phone. “Someone was killed! The truth must be revealed. Who exactly killed her anyway?”

Vincent sighed. “Who else? Arthur John Aryan is the only person sick enough to lock people in a room full of toxic gas.”

Thomas released a disbelieving scoff. “And then… and then influence the media to make it seem as though she was suicidal. He got the court to rule the case as homicidal negligence… He practically painted the woman to seem like a suicidal murderer.”

His father only sighed in response.

“Did you know?” Thomas demanded. ‘Why didn’t you do anything?! Didn’t you know her from work?”

Turning away, Vincent huffed. “I was keeping the information for a day I would need it. And, no, I didn’t know her. The woman avoided me like I was the devil himself. Yet, she seemed quite chummy with old Arthur. He probably killed her to silence her.”

“What? You think she knew something about him?”

Vincent shrugged. “Who knows? There’s nothing I can do about that right now, I need to find Belinda!”

“Okay, fine.” Thomas sighed. “I’ll find her. But, dad, once I do find her, I’m finding out what evidence she has and then we’re releasing it.”

His father eyed him. “See? You’re far more eager to take over the company than you let on.”

“No. That’s *your* ambition. I just want to clear an innocent woman’s name. Could you imagine how difficult it’s been for Dr Parker to live with such a massive thing hanging over her head? Or, what? Do you no longer care about how this may have hurt her now that you believe it’s impossible for her to be your daughter?”

Anger darkened Vincent’s eyes. “You know nothing, Thomas.”

“Then prove me wrong,” Thomas challenged. “First of all, get a DNA test done. Avoiding it won’t make your suspicions go away. Second… release that evidence once we find Belinda. Hiding someone else’s sins makes them your sins too, dad. And I’ll be damned if I’m a part of that.”

Clenching his jaw, all Vince could do was scoff. He turned away, glowering at the floor. “You’re several steps too late!”

“Meaning?”

“Meaning… I’ve already gone ahead with the necessary tests.”

Thomas frowned. “Really? You asked Dr Parker for a sample of her DNA?”

“No, you monocle... I got it stolen.”

“Dad!”

“I can’t walk up to her and tell her I’m suspecting she’s my daughter now, can I?! So, I got her DNA stolen. I’m expecting the results tomorrow morning. I wouldn’t stoop this low if she didn’t look so much like your mother. The resemblance is just… it’s uncanny.”

Thomas was about to rant about how despicable it was to do this behind Amelia’s back but then stopped as something occurred to him.

Silently, he thought it over. His eyes widened. “Dad…”

Vincent looked at him. “What?”

“Dad… that’s it. That’s it. That’s why he killed her!”

“What in God’s name are you rambling on about, Thomas?”

“Dad, Professor Parker was Amelia’s mother!”

“I just told you that.”

“No! No, what I mean is… she *became* Amelia’s mother! It all makes sense. That’s why she avoided you and seemed close to Marc’s father and… and that’s why he *killed* her!”

Slowly, the wrinkles about Vincent’s eyes stretched, his brows rising as his eyes widened. His mouth opened, no words coming out.

“I know you believe Arthur Aryan had Thea taken,” Thomas said tightly, feeling his gut churn at the name he hadn’t said aloud for decades. “I’ve secretly overheard you and Mrs Willingham discuss it on several occasions.”

His father released a short huff of air, his face frozen with shock as he processed what Thomas was insinuating.

“Dad…” Thomas shook his head in disbelief. “This has to be it. He got her taken and had Professor Parker raise her. It was nothing but a suspicion, but we were actually right! Amelia Parker *is* our Thea-rose.”

**********

Marc was at the office. He’d started going in today and Amelia couldn’t be more grateful.

Things were awkward between them right now and she could tell that Marc was being very careful around her. He studied her face far more than before, he seemed determined to uncover some unknown secret from whatever he could read on her face.

She, in turn, tried to mask herself as much as she could. How could she let herself treat him as she normally did when she was holding back a mountain of secrets?

As soon as he’d left, she’d gotten dressed and waited agitatedly for Elizabeth to arrive.

Hearing James call Amelia mummy once had been enough to make Liza spend as much time as she could with him. Amelia understood and, frankly, she was glad Elizabeth had made that change.

And now, because it had given her the chance to sneak out of the house, she was grateful.

Dragging in a lungful of air, she stood outside the address that she’d received by text. She didn’t know what she’d find here or what she’d hear, but the things her imagination was showing her were enough to have Amelia trembling stiffly. All she could see in her head was Marc. Would she see him differently after meeting Belinda? She hoped she wouldn’t. It hadn’t even happened yet, but her heart was already hurting at the thought of it.

This morning before he’d left for work, he’d given her another of those cautious looks that she’d been getting from him since his love confession and then he’d slowly placed a gentle kiss on her forehead.

Tears prickled her eyes now. This bit of sadness definitely wasn’t her hormones, it was the bleeding gash in her heart. What an idiot she was. She’d tried to play James Bond only to trip and fall head-first in love with Marc Aryan.

The road was busy with cars and people. Only she stood there, still and silent in the bustle and noise of a commercial London street.

Swallowing hard, she took a step forward.

“Amelia.”

Stopping, Amelia turned around. A car had stopped at the curb and she gasped when she saw who looked at her over the lowered window.

“Dad!”

Her father looked nervously about and then waved her over.

She hurried to his door, leaning in close. “Dad, what are you doing here? Where have you been?”

“I’ve been looking for a chance to talk to you in private, pumpkin. There isn’t much time.”

She glanced behind her. “Could you wait for me?”

“No, Amelia, there isn’t time. Get in. We need to talk. I need to do this before it’s too late, Amelia. Get in the car, I have to tell you everything.”

She frowned quizzically. “Tell me what?”

Her father sighed. “The truth. I have to tell you the truth. Get in, love.”