Chapter 38 Chapter 38
"Still searching, but preliminary indicators suggest shortcuts were taken. Small town, emergency services handling an abandoned infant, there are gaps in the documentation that could be exploited."
Helga nodded, satisfied with this initial report. "Find those gaps. I want specific leverage points by morning."
Back at the Lawson estate, Richard had discreetly summoned Theodore to join his conversation with Tony. The three men stood in Richard's private study, speaking in hushed tones about the Kennedy threat to the Maxwell family.
"We need to protect them proactively," Richard insisted, his weathered face set with determination. "The Maxwells raised my daughter when I couldn't. I owe them everything."
Theodore nodded, already mentally calculating the necessary legal maneuvers. "I'll have our team draw up financial protection documents immediately. We can establish a trust for the family that would be insulated from any external pressure."
"What about their home?" Tony asked. "If it's mortgaged, Helga could potentially apply pressure through banking connections."
Theodore's expression darkened at the suggestion. "We'll purchase the mortgage outright through a shell corporation, then convert it to favourable terms the Kennedys can't touch."
Richard studied Tony carefully, still adjusting to the idea that Julius and Helga Kennedy's son was actively working against his parents' interests. "Why are you doing this, Tony? Why warn us about your mother's plans?"
Tony met the older man's gaze directly. "Because Iris deserves to choose her own path forward. And because the Maxwells don't deserve to become collateral damage in a corporate power struggle."
Richard exchanged a meaningful glance with Theodore. The young man's answer revealed more about his character and his feelings for Iris than perhaps he intended.
"We appreciate the warning," Theodore said formally. "Though it puts you in a difficult position with your family."
Tony shrugged, a gesture that attempted casualness but couldn't quite mask his underlying tension. "It's time I established some boundaries with my parents anyway."
In the studio, Bryce had joined Iris and Dianne, his boundless enthusiasm providing a counterpoint to their focused artistic discussion. He circled the worktable where they had arranged their designs, snapping photos with his phone.
"This exhibition is going to be incredible," he declared, zooming in on a particularly striking juxtaposition of Dianne's sculptural sketch and Iris's jewellery design. "The story it tells, separation, parallel creative development, reunion, it's powerful on both artistic and human levels."
Iris glanced up at her newfound brother, still adjusting to his exuberant personality. Her four Maxwell brothers were boisterous and physical in their affection, but Bryce's intellectual excitement was something entirely different.
"The exhibition needs a name," she suggested, her practical mind already thinking through the logistics. "Something that captures both the artistic and personal dimensions."
Dianne looked up, her eyes bright with creative energy that had been dormant for twenty years. "What about 'Convergence'? Our separate artistic journeys are coming together after all this time."
"Or 'Inherited Visions,'" Bryce offered eagerly. "Highlighting the genetic component of your shared aesthetic."
Iris considered both suggestions, her head tilting slightly in the same unconscious gesture Dianne often used when evaluating a design. "I like elements of both. Maybe 'The Convergence of Inherited Visions’. It's kind of odd, I have no memory of this place yet, but it still feels like home in some way. Sorry, I ah…”
Dianne's eyes filled with tears as Iris's words trailed off. The profound connection her daughter was describing, feeling at home in a place she had no conscious memory of, was exactly what she had prayed for during the darkest nights of the past twenty years.
"That's not odd at all," she whispered, reaching out to cover Iris's hand with her own. "Some connections transcend memory. They exist in our very cells."
Richard returned to the studio doorway, Theodore and Tony following a few steps behind. He paused, taking in the scene before him, his wife and daughter bent over a table of designs, their dark heads inclined at identical angles, Bryce hovering nearby with undisguised excitement. The tableau struck him with such emotional force that for a moment he couldn't speak.
Theodore cleared his throat gently. "We should probably think about dinner soon. Victor is arranging security for the estate perimeter."
Iris looked up, suddenly aware of how much time had passed. The afternoon light had shifted, casting long shadows across the studio floor. She had been so absorbed in the artistic exchange with Dianne that the hours had slipped away unnoticed.
"I should call my parents," she said, reaching for her phone. "Let them know I'll be back on campus later tonight."
Dianne's face fell slightly at the reminder that Iris wouldn't be staying, though she quickly composed herself. "Of course. Please, use Richard's study if you'd like privacy for your call."
Across town, Leo Maxwell sat at his kitchen table, surrounded by his four sons. The boys had been uncharacteristically quiet since Carol had explained the situation, each processing the news about their sister in his own way.
"Is Iris still going to be our sister?" Finally, Jakob asked, his eleven-year-old face creased with worry.
Leo reached out to ruffle his youngest son's hair. "Of course she is, buddy. Nothing changes that. She's just found some additional family she didn't know about."
"Rich family," Finn pointed out, his practical nature asserting itself. "With a swimming pool."
Buck rolled his eyes at his twin. "Is that all you care about?"
"No," Finn shot back defensively. "But Iris works so hard. Maybe they can help her with her jewellery business."
Carol joined them at the table, setting down a plate of the boys' favourite cookies. "That's not for us to decide," she said gently. "Iris will figure out what relationship she wants with the Lawsons."
Nikolaus reached for a cookie, his expression thoughtful. "Will we still see her at Christmas?"
Leo and Carol exchanged glances, the same question having weighed on their minds. "We hope so," Leo said finally. "But we need to give Iris space to work through all this. It's a lot for her to process."
At the Lawson estate, Iris had retreated to Richard's study to make her call. The room reflected its owner, her birth father. She knew it would be wise for her to do a video call.
She needed to see them all and for them to see her.
Leo and Carol Maxwell's faces appeared on Iris's phone screen, crowded by the four boys who jostled for position to see their sister. The familiar chaos of her adoptive family, Buck and Finn elbowing each other while Jakob and Nikolaus squeezed in from below, sent a wave of comforting normalcy through her.
"Firefly!" Leo's face broke into a relieved smile. "There you are. How are you holding up?"
"I'm okay, Dad," Iris replied, settling into Richard's leather chair. "It's been... intense. But I'm processing everything."