Chapter 21 Raymond's Findings
Jordan's P.O.V.
I wake up to the sun rising over the city and Anushka in my arms. I can't think of anything better. In the few days I've been with her and Dakota, I’ve learned that the little one likes to wake up super early. I gently move Anushka and put my pillow against her longways, so hopefully she'll continue to sleep for a while.
After a quick shower, I throw on a pair of athletic shorts and a T-shirt. As I'm stepping out into the hall, I hear little footsteps coming my way. Dakota comes around the corner two seconds later. I hold my finger over my lips so she'll be quiet. She nods and reaches for me to pick her up. I carry her into the kitchen and sit her on the counter.
"What do you say we order breakfast and serve your mommy breakfast in bed?" Dakota claps her little hands.
"Yes, that will make Mommy happy. That mean lady isn't coming back, is she?" she asks, looking down at her hands. I kiss her forehead. Cora is going to pay for coming here and making up those lies.
"No, sweetheart. Don't worry about her. I'll make sure you never have to see her again. Now, what should we order?" I hope what I say is true. I'm going to have to make building security aware that she is not to be in the building for any reason.
"Pancakes. Mommy loves blueberry pancakes. I want chocolate chip with lots of sprinkles." Dakota smiles at me with her little eyes shining. I swear, the way I love this little girl is like she's my own flesh and blood. Seeing her smile makes my heart melt. Hearing her call me daddy makes me want to cry with happiness.
"Pancakes it is. After breakfast, we'll see if we can find someone to decorate your room." I pull out my phone and quickly order breakfast.
"I want to read while I wait for breakfast." I put her down, and she runs to her room. My phone rings as I prepare to leave the kitchen and check on Anushka.
"Hello?" I answer.
"Hey, Jordan. I need to talk to you about something, but I'd rather do it in person. Can I come to see you? Preferably at your house and not your office." When I hear the concern in Raymond's voice, I know it must be serious. He rarely ever asks to see me in person.
"Can you come in about an hour? That will give us time to eat breakfast and get dressed." I can't imagine what could be so important that would cause him to sound so anxious.
"Yes, I'll be there in an hour," he replies.
"Can you look into something else for me? Cora was waiting for me when we got home, and she claims I got her pregnant. I don't believe the child is mine. Can you see what you can find out? I'll get a paternity test if I have to, but I'd like to stop her before she causes any more chaos." I continue walking down the hall and stop outside mine and Anushka's bedroom.
"I'll see if I can find anything before I leave. Jordan, don't take any calls from anyone at your company until I get there." Now I'm even more worried. Did he find something on one of my trusted employees?
"Okay, see you soon." I pause before going into the bedroom. With all the other stuff going on, the last thing I need is to find out one of my employees is a rat. Thank goodness for Anushka and Dakota. Without them, this would have been the worst vacation in history.
I slowly open the bedroom door. Our food should be here any minute, and I want to make sure Anushka is dressed before Dakota, and I bring her food. I close the bedroom door and walk over to where she's still sound asleep. Her hair is a wild mane of spun gold. I would love to wake her up by making love to her, but we have too much going on. I lean down and gently kiss her soft lips.
"Morning breath," she mumbles sleepily, turning away from me.
"I don't have morning breath. I brushed my teeth." I slide my hand under the sheet to rub it over her abdomen and grope her breast.
"I was talking about my morning breath. Is Dakota up?" She opens her eyes and rolls onto her back. I so badly want to get on top of her and forget everything else exists for a few minutes.
"Yeah, she's in her room looking at a book. We have a surprise for you, but you need to have clothes on. Also, Raymond will be here in about an hour. He said he has something to tell me and wants to do it in person." I slide my hand down her body and between her legs. As I prepare to slide a finger inside, the doorbell rings.
"To be continued," I tell her. Anushka smiles and jumps out of bed to wrap her arms around me.
"I love you." I get distracted by having her naked body against me until the doorbell rings again.
"I love you too. Get dressed and get back in bed. Dakota and I will be back in a few minutes." She smiles and goes into the bathroom as I close the door. Dakota runs out of her bedroom and takes my hand as we go to the front door. I look out the peephole and see a woman holding our food.
"How are we going to eat in bed?" Dakota asks after I take the food and give the woman a tip.
"I have special trays for eating in bed, but I've never used them. Can you take the food out of the bag while I get the trays?" She climbs onto a kitchen chair and carefully removes the food containers while I go to the pantry and get the two trays. After setting everything up, I balance the two trays on my hands while Dakota opens the bedroom door. Anushka is sitting up in the bed wearing one of my T-shirts. I almost drop the trays when I see her in my clothes. Somehow, that seems sexier than if she were naked.
"Mommy, we brought you breakfast in bed." Dakota runs over and climbs onto the bed to sit beside Anushka. I set the two trays down and placed one over their laps. I climb into bed to sit beside Dakota and put my food over my lap.
"This is great. Thank you." Anushka kisses Dakota's head and smiles at me. This is what I had always dreamt about when I had a family. Breakfast in bed and lazy days at home. After we finish eating, Anushka takes a quick shower, puts her clothes on, and helps Dakota get dressed.
"Do you want us to stay out of the way while you talk to Raymond?" She asks.
"No. Whatever he's going to say may affect you, too. We're a couple now, so my business is your business." The doorbell rings as soon as we get to the living room.
"I'm going to my room," Dakota says, running down the hallway. I'm happy she likes her room so much. I open the door for Raymond. He's short and thin with wire-rimmed glasses and thinning hair. I honestly have no idea how old he is, but he is the best at what he does.
"Raymond, this is Anushka." He holds his hand out to her and smiles.
"It's nice to meet you. I've heard a lot about you even before Jordan said you were a couple. You've made quite a name for yourself." Anushka smiles.
"Thank you for helping us while we were on the island." Raymond's smile grows. I get it. She's like a ray of light that makes everyone around her feel warm all over.
"I'm glad you made it out of there safely. I'm sorry we're not meeting under better circumstances, but I didn't think this could wait." Raymond looks at me, and I lead him over to the large sectional. Anushka and I sit together, holding hands. Raymond sits a few seats down, pulls out a file, and hands it to me.
"First of all, it only took me about five minutes to verify you're not the father of Cora's child. She's only a little over four months pregnant, and I know you've been broken up for longer than that." Anushka and I look at the doctor's note and sigh in relief. I don't want to know how he got into her medical records so quickly, and I think it's best that I not ask.
"Thank you. I knew she was lying. What else do you need to tell me?" I lay the file down, and Raymond pulls out another, much thicker one.
"Last night, I received a phone call from one of your employees asking me to look into Anushka. He didn't have her name, but he told me to look into the woman you met on the island. He said that you were the one asking for the information. However, he also said to keep it between us. He didn't give me a name when he called, so I ran his number. It was Gregory Coy." Raymond pauses while I look at him in confusion. I have known Gregory for years. He went to the same high school as I did and stood up for me when I was bullied. He's a few years older than me, but we have always stayed in contact. When I started my company, I asked him to join because I trusted him.
"Why would Gregory ask for information about Anushka?" I ask Raymond.
"I don't know. He didn't tell me, but that's not the most disturbing thing I found. I hacked into his home computer, and I'm sorry to tell you this, but he poisoned your mother. She didn't die by suicide." Raymond hands me a stack of photos. They're of my mom. The images are shot one after another, so it's almost like looking at a movie. She's sleeping, and Gregory took pictures of himself switching her bottle of pills with the one he brought. The following pictures are of her taking the pills, but not as much as we had assumed. The next pictures are of him standing over her body after she had died and switching the bottles back, but her pill bottle was empty. The final image is of himself smiling smugly. Tears run down my cheeks as guilt washes over me. All these years, I thought my mom killed herself because I wasn't enough of a reason for her to want to live. Anushka wraps her arms around me as she cries with me.
"Why would he do this?" I ask, looking at the pictures again. Why would he take pictures that prove what he did? It doesn't make sense.
"I don't know, but there's something else." I look back at Raymond. What else could there be?
"What?" I ask.
"Gregory is your half-brother."