Chapter 61 The Truth
Derek walked toward a quieter part of the beach, away from the laughter and movement of other guests. He stopped beneath the shade of a tall palm tree, the sound of the waves crashing softly behind him. His grip tightened around his phone as he waited.
"Talk," he said quietly when the call connected. "I need everything. No skipping."
The man on the other end cleared his throat.
"Vanessa is Rebecca’s step-sister," he began, She and Liam, Miss Rebecca’s ex-boyfriend had been having an affair,” the investigator continued. "It started long before Rebecca and Liam broke up."
Derek’s fingers curled tightly around his phone. He wanted to interrupt, to demand details, but he stayed silent. He had asked for everything, and he was going to hear it all.
"According to my sources," the man went on, "the day Rebecca lost her parents was the same day she found out about the affair. She left the house crying and went to a club that night."
Derek’s chest tightened.
That night.
He remembered it clearly now, how she had looked when they met. Empty. Broken. Like someone barely holding herself together. He remembered how she had clung to him, how desperate she had been for comfort, for escape from whatever pain was tearing her apart.
"Is that all?" Derek asked, his voice controlled, though his thoughts were anything but calm.
"No sir, the other time you met was when she was told she is pregnant," that made Derek to look at where Rebecca was standing, if one month ago was when she found out she was pregnant, and they had met weeks before they met again at the hospital, does that mean the child is his.
That thought crossed his mind before he ruled it off again, it can't be, she should have told him if his the father, he reasoned, but then she had never answered him fully when he had asked about the child's father and if Liam was the father, another part of him thought.
"Is that all?" He asked, he needed more answers, he wasn't satisfied with this yet, and it was finally time for Rebecca to answer all his questions.
"Yes sir, these are all the relevant things I could find for now," the investigator replied, he assured Derek of digging deeper to find out more before cutting the call.
Derek took a deep breath before walking back to where Rebecca was standing close to the beach, her attention on a couple not far from where she stood, she turned when he stood beside her.
"Can we go back to the room?” he asked.
"Already?" She asked surprised, she had thought they were going to complete the beach walk before going back.
"Yes, there is something we need to talk about." He replied, he did not want attention to be on them, he wanted privacy and their room offers that.
"Okay." She replied, they started walking back with Derek ahead, Rebecca frowned as she followed behind him, she was surprised by his behavior.
Who had called him to make go back to his shell, she thought as she tried catching up with his pace.
When they got to the room, Rebecca walked over to the bed and sat down while Derek turned the chair to face her before sitting down opposite her, she waited for him to initiate the conversation.
"Rebecca," he said after a moment, "tell me about Vanessa."
Her hand paused on her sandals.
"You’ve asked me that before," she said cautiously, She had no idea where he was going with this talk.
"And you did not tell me anything; I want to know everything about her," he replied, holding eye contact with her.
"She’s my step-sister," she said looking at him.
Derek nodded. "I already know that. Since you do not want to talk about her, how about we talk about Liam?" He pressed further, he wanted everything laid out.
Her jaw stiffened.
"What about him? What is there to talk about?" she asked.
"How long were they together?" He asked, noticing how her eyebrows shot up in surprise at his question.
He knew? Since when? How did he find out? What else does he know about?
She looked away, not answering him.
"Rebecca." He called again, after a few moments of silence.
She swallowed. "I don’t know." She replied, still not looking at him.
"That’s not true," he said gently. “I would really appreciate it if you came out clean now. I know about their affair so stop lying. Just tell me honestly. How long have they been together?”
Her shoulders sagged. "I found out about them the day my parents died so I can't say since when they've been together."
His chest tightened hearing the hurt and pain in her voice.
"That evening," she whispered. "Everything fell apart."
He watched her closely, as she fought back tears
"Is Liam the father of your baby?" Derek asked suddenly.
Her head snapped up.
"What?" She asked, she thought they had made this nonverbal agreement not to talk about the father of her child.
"I asked if Liam is the father of your child. Is he responsible for your pregnancy?" he repeated.
Her lips parted, but no words came out.
She stared at him, frozen.
Derek felt his suspicion deepen.
"Why won’t you answer?" he asked quietly.
She lowered her gaze.
"Rebecca," he pressed, "is Liam the father?"
Silence.
Her hands trembled slightly in her lap.
Derek leaned back, studying her.
Taking a deep breath, she shook her head. “He’s not.”
"Then whose baby is it?" he asked.
Her breathing grew uneven. “I can't answer that. We never agreed we'd talk about the baby's paternity,” she said finally.
He hesitated, then asked the question that had been burning inside him.
"Is it mine?"
Her eyes widened in shock, as she stared at him.
"What do you mean?" she asked.
His voice dropped. "I mean exactly what I said."
"You’re confusing me," she whispered.
"When were you planning to tell me the truth?" Derek asked.
"What truth?" she asked weakly.
"That we met before," he said.
Her breath caught sharply.
"And not just met," he continued. "That we had sex."
Rebecca stared at him, stunned, both fear and disbelief flooding her eyes.
The room went silent, as her eyes widened in shock.