Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 78576 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 393(@200wpm)___ 314(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78576 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 393(@200wpm)___ 314(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
That gets a soft laugh out of Aunt Ruby, but then her eyes mist over in sadness once more.
“So I propose,” Aunt Jade continues, “that we distribute equally to all grandchildren of Bradford Steel. Brock, Brad, Ava, and Gina, are you okay with that? You would all get more with the original plan.”
Hmm… She didn’t ask Jack and Pat, but who the fuck cares?
Ava is the first to reply. “Of course, Aunt Jade.”
Easy for her. She doesn’t even use her Steel trust fund.
Gina and Brad agree, and finally Aunt Jade turns to Brock.
Brock darts fire at Pat once more but finally says, “Fine.”
“This is a lot to take in,” Ava says.
“Is it ever,” Brianna agrees.
“Yes,” Uncle Joe says. “But I agree with Jade. Let’s try to heal from the past. I’ll need all my energy to fight this cancer.”
Melanie sniffles into a tissue.
“Don’t you worry, baby,” Uncle Joe says to her. “I’ve been fighting my whole life, and I don’t plan to stop now.”
Uncle Talon clears his throat. “There is one other thing while we have you all together.”
I grit my teeth and prepare for more bad news.
“Lauren,” Uncle Ryan says, “do you want to say this or should I?”
“You, please. It’s not something I’d like to relive.”
Ryan nods. “Yes, we all understand. As we all know, Pat is the result of Lauren’s”—he clears his throat—“rape by three men. We can’t be sure who these men were, but we do know that Wendy had three minions who were rapists. They raped Daphne Steel, and they raped my brother. And many others. Pat is twenty-seven years old, so the timing works out, as all three of them died a little over twenty-five years ago.”
My father draws in a breath, his jaw clenched.
And I understand why. One of those rapists was his own father.
This is all part of the horrid past we learned about recently.
But we’re back to Pat again? Then I gaze at Aunt Lauren. Her pretty face is twisted with anguish. This is killing her. It’s not her fault that Pat did the things he did. She didn’t raise him. And now she has to relive the horror of his conception.
“We have a way,” Uncle Ryan continues, “to possibly find out who Pat’s father is. I’ve discussed this with Lauren and Pat, and they both would like to discover who he is.”
“How?” my sister Sage asks.
“We all have a connection to those rapists,” Uncle Ryan continues. “Theodore Matthias was Aunt Ruby’s father. Larry Wade was Daphne Steel’s half brother, and Tom Simpson was Uncle Bryce’s father. So we will take DNA from Aunt Ruby, Uncle Bryce, and either Aunt Marj or Uncle Talon—not Uncle Joe, considering his illness—both of whom are biological children of Daphne Steel. We will compare Pat’s DNA to those three samples, and we should be able to tell which one of the men—if any of them—fathered him.”
“I have the best DNA guy in the business,” Aunt Ruby says. “He’ll get us an answer more quickly than anyone else could, and I trust him more than anyone else as well. And even if none of them are a match, Pat is still a Steel by virtue of Bradford Steel being his grandfather.”
Jack swallows and turns to his mother. “Are you sure you really want to know?”
Lauren nods. “I think it will be good for me and good for Pat. Everyone wants to know where they came from. My whole life, I had no idea I was the daughter of Brad Steel. And Ryan, you spent half your life not knowing who your biological mother was. If we can find out, we should.”
“God, this is so fucked up,” I say under my breath.
My father looks at me sternly. “David, we are all truly sorry about your vacation.”
“Oh God,” I say, “that’s not what I meant. I just… Do you think this could get any weirder? Any worse? Any more horrific? Uncle Joe, we can’t lose you. We just can’t.”
Aunt Melanie wipes her eyes again, and so does Aunt Jade.
“David,” Uncle Joe says. “You know I think of you as a son. Bradley and Brock are my biological children, but I regard all of you as our sons and daughters. So believe me when I say this, son. I’m going to fight this with everything I have. But even if I fail, I have two brothers and two sisters who can lead this family into the next generation.”
I get choked up at that, and I’m not the only one. Sniffles resound throughout the room. Angie and Sage are nearly sobbing.
“I think we need to adjourn for now,” Uncle Talon says. “Tomorrow, Aunt Ruby, Uncle Bryce, and I will go with Pat to see the DNA expert and get our blood drawn. If our suspicions about the rapists are correct, we’ll be able to identify Pat’s father. In the meantime, Uncle Bryce will begin working on the deed transfers with our attorneys.”