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Taylor

CHAPTER FORTY-NINE

Today is the day of my second ultrasound.

During the first one, we weren’t able to determine the baby’s sex.

I moved into William’s house as we agreed, but I don’t feel like it’s mine, even though he’s doing everything he can to make it comfortable for me. He even suggested that we buy a new house so our child could have more space to play.

Besides the support of Jackie—the sister life gave me—I’ve also grown close to Brooklyn and her sister, Madison.

Their stepmother, Eleanor, is also a wonderful person.

Little by little, I’m surrounding myself with people who care about me, leaving my days of solitude behind. But I still can’t feel happy.

I never will, not completely, until my memory returns.

A few days after I moved into his house, William told me about his conversations with Sherie and his mother.

I was surprised that the former housekeeper of Mrs. Marshall, in the name of her confessed love for William, had revealed something to him that ultimately defended me.

And now, the father of my child has ordered a manhunt for Mr. Marshall to ensure he answers for the crimes we believe he committed.

Kidnapping?

It still doesn’t make sense.

How did I end up in a coma, with broken legs? If he was the one who took me, wouldn’t he have hidden me away in an isolated place instead of allowing me to be photographed on islands around the world?

There are still too many gaps in my story. Empty spaces that haunt me with nightmares and, sometimes, panic attacks.

"What do you want it to be? A boy or a girl?" William asks, holding my hand as the doctor prepares to begin the exam.

"I have no preference."

I watch him staring at the screen, and guilt washes over me.

I know I’m depressed. I can’t feel the happiness that most expectant mothers do, because deep down, I’m terrified of the possibility that before waking up in that hospital, his vile father might have touched me.

"Doctor, could you give us a moment?" I ask, and William looks at me in confusion.

The doctor leaves with the nurse, and I sit up against the pillows, patting the mattress for him to come closer.

"What’s going on?" he asks.

"I’m scared."

"The baby is fine."

"I know. It’s not about the baby. It’s about discovering something from the past that will make you despise me again."

He pulls me into his arms. "Will you never forgive me?"

"Maybe I won’t be able to forgive myself . There could be something that makes me horrible in your eyes—and in mine, too."

"Taylor, there are many people working on your case, but there’s one man I trust above all others. He called me this morning. I was going to tell you after we left here, but I wanted you to have a peaceful ultrasound first."

I feel my heart start to race. "Is it something that will hurt me?"

He nods. "But it’s nothing you did. Breathe."

"Alright. Let’s do the ultrasound first and find out if we’re expecting a girl or a boy."

Half an hour later, I smile as William says, "A girl?" He looks amazed, alternating between holding the image in his hands and kissing my belly, still slightly sticky from the gel. "We’re having a girl."

"Yes. And I hope she’s like me—to drive you crazy."

"In looks or temperament?"

"Both."

"I don’t care. Two women for me to love and protect. I can handle that." He dismissed the staff, which I guess is one of the perks of owning the hospital. Now he’s lying beside me on the examination table.

"Are you really happy?" I ask.

"Doubt anything you want, Taylor, but never my love. I have everything I want. My woman and a daughter on the way. I don’t know if I deserve this second chance, but I’ll cling to it with everything I have."

* * *

"Why did we stop here? What is this place?"

The driver has parked in front of a beautiful house in Brooklyn, and I have no idea what’s going on.

"Are we going inside?" I ask, even though he still hasn’t answered my previous question.

"In a few minutes. We’re waiting for my lawyers and the police."

"What? Who lives here?"

"Bonnie."

" Bonnie? What does that mean? She hasn’t worked for your grandmother in a long time."

"Yes. Almost since you disappeared."

I start trembling, not wanting to believe what he’s implying. "William, what’s going on?"

"Remember I told you in the office that there’s one person I trust completely?"

"Yes."

"Bonnie was my father’s accomplice in your disappearance, Taylor."

"Oh my God!" I open the car door and step out, struggling to breathe.

William follows and pulls me into his arms.

"How?"

As I listen to him explain that the woman I once considered my friend took money to give a kidnapper the key to my apartment, I can’t stop my tears from falling.

I vaguely see a car pulling up behind our bodyguards, followed by a police vehicle.

"We don’t have all the details yet, but we’re going to confront her with message exchanges between her and my father, as well as a bank transfer—enough money for her to retire—that the bastard sent to her account."

"I can’t believe it."

"I think you should go home. This won’t be pleasant to watch."

"I need to look her in the eyes, at least."

"Alright, but I don’t want you going to the station afterwards. Bonnie will have to give a statement, and if everything goes as I expect, she’ll be arrested today."

A few minutes later, when her door opens, I see her expression change as she recognizes me.

"Why, Bonnie?" I ask through my tears.

She looks past me at William, then at the police officers. She doesn’t seem surprised. When her gaze returns to mine, she simply shrugs. "Why not?"

* * *

"That bitch!" Jackie exclaims after hugging me.

William asked me to stay with her while he and his lawyers accompanied Bonnie to the station for her statement.

"I never would have imagined it. If someone had told me Sherie was involved in my kidnapping, I wouldn’t have been shocked. But Bonnie? God, she seemed so sweet, Jackie! And she even said there was another accomplice."

"Who?"

"We don’t know yet, but I’m sure William won’t rest until he finds them, too."

"Just another reminder that we never truly know people, huh? In the end, the woman who seemed like a villain turned out to be selfless," she says, referring to Sherie.

"Selfless, my ass. She was in love with William. If there was any selflessness in what she did, it was about making the man she loved happy. Not about me."

"Yeah, but either way, indirectly, she ended up helping you."

"I know. Forgive my mood. It’s a mix of pregnancy hormones and irrational jealousy."

"Even if you’re jealous, you can’t deny it was a total role reversal. The one who seemed kind turned out to be a complete snake. Bonnie is cold and greedy."

"Yes. And I hope she pays for it. Can you imagine the danger his grandmother was in, having someone like that so close to her?"

"Speaking of which, have you and Maryann been talking?"

"We have. Little by little, we’re rebuilding our friendship. And today, as soon as I found out the baby was a girl, I called her to tell her the news."

"You’re a better person than I am, Taylor."

"I don’t know. Maybe I’m just tired of pain and resentment. Maryann is one of the few decent members of that family. My daughter won’t have a grandmother on either side—my mother is gone, and my mother-in-law refuses to acknowledge the pregnancy."

"And if everything goes as planned, William’s father will be in prison."

I nod in agreement.

"There’s something I need to tell you, Taylor."

"What is it?"

"‘L’ is after Mr. Marshall. He’s taken it personally. But unlike your boyfriend, who wants to bring him to justice, the kind of ‘justice’ L delivers is... different ."

"What do you mean?"

"You don’t need the details. Just know that if William’s father never faces the law, it won’t mean he got away. You can be certain that ‘L’ will make him pay."