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E arly the next morning, Tyler took her to Asheville Memorial Hospital. The drive to Asheville wasn’t long at all, which was a good thing, because Katherine was anxious to see if they could get some DNA results. Katherine felt like she was a spy during the Cold War era. But this was real, nothing fictional created by herself or another author.

“How long will this take before we have the results?” Katherine asked.

“Not as long as it used to take. A matter of hours, if we can find DNA on the boarding pass that matches what’s on file.”

Katherine hadn’t known Jameson’s DNA was part of his criminal record. Detective Davidson hadn’t told them that it had been taken when he was arrested the year before for driving while intoxicated. He’d lost his driver’s license yet stolen her car. On their way to Asheville, Katherine and Tyler had stopped back at Kyle’s house. Sure enough, Katherine’s Nissan was parked in the garage.

Katherine had asked Lisa to dig deeper into Jameson’s background. Sure enough, he’d been arrested as an adult. Lisa had emailed his record along with his DNA results. Katherine would triple Lisa’s yearly bonus. She’d earned it.

* * *

“You’re my fiancée, if anyone asks,” said Tyler.

Katherine nodded. She was glad she’d showered and changed clothes. She walked through the hospital’s private entrance as if she belonged there. “Whatever it takes.”

They walked through several long hallways. The sound of monitors, respirators, and moans could be heard from behind closed doors. The lights were so bright that Katherine doubted the patients could sleep. Doctors were paged over the intercom system. The smell of alcohol and bleach permeated the place. “I hate hospitals,” she whispered to Tyler.

“Me too,” he said, looking at her with a sly grin. “If my patients wind up on the seventh floor, it means I’m not doing my job.”

“Are any of your patients here now?” she asked, even knowing he couldn’t give out that information.

“None,” he said, taking her hand. He pushed a button on the wall, and a large set of metal doors opened.

The room ahead of them was packed with medical staff. Katherine stopped. “I’ll wait.” She felt frightened for a moment.

“You can’t. I need your DNA.”

“I’m a little nervous, that’s all.”

The doors closed behind them, and Tyler walked Katherine across the lab. She saw tubes of blood and slides of something being placed in a black light mini refrigerator. She’d hated science and chemistry in school and college.

Tyler squeezed her hand. “This is Fuller’s office. This won’t take long.”

Drawing a deep breath, Katherine plastered a smile on her face as they entered Tyler’s college pal’s office.

“Dude,” said Fuller, standing up from behind his desk. “Been way too long. Dude.”

Dude? So Fuller was one of those college roommates, thought Katherine. Fuller had dreadlocks and a full beard. He was much shorter than Tyler; in fact, he was the polar opposite of Tyler.

“This your chick?” Fuller nodded at Katherine.

“No, I’m not his chick,” Katherine said primly.

Fuller held both of his hands out in front of him. “I’m cool, no worries. We’re all super cool, like, minus subzero cool.”

On the drive over, Tyler had told Katherine that Fuller was a genius with an IQ above two hundred. He hadn’t told her that Fuller was an emotionally underdeveloped dude.

Tyler was laughing. “I can’t believe you still sport the locs.”

Katherine wanted to add, dude . “I’m in kind of a hurry,” she said instead. “I’m pregnant with triplets, and I pee every ten minutes.”

Tyler looked over at her, ready to burst out laughing, but he played along. “Triplets. It was a shock to us but, what the heck, let’s get it over with.”

“My man! Yo’ a one-shot dude! Congrats, man.” Fuller looked at Katherine’s midsection. “Cool, you aren’t even fat yet.”

Katherine’s eyes tripled in size. “Can we just get on with it?” she asked.

“It looks like you did already! Cool, though, man. I’m in. You should name one after me.”

“They’re all girls,” Katherine stated, hoping he’d stop with his dude act and do what they needed him to do.

Fuller motioned for them to follow him to the lab behind his office. He put rubber gloves on and removed a swab from a sterile package. He swiped both sides of Katherine’s mouth. Tyler handed over the boarding pass. Lisa had already forwarded over the records of Jameson’s DNA.

“I’ll do this, dude, and let you know what I find. Cool like ice with that?” Fuller asked Tyler. “Two hours, max.”

“Okay. We’re going to wait in the cafeteria and grab a coffee then,” Tyler said.

“Cool,” Fuller said, and then went to work.

One hour and fifty-two minutes later, Katherine learned she had a half-brother named Jameson Thurman. Which meant that Karrie was her niece.

On the drive back to Blowing Rock, Katherine didn’t say much. She was remembering what she had never wanted to remember.

Katherine crouched down behind the leather chair when she heard the door to her father’s office open. She should’ve listened to Miss Audrey. She told her and Tracie that no matter what, life or death, they could not go inside Mr. Winston’s office. Katherine didn’t care. She hated her dad, and all she wanted was one of those ink pens that he used when he signed papers. It was all swirly and curly, and she wanted a pen for herself. Maybe she’d write on the walls. She would really be in trouble then. Hoping he’d hurry up and leave, she squeezed her legs tight, because she needed to use the bathroom. There was a knock on the door, and then it opened. Katherine peeked around the side of the leather chair. It was the woman with the red hair.

Her father walked across the room and yanked the woman’s arm. “Didn’t I tell you not to come to the house? Damn you, if my wife finds out you’ve been here, there will be hell to pay. And if I have hell to pay, Helen, trust me, you will as well. Until you give birth to that bastard you allowed yourself to get knocked up with, stay home. Don’t go to the office; don’t come back here. Until you pop that little prick out, we’re done. Maybe you’ll remember to take your birth-control pills next time. Now get the hell out of my sight!”

Tears streamed down Katherine’s face. The memory of that day had finally surfaced, and she knew why. A dozen scenarios played in her head. Why would her father deny his own son?

“You okay?” Tyler asked.

“No. I’m not sure I’ll ever be okay. I knew my father was cruel and controlling, but this? I’ve had family all this time, and I didn’t know.”

“What about Jameson? How do you want to handle that situation?”

“He needs to be punished for breaking the law. If I had to guess, I’d say he’s been holding a grudge against me his entire life. I would’ve felt the same if I was in his place. A billionaire for a father who cared nothing for him. It’s sick. I think I should reach out to him before I call in the authorities.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I need to do this. If I can right just one wrong that my father created, then I’ll try my best.”

“I’ll be right there beside you, all the way. If you want me to be.”

“I’ll always want you beside me, Dude .”