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Ares

CHAPTER FORTY-NINE

I should have woken her up. I know Serenity is resting in our room, but the news I just received from Odin makes a face-to-face conversation with JeAnne urgent.

She has refused to see me or anyone sent from me since the day she was arrested. However, I'm going to meet her now. I need to get answers from this unfortunate woman.

I'm going crazy. What the hell did they do with the real Serenity? And where is my girlfriend’s family? I need to solve the riddle before I tell her everything.

As the driver takes me to the women's prison where JeAnne is being held, I send a message to my brothers to let them know where I'm going. The lawyers are already coming to meet me there. Whatever JeAnne says, I'll need witnesses.

I don't doubt that my brothers will arrive soon, but I can't wait for them. I urgently need to unravel this sordid plot.

I left Serenity a note saying I had been home but left for an appointment.

I need to find a way to protect her from what I know is coming. We have to find out where the rightful heir is, and when the truth comes out, my girl’s world will turn upside down.

The car has barely parked at the prison when I receive almost simultaneous messages from Zeus, Hades, and Dionysus.

The three of them let me know they're coming, as I knew they would, but as much as I love my brothers, I sometimes wish they'd give me a little more room to maneuver.

I need to resolve this myself.

I get out of the car without bothering to answer them.

As soon as I enter the prison where JeAnne is incarcerated, awaiting trial, one of my lawyers calls me confirming that not only has he gotten the warden to authorize my visit, but JeAnne has agreed to see me.

I'm not anxious, but it's not my life that's at stake, it's Serenity's happiness and, above all, her mental health, so I feel like my heart is pounding inside my chest.

It takes about thirty minutes for them to instruct me on what I can and cannot do when I'm with the prisoner, and in the meantime, two of my lawyers arrive.

The three of us enter, but unlike when I last met her, at the police station, JeAnne is not handcuffed, although a guard is standing behind the chair in which she is sitting.

I am stunned when I see her. She's thinner, and her eyes are sunken. Even knowing everything she did, especially the reason she was arrested, it's hard to accept that the woman in front of me, who took care of Serenity her entire life, conspired with God knows who and possibly took her from her family, stealing part of her life.

"I know she's not who you claim," I say, because it never crossed my mind for a second that my girlfriend is involved in this conspiracy.

To my surprise, she nods in agreement. "How did you find out?"

"The baby's feet in the photographs. The Blanchet child could never have been a ballerina."

She covers her face with both hands and cries.

I don't know how long she stays with her head lying on the tabletop, crying.

"Who is she, and where is the real Serenity, JeAnne?"

"Dead."

"Fuck!" Of course I suspected that, but I had a glimmer of hope that it wasn't true. "You need to tell me everything, JeAnne. I know you love Serenity." I say this carefully, because deep down, in her twisted way, maybe she really does. After all, she claimed to have put the razors inside Serenity's shoe so that I could protect her by taking her away from the stage.

"That's why I decided to help, because I love her. But after I tell you everything, my life will be at risk. They are very powerful. What I mean to say is he is, but so is his protégé. They are true evil."

"Who are they, JeAnne, and most importantly, why did they plot something like this?"

"Mr. Edgar Hazen was a partner of Serenity's father," she begins, telling me what I already know and confirming that Odin's suspicions were correct: the damn ex-partner is the cause of all of this. "I don't know the details, but I remember that soon after the girl, the real Serenity, was born, Mr. Hazen and Mr. Blanchet broke off their friendship. I only discovered the truth recently. Roger Blanchet’s wife, Leticia, had an affair with his partner. Everyone believed that the partnership ended because Mr. Hazen was stealing from Serenity's father, and that may be partially true, I think, but I believe that what counted most was the betrayal. Mr. Hazen envied Mr. Blanchet and tried to steal everything from him: his company and his wife. Roger Blanchet realized what was happening and went his own way, separating from his former partner. Suddenly, he had everything: a wife and daughter, and he made a fortune very quickly."

I nod, starting to piece the puzzle together.

"I don't know if he was to blame for the death of my former bosses—maybe it was just an opportunity for him to get revenge. We never got to talk about it, but as soon as the Blanchets died, Mr. Hazen came up with a proposal: he would give me a million dollars if I helped him with his plan."

"And what plan are we talking about?"

"Trading the real Serenity for my niece."

"What?"

"I don't know how, but he found out I had a niece. In fact, Serenity, your girlfriend, is the daughter of a second cousin of mine, someone very poor who didn't even know who the baby's father was. This cousin of mine, Mila Lawrence, died giving birth, leaving the child in my care. Nobody knew she existed. My niece was never registered."

"Why not?"

"I could have done it, but I became attached to the child, and I was afraid that if I took her to a registry office, the social workers would be called and they would take her away from me. She is actually two months older than the Blanchet girl."

"Continue."

"It all contributed to his plan. Mr. Van Lith had never seen Mr. Roger's daughter in person. He only met her two months after the Blanchets' death. They were similar physically. They could even have passed for sisters. He offered me the money to make the exchange, and I accepted. During this time, when her guardian didn't know her personally yet, I truly brainwashed my niece. Every day, I showed her photographs of her ‘parents,’ forcing memories of events that never happened, until it got to the point that she, in her childlike innocence, began to repeat them as if she had actually lived them."

"Why? Edgar Hazen is rich and powerful. Why go to the trouble of coming up with such a risky plan?"

"Because he told me he would never forgive Roger, both for stealing the woman he loved and for breaking their partnership. I don't think it was just about the money. He would need to wait a long time to get his hands on it. I think it was because even after my employers died, he wanted to show who was boss."

"How could you? Your employers’ daughter was in your care, JeAnne. You had a duty to protect her!"

"You have to believe me when I say I didn't know he would hurt the child."

"I don't believe it, JeAnne. You knew he hated your boss, envied him. You were a grown woman at the time. You should have known he would hurt the girl."

"He didn't say he hurt her. He said her death was an accident. I don't even know how it happened."

I look at my lawyers, who are hanging on every word. I didn't go to law school—I'm an engineer by training—but even a layman would be able to understand that she has just declared herself an accomplice to murder.

"I would like to see Serenity,” says JeAnne. “Tell her everything."

"I doubt that once she knows the truth, she will want to see you." I stand up, thinking how difficult it will be to start telling my wife this sordid story.

"Can you at least tell her that I love her?"

"That's not love, JeAnne. You may have become fond of her, but you stole her identity. You never loved her."

"She grew up in comfort that she would never have had if I hadn't accepted the deal."

"At the expense of another child's life. Can't you fucking see that?" I start walking to the door, completely disgusted.

"Ares, he has an accomplice."

I stop and stare at her. "What?"

"I haven't told the whole story yet. How do you think he intended to get his hands on her fortune? He has a grand-nephew who, at the right time, was supposed to seduce her, but you arrived on the scene and ruined all their plans. The boy is out of control. He no longer accepts orders. He is obsessed with Serenity."

"Give me his name, JeAnne."

She takes a few seconds to speak, but when she finally reveals the accomplice’s name, I know I need to act quickly. He is much closer than any of us imagined.