Page 137 of Lee

“What’s happened?” she asked, even though she wasn’t sure he’d answer her.

“A lot.” Lee wrapped his hands around his glass, the envelope trapped beneath his forearms. “Do you remember me talking about taking the DNA test to try to find information about my birth family?”

“Yes. Did you hear something?”

“I gave the private investigator all the information I gleaned from the site and kind of forgot about it.” He lifted his glass and took a drink. “But last Friday, the guy got back to me and asked if we could have a meeting. So, on Saturday, I met up with him.”

When Lee fell silent, Rori said, “What did he tell you?”

Lee took another drink before setting his glass back down and gazing at it. “What’s the worst news you think a person in my position could get?”

Rori thought about it, uncertain how she should reply to that. “Maybe that your dad was a serial killer or something?”

He nodded. “Or something.”

“Your dad killed someone?”

“Yes. He and my birth mother both did.”

“Who did they kill?”

Lee’s throat worked as he swallowed. “My older brother. Me.”

“You?” Rori asked. “I don’t understand.”

“As far as the world is concerned, I died from the injuries they inflicted on me. Just like my brother did.”

Rori felt sick to her stomach. She had no idea how to react. What to say. Nothing seemed right.

“The authorities faked my death, and then the Halversons adopted me.”

“So they know about what happened?”

Lee shrugged. “I’m not sure.”

“I’m so sorry this was what you found out, Lee,” Rori said, wishing she could have been there to support him when he first got the news. But she hadn’t even suspected it would be something like that.

“It’s been making me sick, realizing what the people who’d birthed me had done.” He slowly turned the glass between his hands. “It changed everything about how I viewed myself.”

“But why?” Rori asked.

He glanced up at her, his brown gaze stormy. “That’s the blood I carry. It’s the DNA that determined my blueprint. It’s part of who I am.”

Rori didn’t want to believe that, because she had a horrible, horrible feeling about why Lee was there, looking the way he did.

“I talked to Gareth today, and told him about everything,” Lee said, continuing on even though she hadn’t responded to his statement. “He said I needed to come and have this conversation with you, so you clearly understand why we have to break up.”

Her heart cracked open at his words, even though she’d suspected that was why he was there. “Nothing you’ve said so far has helped me to clearly understand why that’s necessary.”

Lee nodded, like he expected that response from her. “In this is everything the detective gave me.” He tapped the envelope, pausing for a moment. “There’s also a piece of paper with a username and password on it.”

“For what?”

“The story of my… family has recently been made into a docu-series on one of the streaming platforms. I wasn’t sure if you had an account for it. I didn’t. I made this account just for this, so you can use it… if you have to.”

“If I have to?”

“Honestly? I don’t want you to watch it.” Lee lifted his head to meet her gaze straight on. “Let me make that clear. I’m hoping that just reading through the information will be enough. But if you’re still not convinced that we need to end our relationship, then you need to watch the program.”

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