Page 6 of Claimed by Him

“He didn’t know,” I whispered.

Edwards continued as if I hadn’t even spoken. “Once we started looking, however, we found that you lied about several different things, including your name, your parentage, and the fact that a close family member had been convicted of a felony.”

I’d known it was coming. If they’d found one lie, they’d found them all. They were all connected. Pick at a single thread long enough, and everything would unravel.

“I assume all of what we found is true, and not more fabrication.”

I picked up the folder and glanced inside. I didn’t need to read the details to know what it said. “It is.”

“Did you really think that you could get away with it?” He seemed more curious now than angry.

I didn’t want to look at him when I answered, but I forced myself to do exactly that. I’d known the risks and the consequences, and I’d made the decision anyway. “I didn’t know, but I thought it was worth trying.”

He tossed the folder back onto the desk. “Why didn’t you fill it out truthfully?”

“I thought about it,” I said, “but I knew if I did, it would all be there in my permanent file, where anyone could find it if they wanted to look hard enough.”

“Your past wasn’t erased, Miss Quick. It can still be found.”

“You know all of it then.” When he nodded, I continued, “I didn’t want anyone thinking I had a weakness that could be exploited, that I wasn’t strong enough to handle what someone might throw at me because of it. I didn’t want instructors using it as a reason why I wouldn’t make it. And I didn’t want it to be all anyone saw when they looked at me.”

Maybe the lengthy explanation wasn’t really necessary, but I wanted it out there. I hadn’t done it on a whim, or without understanding how serious it was. Other people might not get it – hell, I was pretty sure no one would get it – but I stood by my decision, even now.

Oh well. Nothing I could do about it now. Might as well get along with it.

“What happens now?” I asked.

“I need to know who knew about this,” he said.

“No one.”

He gave me a skeptical look.

“By the time I met Dr. Kurth, I’d already had my name legally changed,” I said. “As for the rest of it, we didn’t talk about it. Ever.”

“And you believe that your uncle never told Agent Kurth anything?”

“He wouldn’t have,” I said. “Believe me, it was the last thing either of us ever wanted to talk about.”

“What about when he talked to you about joining the agency?”

“I didn’t say anything,” I repeated. “He still doesn’t know.”

Edwards gave me a hard, searching look, and I suddenly understood what it must have been like to sit across from him in an interrogation room. As strong and stubborn as I usually considered myself, I couldn’t imagine lasting very long against him.

“This isn’t something that can be excused,” he said, “no matter your reasoning. You have fifteen minutes to clean out your room and any other possessions you may have on the premises. Your clearance is revoked, and you’ll be escorted from the grounds.”

It could have been worse, I supposed. I could’ve ended up with a fine or jail time. Instead, I was only being kicked out of the FBI academy, bringing all of the plans I’d had for the future to a screeching halt. No Intelligence Analysis. No FBI. No solving cases or protecting people. From the first moment Clay had suggested the FBI to me, I’d been determined to make that my life.

I nodded, not trusting myself to speak. I waited until he called for someone to follow me to the dorms, and then hurried away, desperate to leave before anyone realized how humiliated I was. I heard Clay calling my name, but I refused to even look at him. It was better this way. Once he realized that I’d been lying to him for years, he wouldn’t ever want to speak to me again, no matter our history.

Yet one more thing to add to the list of ways I’d fucked things up simply, so I wouldn’t have to remember the past.

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