Page 71 of Cabin Fever

I assumed Beatrice was many things. Not many of those things were flattering, but I never thought she was delusional.

"I don't know how much you believe a sheep farmer makes, but it's far from putting me in the rich category."

"Your father. His name's Lorne, right?"

My arms fell to my side. Fear that quickly turned to anger coursed through my veins.

"How did you find out his name?"

When my father was alive, he told anyone here that his name was Lee. The only people who knew his real name were back in DC, and those people thought he died decades ago. I remember reading the headline of the paper when I was ten that announced:Senator Lorne Fitzwilliam and Son Presumed Dead.

I asked my father why everyone thought we were dead. He simply replied, "It's better this way. We'll be safe now."

I thought the man who killed my mother and sister was after us, so I believed my father. I had no idea the killer was a pawn in a much bigger game.

"No one told me." Her eyes slid to the side, and I knew she wasn't telling me everything. "It's genetics, Carter. And your last name."

"What?"

I must have still had a look of shock on my face. Bea walked over and guided me to a chair to sit down. I did without thought and she took the chair across from me.

"You look so much like your father. Did you know the elementary school you went to was the same one Olivia and I attended?"

I shook my head, unable to make sense of why she was talking about a school we had in common a lifetime ago.

"The year you disappeared, the school renamed the cafeteria after you. They had a picture of you and your family with a plaque next to it. Olivia glanced at it once or twice, but I became fascinated by it. You and your family became a legend like the Bermuda Triangle. Something untouchable, mysterious, but there was still hope that you might be alive."

"They pronounced us dead a few years later."

"Yes, but I didn't believe them. I heard my father one night in his office speaking to a politician on the phone. He was schmoozing like he always did to try to get a bill in congress that would favor the food industry. I usually ignored what he was talking about to read the marketing books he had in his office. I hid well, so he never noticed me."

"How old were you?"

"Nine."

"You wanted to read marketing books as a kid?"

She nodded as if it was normal. That somehow, I was the weirdo that didn't want to read business books as a child.

"Of course. How else was I supposed to take over my father's business before I turned thirty?"

My goodness, that woman was ambitious.

"Okay." I slid my eyes to where Kitty was curled up in her bed and I heard the monster fart that escaped her sleeping form.

"Back on topic. My father mentioned your dad's name when he was talking on the phone. Said he was worried something might have happened to him because he had mentioned at a dinner party that one of the Love Foods' managers in Maryland had gone off the rails. I don't know what happened, but our company fired him. He was angry about many things and kept claiming the government was listening in on our conversations. That your father and the president were working on a bill that would put listening devices in all electronics. The guy sounded unstable."

I was thankful Bea had me sit down because I would have fallen over by now if she hadn't. My throat felt tight and it was hard to swallow.

"If you wish me to stop, I can. I understand if this is too much."

I expected to find the evil grin once again, but her eyes were soft, like she was earnestly concerned.

"My father never discussed anything with me. I found out after he died. He left a letter for me to be opened upon his death. It explained a lot."

She leaned forward. "What did it say?"

My eyes narrowed. If I wasn't going to tell Olivia about the letter or anything about my father, I certainly wouldn't explain it to Beatrice.

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