Page 12 of All for her Forgiveness

"What's wrong?"

"I didn't mention it before because I didn't want to make you anxious, but I can't keep what I'm thinking to myself any longer; King looks just like Hades Kostanidis, Kennedy."

I swallow hard. I can't deny it. It was the first thing I thought when I arrived.

I have blue eyes, and the only man who was supposedly in my life, Ryan Corey III, has green eyes.

King has all the Greek features.

"How is that possible?" I say, feeling a chill of fear and all the happiness that flooded me upon arriving disappear. "If it's true and he finds out, he'll take him away from me. How could I have gotten involved with someone who hates me?"

"We don't have answers for that yet, Kennedy, and he won't take your son from you because we'll prove you are innocent. I don't believe there's a judge in the world, if what you're thinking is true, who would separate a mother from her child."

Two weeks later

"You shouldn't be doing this, dear," Ernest says when he arrives and sees me in the garden. "Enjoy every second with your little King."

"King is taking his afternoon nap. I brought the baby monitor with me," I say, pointing to the ground where the gardening tools also lie. "Besides, these flowers need care, and I can't leave them to you. I remember you're not good with plants."

He smiles because he knows what I'm saying is true. "Alright, but that's enough for now. Let's go inside; I'll prepare dinner, and then I'll spend the rest of the day spoiling my grandson."

My grandson.

I know I am not a blood relation of Ernest Wich’s, because I asked him directly when he took me to the cabin, before my coma, but he acts as if he were a father and grandfather.

He almost never talks about the past or our relationship when I lived in New Orleans with Aunt Riny, only saying that he was our neighbor.

Sometimes he lets slip a thing or two, like when he told me I worked at a casino in town as a cleaner and had a short-lived job, only one day, as a waitress, but none of it brought back any memories. He told me he was a dealer there too, but now, as far as I know, he doesn't have a job, which confuses me.

We live in a great house, well-organized, with plenty of food in the fridge and pantry. When I asked if the money we're using comes from the same person funding the lawyers, he confirmed but didn't elaborate further.

Ernest has bought me clothes, shoes, and underwear since I left prison, but what made me happiest was seeing that he added drawing pads and pencils to my gifts.

When we were in the cabin, he told me I'm an artist. At first, I thought he was joking, but the moment I picked up paper and pencil and began to sketch, it was as if the lines came to life on their own.

I was very proud when I found out I had a profession, although after my incessant questioning, he revealed that I didn't make money from it while living in New Orleans. Regarding the short time I spent in New York, he couldn't say.

"I have good news," he says, and my heart races as I silently pray it's what I'm thinking.

"Did they find Ryan?" I ask, unable to hide my anxiety.

"Not yet, but it seems he was seen in France. He won't be able to run forever, Kennedy."

"I hope not. I pray every night to regain my memory, but besides that, we need to find that murderer too. Until they catch him, people only have me to blame. Although they know I'm not the killer, they hate me because they think I'm an accomplice. Maybe the day I face Ryan, all my memories will come back."

Hades

"I don't want to sound repetitive, but you're obsessed, brother," Ares says, appearing in the basement of my house, where I've been punching a bag for hours.

It's where I vent my anger.

No, it's not just anger.

The wrath is explosive and fleeting.

It's resentment and a thirst for revenge.

For three years, I've been getting clues about Ryan's whereabouts, but every time I get close to him, the son of a bitch escapes again. His family has as much money as ours, so it's no surprise he's managing to stay hidden. If my cousin Odin, who is a tech genius and can access cameras from anywhere in the world, hasn't found him yet, no one else will.

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