Page 94 of Obsession (Temptation 4)

She smiled, nodding. “Thank you.”

A moment of silence passed as we all processed Lucy’s story. While I now had a clearer picture of Nick, I couldn’t help but be curious about Ethan. Based on what I knew of Dax and Imogene, simply because they shared DNA with Nick didn’t automatically make them serial killers.

So what went wrong with Ethan?

“How about Ethan? What do we know of his upbringing? How did he find out about Nick, and vice versa?”

“Just days after he was born, he was adopted by a middle-class couple through a Christian agency,” Agent Curran piped up. “Lauren and Michael Shore. According to what we were able to dig up on him through his school records, he was a bit…troubled. He would act out. Like his biological father, he was extremely intelligent to the point the schools didn’t know what to do with him.

“But while he was exceedingly smart, he had trouble socializing. He would often sit and watch people interact, taking copious notes so he could practice, sometimes jotting down entire conversations and reciting them from memory. When Ethan was about seven, the difficulty of raising a brilliant child tore the couple apart and they divorced. But Lauren never gave up on him. She always wanted the best for him. Unfortunately, she died of cancer when Ethan was fourteen, after which he was sent to live with an aunt who was pretty much only interested in taking him in because of a trust fund put in place by an anonymous donor.”

I arched a brow at Lucy. “I’m guessing that anonymous donor was you?”

She nodded. “I may not have had a choice in giving him up, but I could make sure he was provided for. So, after Dax was born and with Alton’s encouragement, I hired a private investigator to track him down, not thinking anything would come of it. To my surprise, he found Ethan. I sent a letter to Lauren, telling her I didn’t want anything. That I wasn’t trying to come between her and her son. Because he was her son. Then I informed her I’d set up a trust fund with annual payments to help with his expenses until he reached twenty-five, at which point he’d receive a final distribution of $20 million.”

“That explains how he was able to afford such a nice apartment,” I muttered.

“As well as blackmailing Walker,” Agent Curran stated, adding another missing piece to the puzzle.

“Did you find him?” Nikko asked.

Curran nodded. “In the garage of a body shop a mile from his house, car motor running. He was dead on arrival.”

“Suicide or…”

“Made to look like one. But it wasn’t.”

“Did Ethan ever learn the truth about you and Nick?” I asked, turning my attention back to Lucy.

“Eventually.” She ran her hands along her skirt. “From what Agent Curran was able to figure out, he struggled to adjust after his mother died. He was bullied. Called a freak. And that was by his aunt. The kids at school were even worse. There’s also evidence to indicate physical and sexual abuse.” She swallowed hard.

“If my memory serves, Ethan was probably around eighteen or so at the time, since Daxton was about fourteen. It was Memorial Day…Fourth of July… One of those summer holidays, so my parents were over, enjoying the weather. While we lounged by the pool, Ethan showed up. He barely had a chance to utter a single syllable before my mother sent him away, threatening to pursue legal action if he didn’t leave immediately, even though it wasn’t her house. It didn’t matter. One look at the young man and everyone knew the truth. He looked so much like Dax. And Domenic… Nick.”

“Your parents didn’t know the truth about Dax?”

She shook her head.

“And Alton?”

“He knew. It was actually his idea to elope. He was one of the few people who knew the truth about everything.”

“And it didn’t bother him?”

“Like I said, our marriage has never been one of love. More of mutual respect and appreciation. And it was because of that mutual respect and appreciation that he happily raised Dax as his own. His DNA may not run through Dax, but he raised him. His influence is seen in the way Dax has grown into a compassionate and charitable individual.”

She met my gaze, offering me a smile. “That’s what makes someone a parent. Not blood, DNA, eye or hair color. It’s the way you try to mold them into being a decent human being.”

Julia squeezed my hand. I looked at her before stealing a glance at Imogene, hoping I was a positive influence on her. Having her in my life certainly made me question things a bit more. Made me temper my anger on the mound when mere months ago, I would have mouthed off after a shitty call. Now, every decision I made was done with Imogene in mind. With not wanting her to see me in a bad light.

“But if your mother sent Ethan away, how did he learn about Nick?” Julia asked. “And you?”

“I told him.” She shrugged. “After he was all but thrown off my property, my heart ached for the poor boy. Not to mention, Dax certainly had questions about why someone who looked eerily like him would show up, asking about his birth mother. So I tracked him down and told him everything. And he admitted he’d discovered the letters I’d exchanged with his mother, which was how he found me. He thanked me for being honest, then asked if he could occasionally call me so he wouldn’t feel so alone. I agreed. We didn’t get together often, but when we did…”

She sucked in a shuttering breath. “I never imagined he could’ve been doing something like this. He seemed so…sweet.” Her expression fell. “Then again, so did Nick.”

“Do you know when or how he first made contact with Nick?” Julia asked.

“We’re trying to figure that out as we speak,” Agent Curran offered. “Looking through all the volunteer records from the prison outreach ministry, we determined Ethan visited Nick using a false identity Walker helped him obtain two months prior to Autumn Quinn’s death. We believe he first targeted Autumn because of her connection to Dax.” He stole a glance at Lucy. “That, in his mind, Dax was living the life that was ripped from him, so he wanted to take something from him, too. But he realized he liked the power he felt when he held someone’s life in his hands. Something he had in common with Nick. So he continued to visit Nick every Wednesday.”

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