This woman wasn’t real. She was a caricature in my mind.
“Van…” I could barely form the word. Everything was losing focus. “You’re…?”
“You know who I am,” she said again. “I’m Madison.”
Van
From the end of GOLD LUST onward
Amemory came back, one I’d tucked away, an action I’d intended for good. Or maybe it was manipulation. The deed was my way of planting a seed of doubt, offering an escape and a refuge. I’d wanted Madison to have an alternative, an option to leave Phillip and come back to me. What I did occurred so long ago that I’d blocked the memory.
I’d moved on.
My heart raced with the memory.
Despite my efforts to keep Julia safe, I’d promised Madison a haven, a place to go if she and Brooklyn needed to escape. I’d given her access.
If Madison was on my property, there was only one option.
I put the truck in gear and turned the wheel. “I have to go, Lena. I need to call my security.”
“Van, where do you think she is?”
The racing of my circulation buzzed in my ears as I came to grips with the answer to Lena’s question. “Fuck, she’s in the house with Julia.”
“I don’t believe my sister is dangerous.”
“I don’t know what to believe.”
“Shit,” she said. “Hurry.”
I hit the disconnect button and called Julia’s cell phone. It went immediately to voicemail. My tires screeched as I accelerated on the main road. Trees whizzed by in a blur as other cars appeared to be standing still.
Hitting the screen on the dashboard, I called Albert’s number.
My breath caught as he answered. “Albert, is Ms. McGrath okay?”
“She’s upstairs. Margaret said they needed a few more minutes.”
“Go up there. I’m on my way.”
“Your brother?” Albert asked.
“No, his wife. His ex-wife. Fuck, it’s a woman.”
“A woman…the DNA…”
He didn’t need to finish. The ache in my chest told me I was right.
“Albert, open the front gate. I’m not slowing down.”
“Yes, sir.”
The call disconnected as memories flashed in my mind’s eye and my heart raced.
The dream I’d wanted for so long had come true—Madison had come back.
That fruition was no longer a dream.