Leah's Story Finding Jake Page 13
“Getting cash from a City fan always a pleasure. Virginia, I was planning on getting your number but my phone is knackered. Would you let me have it anyway and when I have a replacement I could call you?” She blushed furiously which made me smile, she really was lovely. She scribbled it down and I tucked it into my pocket and walked away with a spring in my step. That there was another reason I had to stay.
My locker was pretty clean but I took what was left, putting it all in my duffle bag. I looked at the envelope from Leah, and decided I needed to read it now, while I was not being watched by the huge Russian thug following me. I sat on the bench wondering why Leah had to lie about the contents. Suddenly very curious I tore it open.
Dearest Dimitri
This is all going to sound like a complete fabrication and I would understand if you decided to destroy this and never speak of it again.
I am sure you know about my mother; she was a prostitute and was murdered in a car park in Burnage. What nobody knows is that when I was in the car waiting for my mum, I was in there with my baby brother. A man took him away and left me alone, I think that man was Boris. I also think that the person who killed my mother was Victor. Our flat was burned and anyone who knew of my brother’s existence is dead. Nobody believed a baby was ever there so for eighteen years I kept quiet. Recently a friend of mine looked into it for me but was warned off and involved in a hit and run. Dimitri I think you are my brother.
I don’t know how to convince you but I suggest you ask your mum about your arrival, she told me Victor found a surrogate mum to have you for them. Ask her and maybe we could have DNA tests.
I don’t want to put your mum at risk so be discreet be careful but find the truth.
Leah I read the letter three times but still couldn’t make sense of any of it. My head hurt, I needed to see my mum, as she had the answers. I also needed to lose Boris for a while. I floored the car and did a hand brake turn to exit the back way. Boris had been standing by his Range Rover and didn’t notice me get in so I had a decent head start. I broke numerous traffic laws getting home. Barging through the front door I found Alexandra removing photos from frames crying quietly.
“Mum we need to talk” She hadn’t seen me come in so jumped a little in surprise
“Oh Dimitri it’s awful I am so scared, who would want to hurt us?” I led her to the study and shut us in for some privacy.
“It isn’t a security risk; dad wants us to be away from Leah.” She gulped horrified
“Oh no he knows doesn’t he, he knows I told her, Oh God he will hurt her we must protect her poor Leah” I didn’t understand why she was so scared, but I think it was the answer I was looking for.
“What did you tell her mother?” She blinked away her tears, her anguish evident
“I told her I wasn’t your biological mother, that Victor had used a surrogate. I am so sorry Dimitri, he forbade me to tell you, and I always wanted to be open about it. But your father wouldn’t hear of it. He wanted the perfect family, I wasn’t perfect. He didn’t want the world to know he had married a woman who couldn’t bear him any children.” She wept silently, I paused then decided to fill her in on a few things;
“There are a few things you need to know about Victor and me” She looked up at me curious
“Victor was sleeping with a prostitute in Burnage, Leah’s mother” Alexandra shuddered “She had a baby boy. Me I think but we need to confirm it. The night I was taken Leah’s mum was murdered, Leah was left alone with the body. Do you know they found her lying with her mum trying to keep her warm?” Alexandra was crying again
“He had all traces of me removed, their flat was destroyed and the people who had seen me died. He cleaned up and left a child an orphan” we sat in silence trying to comprehend the consequences of this.
“Oh Dimitri, how could he do that? How could he sleep with a prostitute while I was suffering miscarriages? How could he murder the mother of his child? We shouldn’t know all of this, he will silence us somehow, and you know he will never let this come out” I nodded totally agreeing, a plan forming in my head
“Mum do you have somewhere you can go he won’t find you, just for a while until we can sort all this out” she thought hard;
“My father is sick, in Russia I have begged Victor to let me go to him. He won’t last much longer but he forbade me, they would protect me” I was relieved this was perfect
“Go tonight I will book your flight and take you to the airport myself, we will tell dad you are catching an early flight to LA as you are scared. By the time he finds out where you are it will be too late.” She was happy with that plan
“But what about you, what are you going to do, Victor will do everything he can to ensure you don’t go near Leah again” I knew exactly who I could trust
“I am going to ask Ray for his help, he knows my father better than anyone, I will hire him so he has the confidentiality rule to abide by. Victor can’t make him talk then. Ray is staying with Adam and will be able to meet me somewhere. I can get ask him to get some hair from her hairbrush and we can test it. I will have the evidence then to go public before Victor knows what has hit him” I was pleased with my idea Ray would be sure to keep it from Adam, he knew better than to put them at risk until we had the tests back.
Alexandra was on her way to pack her things; she paused to speak to me.
“Dimitri will you give Leah a message for me, tell her I am sorry. Tell her that I would have had her too; I would love to have raised her as a daughter. Tell her that her mother would be very proud of her, as am I. When this is all over I want you to bring her and Adam over to LA for a holiday, if she can forgive me” I promised her I would pass it on. Leah had really got to my mum; I wondered if our genetic bond made her drawn to Leah as she was me. That was my next job, to prove it.
Boris stormed in as Alexandra was climbing the stairs
“What’s up big boy? Need a faster car mate” I told him we were packing then I would be taking mum to the airport in an hour or so. I raced to my room and rang the travel agents, instructed them to get her on the first flight to Moscow. Then I contacted her Fathers hospital to alert them and they promised to send a car to collect her, they were thrilled she was going. Her father was asking for her. Next call was my most important one.
“Ray its Dimitri are you alone in the morning I need to see you, in private and I need you to keep it to yourself. Leah and Adam must not know we are meeting. It has to be somewhere discreet. I also need you to bring a lock of Leah’s hair and arrange for some urgent DNA tests to be done, I will pay whatever it costs.” Ray guessed immediately what was happening and he was happy to help, he had offered to pay for an investigator to help find her brother anyway. I was pleased he knew the whole story; he was definitely on my side and would do everything he could.
I knew the next few days would be tense, I desperately wanted to tell Leah I believed her, but this had to be handled the Victor way, we had to be one step ahead of him and that was my plan.
Chapter 24
I sat at the table with a coffee trying to look natural for when the men arrived home. Dimitri would have my letter by now; I closed my eyes hoping he hadn’t destroyed it. Who knows what would be going through his mind right now, I plastered on my best smile as I heard a key in the lock. Adam walked through the door and I rushed straight to him for a cuddle
“Hey baby have you missed me? I have had the day from hell, getting all Victors papers in order. I can’t understand what the rush is, but anyway how are you coping with the story being shelved?” I wanted more than anything to tell him my suspicions but I couldn’t put him at risk.
“I can’t lie I am gutted, Gordon has read what I have so far and has told me to keep hold. Once they have left the country maybe I will be able to publish it then. Anyway tomorrow I have a domestic violence case to work on so back to earth with a bump. I did miss you today I need an early night and you wrapped around and firmly planted inside me for as long as
possible” I felt him twitch against my tummy, Smiling I looked up at him he was wonderful and I loved him. Yes I may have found my brother, and that was fantastic but if he never wants to know me I will still be the happiest girl in the world. Because I will still have Adam and he loves me that would be enough for me.
We kissed and his arms slid around me pulling me closer, the only thing I needed after today was him. He put his hands under my buttocks and lifted me so I had my legs wrapped around him. Then he carried me to our bedroom, placed me back on the bed and proceeded to remove all my clothes and then his own. Then he took me slowly tenderly and lovingly, every stroke had emotion every touch was a kiss. We moulded our bodies together, as close as was possible and when we came I cried out his name tears streaming down my face in pleasure.
Wiping my tears he stroked my face “What is it Leah?” I smiled up at him holding his face in my hands
“I am just so happy Adam that is all. Hold me now, until your dad comes back “We lay like that for a while until we hear the door. Sighing Adam got to his feet and threw his clothes back on, I follow after him. Ray has brought home a Chinese takeaway, I am as glad as I am starving; the last thing I felt like was cooking. We chat about our respective days; Ray obviously knew about Victor but had nothing to add
“Leah I have known him for years this is totally in keeping with his character, nothing he does surprises me these days” he was right and we changed the subject moving instead to Lucy. She had called earlier to say they were now fed up and coming home Thursday instead of Saturday, Ray had been itching to return to London so this was good news.
By all accounts the two of them have had a wonderful time, but now the heat was getting too much and Lucy was missing home. Rob was keen to get back to work too. I was excited to have her back, but part of me wondered if my letter would create a whole new world of trouble for all of us. I shuddered as I began to doubt myself, Victor was a dangerous man, capable of anything and I was in his sights. I don’t think he will have for one moment thought I had made the connection, as long as he thought that I was safe. For the moment he was the scared one, and as long as Alexandra didn’t confess her slip of the tongue we would be covered.
The Chinese was delicious, I noticed Ray was very thoughtful tonight; he kept looking at me strangely. I wondered what was going through his mind. He caught me staring “Sorry Leah, I was thinking about your bench that’s all, hoping we haven’t been too hasty putting it there. I didn’t mean to stare but I worry about you, like a father would his daughter. Forgive me for being over protective” I laughed at him he was such a softy
“It was the right choice, honestly stop worrying; I am fine, but thank you for caring.” We finished our food then decided on a game of monopoly. I loved the fact Adam was in to all these family games, I loved Christmas at their house we always played Cluedo or Monopoly.
I happened to know they were both very competitive too so I prepared myself for the long haul. I put my pyjamas on and robe, as I would be falling directly into bed after passing go of course. An hour in and Ray had all the reds, Adam had Mayfair, Park lane and the stations. Me I bought the pink ones because I liked the colour, I also had the services too. It didn’t take long for me to land on a couple of their hotels and have to hand all my properties over as assets though.
I accepted that I was rubbish and declared myself bankrupt, then sat back to watch the men battle it out. I felt my eyes closing after another hour, and then I decided enough was enough and left them to it. Climbing into bed I gave a thought to Dimitri, I wondered what he was doing and how he was. Alexandra would be honest with him I knew that, she had always wanted to tell Dimitri the truth about herself but Victor wouldn’t let her. Now was her chance to come clean, risk losing everything but maybe she could finally break free?
The next two days went by uneventfully; I was working on a domestic violence case, a messy affair with no positive spin that I could find. By Wednesday night I had given up all hope of Dimitri contacting me so concentrated instead on Lucy’s return from Spain. I had planned a slap up meal and a few bottles of wine. I spoke to her this morning and she was so excited.
I was packing away my desk when my phone vibrated. My heart lurched when I saw the caller ID it was Dimitri.
Meet me in one hour empty storehouse back of our house. Don’t tell anyone come alone.
This was it, he either wanted to proceed with tests or he wanted me to keep quiet. Either way I was just happy to see him again. I called Adam explained I would be working late, doing a house call on my domestic case. Told him it may drag on as she was a wreck. This would cover me until quite late, so I set off nerves rattling. After eighteen years I was finally going to be putting it to rest one way or another.
The gates were open when I got to the house, no lights on but then I knew victor was in London and Alexandra had left the country. I drove my car round the back out of sight and peered into the distance of the gardens. My phone vibrated again. Dimitri was in the store waiting for me.
I stumbled down the garden path wondering why he hadn’t met me, I was suddenly grabbed from behind a large hand covered my mouth with a cloth. I struggled for breath then realised I was inhaling something bad; before I could react I sank into the blackness that engulfed me.
Chapter 25
Awareness was returning, it was dark so a few hours must have passed. My head was spinning and I desperately wanted to vomit, I tried moving my hands then realised I was bound tightly to a chair, both by my ankles and wrists. I groaned, surely Dimitri wasn’t a sicko like his father. I caught movement to my right, a dark huge figure that could only be Boris. It must be Victor that bought me here then, he had tricked me damn that man. Victor must have found out I was onto him, I knew that I was in big trouble. Damage limitation was the best I could hope for; convince him that I was the only person who knew the truth about his son.
Time passed and Boris hadn’t said a word, I heard a helicopters propeller getting louder. It sounded like it landed right outside, Always wanting to make an entrance that man. I waited then heard footsteps coming closer.
“Leah I am sorry about all this, did you guess it was going to be me that arrived or were you hoping for someone else?” I refused to get embroiled in his mind games so kept quiet. Victor dragged a chair over and sat close to me, I noticed he had a gun tucked in his trousers. At least it may be a quick death.
“I can’t believe I didn’t recognise you Leah, now I know your identity I can see how much like your mother you are” I found my voice
“Don’t you dare speak about her you piece of shit, you cut her throat” He sighed
“I never get my hands dirty Leah, and I wouldn’t have laid a hand on her if she hadn’t threatened me. Believe it or not I loved her in my own way; she drew me in, much like you did with all of us. You have the same aura that draws people to you; look how quickly you were loved by my family. Selina was like that.” I wanted to punch him but was also desperate to find out what had happened back then
“I met your mother in 1988, I do love Alexandra but physically we are different, she is a thing of purity and I have a touch of wild about me. I frequented many establishments like your flats over the years, that was until Suzie introduced me to Selina. She was wild vivacious, beautiful and very sexy. I saw her on a number of occasions; I couldn’t seem to stay away.” I didn’t want to think about him with his hands on my mother, but I do remember the rich man she loved, he had made her happy for a while. It was so sad my mother fell in love with this man. She would still be alive had she kept the baby a secret, her naivety killed her.
“My wife and I both wanted a baby, so to be fair to her I stopped visiting your mum for a couple of years. I devoted my time to my wife, IVF and taking care of her after her miscarriages. The pain became too much so I needed my outlet again. Your mum was just as I remembered and we carried on where we left off. Then she told me she was pregnant, I freaked out knowing she could use it against me, I had no idea
if the child was mine but I stayed away.”
“I missed her terribly, but then she started calling me, screaming down the phone. I planned then to take the child from her so concocted a story about a surrogate to satisfy Alexandra. I had no clue how to do it but one day she threatened to go to the paper so I arranged to meet her, promised her money and protection. Boris and I went to the car park, she was alone but the baby was in the car, while she was attending to my needs” I shuddered knowing exactly what that meant
“Boris fetched the baby, and then passed him to me. He finished off your mum and we drove away, I swear to you Leah, I never knew about you. Boris told me you were in the car, I didn’t know she had a kid; I would never have left you there had I known. When I read the papers and heard about you lying on her body it almost broke me. But you also caused us a major problem” I found my voice
“I knew about Jake” he nodded
“Yes a witness that we could easily discredit, providing all other evidence was removed. I thought we were home and dry. It had been so many years, and then a nosey policeman started asking questions. I am guessing now he was something to do with you?” I nodded “When did you work out who Dimitri was ?”
“I didn’t for sure, I recognised Boris he leant across and it was the way he smiled I had a flashback. Actually I was over that and brushed it off. When Adam said that you went white after reading the paper I put it all together, I guessed you worked out who I was” he stood up and started to walk around
“I really don’t want to do this to you, I really do like you. You have your mother’s spirit. Dimitri though must never know about you so I have no choice” Just then a voice boomed out in the dark
“Leah? dad is that you?” Victor whirled around
“Dimitri what are you doing here you should be in LA with your mother, get out of here now! This is none of your business” Dimitri was not listening