Circle of Deception 2 (21 page)

“I bet, she loves those kids so much, and to have these problems probably reminds her that Allison isn’t really hers.”

“But she is, Allison is our child. Just because Meg didn’t give birth to her doesn’t mean she isn’t hers. She has been more of a mother than Bianca could ever be.”

“Yeah, I know. Your wife is amazing, most women would have run for the hills after that whole ordeal.”

“I know exactly who I married. She is the best, and I will never find anyone else like her. That’s my rock, she keeps me together.”

“I hope I’m ready for all that. I know Emily is wonderful, I just hope I can live up to the image your prefect ass has created amongst the women. You know they talk and Meg has to be filling my baby’s head with all your perfection. You’re making me look bad.”

“Man, I’m far from perfect, the only reason why I get away with looking like I am is because my lady always has my back. She makes me look good,” he laughed. “You’ll have that, your girl is definitely in this for the long haul. If last year didn’t run her off, then nothing will.”

“Last year,” he sighed. “What a ridiculous year, so much happened.”

“Too much, but I wouldn’t trade it. I married my best friend, and we created my beautiful family. I’m so proud of those three, they’re my reason for anything I do.”

“See its statements like those that make me resent your perfect ass,” Aiden laughed. “You’re making the rest of us look like slackers. Hell, I blame you for Matt and Melia’s problems.”

“Me? Oh no, I had nothing to do with that catastrophe.”

“I’m just messing around, but seriously, we need to get our little brother and spend some time with him. This is really wearing on him.”

“I know, I want to help, but I’m not sure how. I think we might just have to let this play out and see where things land.”

Aiden sat back and tapped his fingers on the desk before him, he wished there was more he could do. He knew that they were both feeling differently about the divorce, but he had no way of knowing where to begin to fix it. He sat quietly for a few minutes, and then an idea occurred to him. “Alex, does Melia still have that shady lawyer?”

“Yeah, I think so, why?”

“Well, what if we got her someone else? You know, someone who would take a little while to get acclimated to their case. You know with children involved, divorces take a while.”

“I see where you’re going with this, but who’s to say she will agree?”

“Didn’t Matt ask for the divorce this time?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, she will, and then, you little brother, will talk Matt into letting you represent him. You’ll tell him that you won’t charge him, and you want to do it to make sure they do what’s best for Cici.”

Alex smirked and kicked his feet up on the desk. “And they say I’m the one with all the plans, I think that might just work. I’ll call him, and you should call her.”

“I will, when are they supposed to have it anyway?”

“Wednesday I think, oh yeah, thanks for the fake calls last time. It almost worked.”

“We will just have to be more convincing this time. Well, I need to get back to work, and you need to go pick up your wife. Good luck with Alli bear, let me know how it goes.”

“Will do,” Alex replied as he watched Aiden leave the room. He sat twirling his pen around in his hand for a few seconds before reaching out to pick up his cell. He knew that they should probably just let Matt and Melia work out their issues alone, but he couldn’t help it, he needed to protect his little brother. He would feel worthless if he let them make the same mistakes he had almost made himself.

Alex dialed Matt's number and waited for a response, after several rings, he hung up unsuccessful. “I’ll talk to him later,” he sighed and looked at the time. He realized it was almost twelve and gathered his things to race over and pick up Meg. She had to be on pins and needles waiting for the appointment to begin. He had assured her several times that this issue was to no fault of her own, but he knew she still felt responsible.

He rode over to her office with the CD she and Allison always listened to on their rides to school playing and laughed. He could just hear the two of them singing and giggling together, and wondered what was going wrong. Allison seemed to love Meg and he knew Meg loved her, there had to be some explanation. He knew that Jordan could have caused some stress to their relationship, but Allison started off completely in love with him as well. True, she had become distant with him as of late, but she was acting like her old self now with the exception of the nightmares.

When Alex pulled up to Meg’s office, he found her, standing outside with her hands on her face. He smiled at her and she smiled back, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. He could tell she was nervous, and he wanted so desperately to dismiss her fears, but what if he was the cause? What if she was resentful of Meg and Jordan because of something he had done? What if he was the blame for all of this?

When Meg got into the car, she clicked her seatbelt and closed her eyes suddenly. Before she could gather herself completely, Alex leaned over and placed a firm assuring kiss on her lips. She reached out for him, and he deepened the kiss, rendering her breathless. When he released her, he wanted to be sure she knew that he was behind her no matter what. When he finally let go, he heard a light sigh and smiled against her full lips.

“I missed you all morning, Angel Face. How has your day been so far?”

“Honestly?”

“Yes, honestly.”

“Nerve wrecking. I’ve been a mess all morning.”

Alex huffed as he drove off. He didn’t like seeing her so out of sorts. He was thinking of a way to make her feel at ease, when he thought about the crazy scene from the morning. “I know something that will make you laugh.”

“What’s that?”

“When I went to drop Jordan off this morning, I pulled up and your dad was at my mom’s and she was just pulling up with her new boyfriend.”

“His name is Rogelio, sweetie, it’s time you started calling him by his name,” she laughed. “But, what was my dad doing there?”

“I really don’t know. He says he’s been spending time with Jordan over there, but why wouldn’t they have just told us about that? It seems strange to me.”

“Yeah, I agree. You don’t think... no, couldn’t be,” she sighed. “My dad and your mom? No way.”

“Well, how else do you explain it? He looked like he had spent the night, his hair was all ruffled and clothes wrinkled.”

Meg placed her hand to her temple and fell back against the headrest. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Her dad and his mother would just be too much. “Are you sure of what you saw?”

“Yes, Angel, I know what I saw.”

“That would make us step brother and sister,” she laughed.

“Jokes, very funny, baby. You have a morbid sense of humor.”

“What you think is better than what I thought one day when I picked him up. I smelled mom’s perfume on Jordan, and I freaked out. It turned out to only be Margret’s fragrance, but I had already thoroughly embarrassed myself.”

Alex laughed and patted her knee as he continued to drive. He loved the smile she was now wearing, but then something dawned on him. “Did you say Margret was wearing the fragrance? How could she be? She’s allergic to perfume. We got her a bottle once for mother’s day, and it broke her out. We were so upset because she had practically raised us, and she couldn’t wear our present. Matt cried for days, he always was the sensitive one.”

“Why would they lie to me? You don’t think...”

“Baby, I don’t think you should worry, it’s probably nothing. I’m sure it must just be something she outgrew. Maybe she has certain things she can wear.” He began to think to himself as she stared at him intently.
Aiden and Matt were convinced that they had identified the wrong person, but every shred of evidence proved they were wrong. My mother even... my mother. She has been acting strange, and the wanting to keep Jordan at her house, when he has everything he needs at our house, now it all makes sense.

“What are you thinking, Alex? Don’t keep me in suspense.”

“Let me figure some things out.”

“You’re scaring me, tell me what’s going on. Are the kids okay?”

“Yes, our kids will be fine, and don’t be afraid. I promised to never let anything happen to you and that’s not changing. We will talk later, but let’s deal with one thing at a time. Go get our girl,” he kissed her and sat back in the car as he pulled in front of the school.

Alex watched as she walked inside the school and closed his eyes, trying to rid his mind of the thoughts racing through them. There had to be an explanation, there just had to be. There was no way his mother would be hiding Maria at her house, she couldn’t be. Could Maria really be alive after all this time? If it were true, it could fix so many things, but it could also cause so many more problems. It would make the girls so happy, but it could put them at the mercy of that maniac.

He allowed his thoughts to run rapid until Meg and Allison approached and got in. He plastered on his most convincing smile and tried to push all the thoughts out of his head, at least until they could come to grips with what was happening with them, and until he could get solid proof that his assumptions were correct. He wanted to be absolutely sure before he mentioned anything to Meg. He couldn’t bear to get her hopes up just to let her down in the end.

Alex put on the girls favorite track to lighten the mood, and it only took a few seconds for them to start in. He had never seen them so animated, but watching them interact gave him joy that he never thought possible. They were both all smiles for the first time in a few weeks, it was indescribable. When the song ended, Meg reached back and high fived Allison, and he replayed the track, hoping to get a repeat performance. This was the perfect moment, and he didn’t want it to end.

As they pulled into Dr. Steinfeld’s complex, Meg looked back at Allison and smiled at her nervously. Allison reached out and pushed Meg’s hair behind her ear and smiled too. “Mommy, are you mad at me?”

“No, I just want you to tell us and Dr. Steinfeld what’s wrong, can you do that?”

“I don’t know, mommy. You promise you won’t get mad?”

“I promise, you just do your best, daddy and I will be right here for you.”

“Okay,” she grinned.

Alex got out and opened the doors for both ladies and linked their hands. Whatever they were facing, he wanted them to face it together, as a family showing a united front. They boarded the evaluator in silence with their hands still attached, and Alex kissed them both. He needed them to be at ease as they made this step, it was already stressful enough without the tension between them.

They got off the elevator when it reached the floor, and Meg sighed before walking to the door. When they approached, the door was wide open and Dr. Steinfeld greeted them with a warm and sincere smile. Alex shook her hand first, and Meg followed suit. Allison stood behind Meg’s legs peeking out around them. “Allison, come and say hello to Dr. Steinfeld,” Meg requested, pulling her to the forefront.

“Hello, Dr. Steinfeld,” Allison offered shyly.

“Hello, it’s nice to see you again. Are you ready to talk to me?”

“Yes,” she whispered. “I don’t want to get in trouble.”

Dr. Steinfeld saw the terrified look on her face and motioned for Alex and Meg to join her in a corner. “If you don’t mind, I would like to speak to your daughter alone. Maybe she will open up a little more if it’s just me at first. I will keep you informed. I just think it’s best for right now.” Meg shook her head in compliance, but her eyes held a sadness that Dr. Steinfeld noticed instantly. “Mrs. Hanover, I’m sure it’s nothing you’ve done, from what I’ve seen from you two over the past year, you’ve really shown yourself to be great parents. I think it might just be some residual baggage from the ordeal before.”

“Did you hear that?” Alex grabbed her face. “It’s not you, just have a seat while she talks to her. I’ll be right here with you.”

“Mr. Hanover, take your wife down and get her a snack or something, we will be fine, I promise.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Alex replied, wrapping his arms around her, pulling her towards the hallway. “Come on baby, let her get started.” Meg offered him a light smile and put her hand in his, following him to the elevator as Dr. Steinfeld took Allison by the hand and led her into the office. She looked to the timid little girl and offered her a genuine smile, breaking the ice.

“So, Allison, how are you feeling today?”

“Okay,” she looked around the office skeptically. “Where are my mommy and daddy?”

“They are just getting a snack. Do you feel okay here with just me?” Allison nodded her head, and she sat back in her chair. “So, tell me what has been upsetting you? Are you sad about the new baby?”

“No, I like Jordan, he always smells good,” she giggled.

“So you like Jordan, tell me about him. What do you do with him?”

“I talk to him, he can’t talk back, but he tries. He keeps mommy and daddy awake at night.”

“Does that make you angry when Jordan keeps your mommy and daddy awake?”

“No, they like to play with him.” She put her head down and sighed.

“Allison, does it make you sad that your brother gets more attention than you do?”