CHAPTER FOUR
Jude fought to keep control of his emotions as he sat down across from Angela… Angelica. If he’d had any doubts about whether she was Annie’s twin, they’d been dispelled when he’d laid eyes on her in person for the first time.
Though there were a few differences, Angela’s similarity to Annie was overwhelming.
The last time he’d seen Angelica had been right before she’d been kidnapped. He’d been fourteen, and she’d been three. The jump from that little girl to this woman in her late twenties would have been jarring, had he not seen Annie transition through those years.
The resemblance to Annie was uncanny—from the delicate curve of her cheekbones to the unique blue-green of her eyes. Even the way she tucked her hair behind her ear mirrored Annie's habit.
But where Annie carried herself with the confidence that came from a life of privilege and security, this woman seemed to fold inward, as if trying to take up as little space as possible.
"This procedure is quite simple," Dr. Reeves explained, opening her case. "Just a cheek swab that takes seconds."
Angela nodded, her eyes flicking briefly to Jude before settling back on the doctor. That brief glance held wariness, and Jude wondered what her life had truly been like with Jim and Sandra.
He supposed that he’d always hoped that because Sandra had been Angelica’s nanny, she would have cared for her with love and concern. Jim… well, he’d been a brash, often cocky, man when they’d worked together.
As he watched Angelica, he got the feeling that his hope that she had been in a loving, stable home had been misplaced.
"After we collect the sample," Jude said, keeping his voice gentle, "we'll rush the analysis. We should have the results within forty-eight hours."
"That fast?" Kiara asked, leaning forward with interest. "I thought these things took weeks."
"We have… connections to expedite the process," Jude replied carefully.
Dr. Reeves efficiently completed the DNA collection, sealing the sample in a sterile container.
"All done," she said with a reassuring smile. "I'll have this to the lab within the hour."
Angela touched her cheek. "What happens now?"
"Now we wait," Jude said, studying her carefully. Even sitting still, she radiated nervous energy, her fingers twisting together on the table. "But while we're here, I'd like to ask you a few more questions, if that's all right."
"Of course."
Dr. Reeves packed up her equipment. "I'll see myself out. Angela, it was lovely meeting you."
After the doctor left, silence settled over the small room. Jude could see Angela's shoulders tense further, and Kiara reached over to squeeze her hands.
"You mentioned that your adoptive father still comes looking for you," Jude said carefully. "How often does that happen?"
Angela's jaw tightened almost imperceptibly. "At least once a week. Sometimes Craig comes instead."
"Craig?"
"Jim's other adopted child," Kiara explained, her voice holding an edge.
Jude's protective instincts sharpened at the tone in Kiara's voice. "Other adopted child?"
"He's older than us," Angela said quietly.
“Jim and Sandra adopted him after they adopted Angie,” Kiara said. “He was ten at the time. They adopted me when I was eight, and by that point, Angie was five, and Craig was twelve.”
"And he helps your adoptive father try to convince you to return?"
Angela's fingers twisted together more tightly. "He can sometimes be very aggressive about it."
The carefully controlled words told Jude everything he needed to know. His jaw clenched, but he kept his expression neutral. "Aggressive how?"
"He just…" Angela glanced at Kiara, who nodded encouragingly. "He follows me sometimes. Makes comments about how we owe Jim everything. He keeps telling me that at some point we’ll be back there, whether we want to be or not."
Jude's blood ran cold. The idea that someone was threatening Angelica—Duncan's daughter—made every protective instinct he possessed roar to life. He wanted to load the pair up into the SUV and drive right out of Briar Hollow.
But he couldn't do that or reveal the truth yet. Not until they had official confirmation.
"Has he ever hurt you?" The question came out rougher than he had intended.
Angela shook her head quickly. "No. Not physically. He just… intimidates."
"What about your adoptive father?"
The silence stretched too long. Angela's gaze dropped to her hands, and Kiara's expression darkened.
"Jim believes in discipline," Angela finally whispered. "He had very strict rules about everything when we were growing up. How we dressed, what we said, when we could speak."
“And your adoptive mother?” Jude prompted. “How was she?”
“She wasn’t as strict,” Kiara said. “But she carried out Jim’s wishes.”
“Do you know anything about their lives before they adopted you?”
Angela shrugged. “Not much. Jim mentioned working as a cop and then doing private security, and Sandra said she was a nanny. They decided to move to the homestead so that they could live self-reliant lives and raise us the way they wanted to, without schools or other people interfering.”
Jude was a bit surprised that Jim had revealed the truth of their past. “Did he talk about how they came to adopt you, Angela?”
“They always just said that they took each of us from bad situations,” Angela said.
“And you don’t remember anything from before they adopted you.”
Angela shook her head, her expression growing more troubled. "I've tried so many times to remember something—anything—but there's just nothing there. But it’s probably just as well since I didn’t have a good family before they adopted me.”
Jude's chest tightened. He could picture three-year-old Angelica in Duncan's arms, surrounded by the love of her family. She’d had the very best family, and hopefully soon, she’d see that for herself.
"What about you, Kiara?" Jude asked, turning his attention to the other young woman. "Do you remember anything from before your adoption?"
Kiara's expression hardened. "More than I wish I did. My parents were hateful people. I was happiest when they would completely neglect me.”
"I'm sorry," Jude said, meaning it. The stark contrast between the two young women's experiences before adoption spoke volumes, even though they weren’t aware of the details of that disparity.
"Don't be." Kiara shrugged, though her eyes remained hard. "I survived. And now I have Angie."
Angelica smiled faintly at her sister, and Jude noticed how her posture relaxed slightly at the mention of their bond. The connection between them was palpable—forged, he suspected, through years of shared hardship.
"How did the two of you manage to leave?" Jude asked. "From what you've described, it doesn't sound like Jim would have simply let you walk away."
Angela and Kiara exchanged glances before Angela spoke. "After Sandra died, things got… worse. Jim became more controlling, and Craig…" She trailed off, shaking her head slightly.
"We planned for months," Kiara continued when Angela faltered. "When Jim and Craig went on a three-day hunting trip, we packed what little we had and just… left."
"We had to walk," Angela added softly. "We don't have driver's licenses, and there is no public transportation around here. This was as far as we could get."
Jude nodded, mentally cataloging every detail. "So you found jobs and a place to live?"
"Angie got a job first,” Kiara said. “The bakery was willing to hire her after she baked a batch of cinnamon buns for them, proving she really knew what she was doing. Patty, the bakery owner, also let us rent the apartment over the bakery as part of Angie’s salary.
I found a job working at the gas station, then I got a job here at the library a couple of months later. ”
“Are you still living above the bakery?”
“No, we just moved a few weeks ago,” Angela said. “It wasn’t a good arrangement.”
“Why is that?” Jude asked, wanting to have all the information he could gather about their lives.
Duncan wanted to protect his family, so Jude knew that he needed to be able to give the man a well-rounded picture of the life his daughter had been leading.
Everything was telling him that Duncan had nothing to worry about. That Angela wasn’t out to harm him or his family.
“We didn’t realize until recently that the rent Patty was charging us was quite high compared to other places. Also, we didn’t like that she’d come into the apartment whenever she liked.”
“Without notice?”
“She never gave us any notice,” Angela said. “And there was never a good reason for her to be there.”
“So where are you living now?”
“We’ve rented a basement apartment from a woman Angie met at the bakery," Kiara explained. "She's elderly, and we help her with some things around the house in exchange for a small discount on the rent. Plus, it was furnished, which is what we needed.”
“Do you have a plan for your future?” Jude asked, curious how that might gel with what Duncan wanted.
“We do hope that we’ll be able to one day leave Briar Hollow,” Angela said.
“But it’s hard,” Kiara chimed in. “First and foremost, we need to get our licenses, which is a challenge since the closest DMV is beyond walking distance.”
“And no one would help you out?”
The women exchanged a look before Kiara said, “We haven’t really made super close connections in the town. Angie knows a few people from the church, but they’re all older. We just didn’t feel comfortable asking people to help us.”
“Most people view us as part of the crazy prepper homestead. They know that Jim especially is big into self-sustenance and keeping to himself. Also, some suspect that he is stockpiling weapons. They’ve made comments about that to us.”
“But they actually have no idea how much he and Craig have stockpiled,” Angela murmured. “They are preparing for the end of the world.”
“And how do you feel about that?” Jude asked, more curious than anything. But the fact that Jim and his son were armed made approaching them a bit more of a challenge.