Chapter 37
SIMEON
We hit the jackpot. For a moment back there, I believed we had the wrong woman, but when Sarah Goldsworthy appeared in the doorway, its obvious who she is.
She is the image of Alice, or what she will be in the future, and the soft, anxious expression did nothing to conceal the great beauty she once was and still is.
Unlike Minnie, Sarah possesses a natural beauty that has only enhanced and developed over time. She is stylish and sophisticated, yet is at ease with her surroundings.
The ranch inside is nothing like the outside. It’s homey, clean and comfortable, and attention has been given to chic comfort rather than overstated elegance.
She leads us into a huge room where one wall of glass stares out over an impress landscape.
It’s as if nature is part of the room and decorates it in an ever-changing picture.
A log burner is set on the wall to the side, hides of animals strewn across the floor and a brown leather couch, battered and comfortable, set beside it with many fur cushions and blankets.
It’s impressive, a retreat if you like, and as Alice perches tentatively on the edge of the couch, Sarah drops down beside her.
I take a seat opposite and watch with interest as Sarah smiles nervously.
“I hoped you’d find me one day.”
Alice nods, and I can tell she is finding it difficult to form words right now.
“Tell us what happened.”
I take charge of the situation, offering my help when my wife is struggling.
Sarah leans back and sighs, her fingers twisting in her lap as she says softly, “I married Enrico Zaferelli because I fell deeply in love with him. He was a dangerous man, and I suppose I rebelled.”
She smiles as if her memories are happy ones, and I’m glad of that at least.
“You see, I was a young, impressionable girl, and I met him in the street one day when out shopping. A criminal snatched my purse, and Enrico gave chase. He returned it to me, and I felt so shaken that he offered to buy me a coffee to help with my nerves.”
I resist rolling my eyes because I know the trick, and if that purse snatcher wasn’t employed by him, I don’t deserve my heritage.
“I had never met anyone like him before. Kind, attentive, so handsome and protective. My mind scattered, and one coffee turned to two, then to three. He insisted on escorting me home, and when we parted, we arranged that he would pick me up later that evening for dinner.”
She smiles fondly at the memory. “When your father wanted to, he could be very charming, and it didn’t take much for me to fall in love with him.”
She glances at me, and understanding dawns in her eyes, and she says almost sadly, “It appears that you know exactly what I mean.”
Alice sweeps her gaze over me and smiles, and I hate that her mom places me in the same box as Enrico flaming Zaferelli because I am nothing like him.
“We had a whirlwind courtship and were soon engaged. My family was happy because Enrico was building an impressive business. I had no cause to think anything other than he had fallen in love with me, and yet soon after you were born, Alice, he changed.”
The memories bite hard because her expression changes in an instant to one of distaste, and she sighs heavily.
“He became cold, indifferent and more agitated. He worked long hours and drank heavily. Our relationship suffered, and I could do nothing right. He had a fierce temper, and I avoided him because of it. He was no longer the charming man I had married because his mask slipped, revealing a monster inside.”
Minnie arrives with a tray of lemonade and a pot of coffee, along with some biscuits on a plate.
As she sets it down, she glances at Sarah with concern.
“You don’t have to do this. I can call—”
“No, Minnie.”
Sarah interrupts her quickly. “This needs to be done.”
Minnie sighs and turns, fixing me with a fierce glare. “One step out of line and I’m gunning you down.”
My mouth twitches. “I will behave; you have my word on that.”
“Your word means shit.”
She spits as she flounces off, and Sarah smiles. “She’s a good friend and is only this way out of concern for me.”
She turns to Alice, and her smile softens further.
“You were the only good thing in my life, Alice. I spent all my time with you, loving the bond I was forming with the daughter I had always wished for. I would have done anything for you, and yet life took a cruel turn.”
It’s obvious the memory isn’t a pleasant one as she whispers with great sadness, “You were sleeping after a fitful night, and I needed to pick up your meds from the pharmacy. I left you with the nanny rather than wake you and took my car into town, a short drive away. I parked and then went inside and picked up the meds and left without hanging around. I wanted to get back to you, and so as I traveled out of town, I didn’t waste any time and drove a little too fast.”
Her chest heaves as she continues.
“I took a corner, and it all happened so fast. The car veered into the rocks on the side of the road, and I hit them with force. My head hit the windscreen and knocked me out, and I woke up tied to a chair in a dimly lit warehouse.”
Her fingers rake through her hair as she revisits an old wound and whispers, “I had been kidnapped by the mafia and held for ransom. They told me that your father owed them a lot of money, and if he didn’t pay up, I would be sent home in pieces.
Carved up like a Thanksgiving turkey, and then you would be next. ”
Sarah’s tears trickle down her cheeks as she sobs, “They told me you wouldn’t be safe all the time he owed them, and the debt would never be paid no matter how much money he gave them. Enrico would have no choice but to pay the money, and then it all changed.”
“What happened?”
“He refused. He told them to kill me because I was of no further use to him and he would get their money another way. He already had a mistress, the daughter of a hotel billionaire, and he would soon be able to repay the debt. I was of no use to him now because my inheritance had been transferred to our daughter. No longer valuable and completely disposable, and he would welcome the intervention.”
Tears are falling down Alice’s face as the full force of her history hits hard.
Sarah continues. “When they told me, I was devastated. Not for him, I never wanted to see Enrico again, but you. It physically hurt that I couldn’t hold you again, and imagining you with that monster gave me more pain than I could stand. Then I was offered a lifeline from an unlikely source.”
“Who?”
This time I ask because I can kind of guess the answer already.
“A woman came to see me; slightly younger than me and so cold it froze my blood just looking at her.”
She shivers, “She told me everything. About Enrico’s betrayal and my circumstances. I pleaded with her and told her my family would pay the debt, and she sneered, telling me that they were in no position to help me unless I struck a deal with her.”
“What deal?”
I am riveted to her story because we have really hit the jackpot in finding her.
“The woman would help me and arrange for a new life, a new beginning and the gift of life, in return for walking away. To never contact anyone from my past, and if I did, they would kill you.”
Alice gasps in horror as Sarah openly weeps.
“If I played along, I would stand a chance of reuniting with you one day because all that concerned them was taking over Enrico’s business.
They needed you as a source of revenue, and when they took over the business, they would release you into my care.
I had no other choice, Alice. I did it to keep you alive, and I have never regretted my decision. ”
“I see.”
Alice slumps in her seat, her breathing fast, and I resist moving to her side, accepting my place is to act as a silent observer this time.
It’s a lot to take in, and my heart thumps in agony for her because discovering that your life has been one huge business transaction can’t make for easy understanding.