Chapter Six
I wanted her to tell me the truth, but I didn’t want this to happen. When I was running a background check on Natalia Sutton, the red flags were there. Her record was entirely too clean for her to have been a legitimate daughter to the Suttton’s. Not one member of that family has a clean record other than her. That’s when I dug deeper and found the adoption papers.
My old man always told me sealed files are the first place to start with in any case. There’s a reason these people are trying to hide this information. So, in my true nature and fashion, I pulled some strings, and the file was opened for me. Natalia was the name of an older member of the Sutton family that passed away around the time Mariana was adopted into the family. That’s when she went from being Mariana Hernandez to Natalia Sutton. But that’s everything I could find out. It’s like she never existed before that day.
Knowing she was born in Mexico changes things, though. My father always told me about the federales search for a missing cartel princess. I haven’t had a chance to look into the case files yet, but the timeline fits, as well as her last name. What I don’t know is if she’s aware of her parents and who they are.
“Wake up for me, Hermosa,” I whisper into her ear. “Please, wake up for me.” I’m crossing every line by being by her side right now, but I made a promise to protect her. I’m not a man who turns on his words.
“Knock, knock. Can I come in?” I look up to see Jason in the doorway of the private hospital room.
I lean back in the chair as I give him my attention. “Of course. She may kick my ass otherwise,” I joke as much as I can based off our last interaction.
“I wouldn’t put it past her to shove a broomstick up your ass.” He cocks the side of his lip while joking back to me. I watch as he enters the room, closing the door behind him. He looks back at me with a soft smile on his face. “How is she doing?”
“She’s going to be okay. They said she had a panic attack, so I’m letting her rest before we have to talk. I’m guessing you know who she really is as well?” I arch one of my brows as I lean forward, pressing my elbows into my knees.
He swallows the hard lump in his throat. “You would be right, Detective. I bet you wish I wasn’t a man of my word right now, don’t you?” he teases, laughing louder than he should at his own joke.
“I wish I could punch you right now.” I pinch my nose with my forefinger and thumb. “Help me out, man. I want to help her find the person responsible for her sister's death. I can only do that with your help because I don’t think she’s going to be very forthcoming with the details.”
Jason scoffs. “You’ll be lucky if she even tells you her real name.”
“Mariana,” I announce, cutting him off.“I’m a detective, asshole. Did you forget I can figure things out?”
“Was it a favor to your father?” He tilts his head with a sly grin. This fucking asshole knows how to really get under someone’s skin. Growing up, I had to live underneath my old man’s shadow. Everyone would always say ‘Was it because of your dad?’ I couldn’t help it that everyone let me off the hook when I was younger, but look at where I am now. I got to where I am today on my own, not riding his shirt tail.
“Go fist yourself.” I make a gesture imitating the action with my arms to really emphasize my point. “The exit is the same way you entered.”
He puts his hands in the air, calling a truce. “I crossed the line. That’s on me, Seb.” He lowers his hands back down to his sides. “But I’m serious on this one. I gave her my word that I would never tell another soul anything she’s told me. What kind of man would that make me if I went back on that?”
“I get it, man, but she’s not going to tell me everything she’s been through. I found a lot, but there’s a big missing gap in her life. I need to know if she remembers anything from that time.” I admit honestly as I turn my attention to her. “I need to know if she knows where she comes from.” I reach out, brushing my knuckles against the soft skin of her cheek.
“You’re really making this hard for me.” Jason groans. “All I will tell you is she doesn’t remember anything other than her name and a small description of her parents. If you want to know more though, it will be from her.”
“I can respect that. Thank you.” I nod my head with appreciation. I wish I had all the answers to my questions, but he’s right, she needs to be the one to tell me. Maybe she didn’t tell him the complete truth and does remember who her parents were. She was six-years-old when she was taken, so it could go either way depending on how traumatic the experience was. According to all the reports, it was.
Jason looks over at Mariana and smiles before turning toward the door. “Let me know when she wakes up.” Before I have a chance to answer, he’s out of the door, heading back towards one of his many jobs.
Maybe now I will have a chance to process everything I need to ask her. Will she tell me the truth? Will she hide deeper within herself to hide the trauma of her past? I can’t know, but I think she’s going to make this as hard as she possibly can for me.