“What is it that she’s done?”
While we ate, Alex told his father about Cassie refusing the settlements that his attorneys have offered her, coming into the house and being found in Michael’s room and lastly, installing a recorder in the basement and hiring Tracy to spy on us somehow. James Reigns listened quietly until Alex was finished. I could see his face going through a gamut of emotions, especially when he mentioned that she was in the baby’s room. When Alex finished his father almost looked sick.
“You have to have security around him… constantly!”
The way he said it gave me chills. It was as if he believed Michael was imminently threatened. “Dad, like I told Vicki, I don’t believe even Cassandra would stoop to the level of kidnapping a baby.”
“You don’t think so… but do you know so?” His father raised his voice and pushed back from the table. I could see the pulse throbbing in his neck. This was quite the reaction… one that surprised me and looked like it was shocking Alex.
“No Dad, I guess I don’t know… I’ve already increased security. Are you okay?”
James ran a hand across his face and said, “I just can’t believe it’s happening again.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
ALEXANDER
My father was acting so far out of character that I almost didn’t recognize him. First of all, showing up here was stran
ge in and of itself. I had only seen my parents once in the past three years and that was at a friend’s wedding that we all just happened to be attending. My entire life, my parents had been a “force” to me. I was completely intimidated by them both. My father was so well-respected by everyone. I watched people practically bow at his feet my entire life and that left me awed by him. Most of the time though as I was growing up, he seemed distant and almost completely disinterested in me. Every Friday night I would have dinner at the big table with my parents. My mother would sit across from me, cold and distant as always and my father would say, “Talk to us about your week son.”
I remember when I was little, I would get excited about telling them everything I’d done and learned throughout the week. But as I got older and I realized that they only asked me about my week because they felt obligated to… it stopped being fun or exciting to me. After that, up until the time I was taken and left at a boarding school in Switzerland, we ate our Friday meals in silence.
Dad’s interest in Michael was bizarre to me, especially since during my obligatory phone call when Michael was born, I hadn’t heard from either him or my mother. Now he stood here, looking like he was about to have a heart attack over threats to my son that have never even been made directly. He was frightening Victoria and making me suspicious of his motives.
I stood up and went over to my father who was pale as a ghost and suddenly looked his age. “Dad, have a seat…”
“No, we need to call the police.”
“Dad, there’s nothing to report right now. My attorney has already gotten a restraining order against Cassie… that’s why she hired Tracy to come in here, I’m sure. Michael is safe. You saw that for yourself. You must have also seen all of the security on the grounds when you got here… I’m worried about you. Please sit down before you fall down, okay?”
He nodded slowly and allowed me to help him into his chair. After I made sure he was in and all the way back, I scooted his chair up as if he were a child. This whole scene was bizarre. I sat back down and reached over and squeezed Vicki’s hand. Her eyes were as wide as saucers and I know my father’s babbling had to have terrified her. I looked back over at him. He had his elbows on the table and his hands in his hair.
He pulled his head up slowly and looked at me and then he looked at Vicki. His eyes suddenly looked vacant and for a fraction of a second I wondered if he was taking some kind of drug. He finally said, “Your mother and I never told you because you were so young when it happened and we didn’t want to frighten you.” He stopped there and several seconds passed before he said, “You had a brother.”
I stared at him, in shock. There was definitely something wrong with him. Maybe he already had a stroke and it affected his mind. “I had a brother, Dad? When? What happened to him?” I didn’t really expect a rational answer to any of it. They weren’t rational questions because none of this made sense.
“When you were about three, your mother and I had another child. His name was Christopher James Reigns. He was a beautiful boy… just like you always were. The old house was happy and full of people in and out all the time. We had a nanny for both of you, but back then your mother only used the nannies if we were going somewhere that you wouldn’t be allowed or comfortable. She was a good mother, she was a happy person, we were happy.”
“So what happened to Christopher? Did he die?”
“We don’t know. I think that’s the worst part… the not knowing. I’m sure it was the worst part for your mother. She didn’t want to leave the house in case they called. Cell phones were still only car phones back then.”
“Dad, I’m sorry, but you’re not making any sense.”
He looked up at me and Vicki again as if he’d forgotten we were in the room. Then he wrinkled his brow. God, he looked so old all of a sudden.
“Let me start at the beginning. You were going to turn four and we were getting ready for your birthday party. Your mother always went over the top, she was so crazy about her boys, you know? We had people in and out, strangers, workers, there was going to be a carousel and a bounce house and a petting zoo. Normally the staff would do the shopping but your mother was so excited about the party and she wanted to take you with her and let you pick out your theme. So anyways, that day Christopher was left here with the nanny. I was at work and you and your mother had gone shopping. I remember it was exactly 3:02 p.m. when I got the call…” He was shaking and sweat was beginning to form on his brow. Vicki got up and went over to him. She crouched down on one knee so that she could see his face.