The ink is still a little wet and smears when I take it from him, leaving a streak on my thumb. The photo shows an older woman waving at the camera from a sailboat docked at a marina.
“Who is this?” I ask.
“That is Virginia Bay,” Antony says. “The real Virginia Bay.”
“What?”
“Virginia Bay is in the Virgin Islands, living a plush life in a condo overlooking the ocean and going by the name Jenny Baylor. However, Jenny Baylor didn’t exist until twenty years ago. She grew up in the town of Accident, Maryland, moved to Philadelphia in the eighties, and suddenly came into a lot of money while she was living there. That’s when she moved to the Virgin Islands under a new identity. Shortly after that, the woman who raised Cherry moved to Accident under the name Virginia Bay and with a newborn. That’s the person who died a few months ago.”
“Who?” I ask. “Who was she?”
“Not Leanne Ramsay,” Antony says. “She was here, in Cascade Falls. Could she have paid someone to raise her child?”
“Why would she do that?” Threes asks. “Why wouldn’t she keep the child here?”
“Maybe it wasn’t Roland’s kid,” Antony suggests. “Maybe she had an affair, and he made her send Cherry away.”
“That makes sense,” I reply with a nod. “Cherry is Leanne’s daughter by another man. Maybe Virginia Bay knew that man.”
“That would tie her into all of this,” Antony says.
“So Cherry is a Ramsay.”
“That’s still my best guess,” Antony replies. “If Janna Ramsay knew she had a sister out there, it would explain why the Ramsays had someone following Cherry. The question is, does she know about the connection?”
“That bitch knows,” Pops says. “You know she’s hiding something from you.”
“Something doesn’t add up,” Threes mutters as he reads through the printout about Virginia Bay.
“What?”
“I dunno. It just doesn’t sit right. If the real Virginia Bay is in the Virgin Islands, then who raised Cherry? Who would the Ramsays trust to raise one of their own, illegitimate or not?”
“If Leanne had an affair, Roland wouldn’t consider her a Ramsay at all,” Antony says. “He wouldn’t have cared who raised her. He’d just want her out of the picture.”
“Not necessarily.” Threes reads through the paperwork again. “Leanne Ramsay had some pull in this town back then, and I don’t think she’d let just anyone raise her kid. Families are stronger with more people in ‘em, so even if the baby wasn’t Roland’s, they would have kept her around. Either way, it doesn’t tell us who took Virginia Bay’s place.”
“Maybe I should ask Cherry,” I reply.
“I’m not so sure she knows, boss.” Three shakes his head slowly. “I have a thought, though. Give me that picture from Micha’s file—the one with the pregnant woman.”
Antony hands it to him, and Threes heads down the hallway to his room, muttering to himself.
“She knows,” Pops says again.
“Well, I’ll just have to stop asking nicely.”
“Nate, are you sure you want to do that?” Antony glances down the hallway where Threes disappeared. “Maybe you should wait until Threes gets back. He’s got that look in his eye. He is right about something not adding up.”
“She’s a Ramsay,” Pops says. “You know that now. What else matters?”
“Nothing else matters.” I feel my chest tighten as my heart goes cold. Without another word to Antony, I head back into the office and stand in front of Cherry.
She leans back on the couch with her arms crossed over her chest and glares at me. Her jaw is set and her eyes are narrowed. She looks positively infuriated, and it’s not a look I’ve ever seen from her before. Her posture reminds me a little of the way Nora gets when she’s angry. I stare at her, trying to process what I’ve just learned.
“It’s all an act,” Pops whispers in my ear. “You need to see that now.”
Pops is right. I’d been blinded to the truth. I’d been convinced Cherry was my perfect match, and I needed to get married quickly. I simply couldn’t see what was right in front of me. Now, I need to see the truth. Clearly, Cherry is a good liar, or I never would have fallen for the innocent act. The only way I’m going to get to the bottom of what she knows is to trip her up. I need her to make a mistake and reveal her true self.
Cherry knows who her family is. She might have been involved in my brother’s death. She’s been manipulating me from the beginning, and it’s time to get some answers.
I glare down at her.
“You came here for the first time in February.”
“Yes.”
“What about before February?” “What about last year? Did you come to Cascade Falls last year?” I ask my questions in quick succession, not giving her time to think as I watch her reactions.
“No! I’d never even heard of Cascade Falls before my aunt died!”
“Ah yes, your Aunt Ginny. Your aunt, Virginia Bay. Where did that name come from, Cherry?”
“Where did the name come from?” Cherry throws her arms up in the air. “What are you talking about? You aren’t making any sense!”
“You said you came here to find your birth parents,” I say.
“Didn’t we go through this, Nate? Yes, I came here to find my birth parents, just like I told you.”
“Because your aunt told you to go find them?”
“No, she didn’t.” Cherry sighs. “I found the incomplete adoption records after she died. That’s when I figured out she wasn’t really my aunt.”
All right, I have to admit that fits with her original story.
“She’s good at this,” Pops says. “An accomplished liar to the end.”
“And who is
