“Roland Ramsay signed the hospital admittance records both times,” Threes says.
“But clearly it’s not the same woman giving birth,” Nora says. “Who’s the second woman?”
“Did you say Roland?” Cherry asks.
I turn to her, trying to understand her expression. I’m not sure if she’s confused or inquisitive, but at least her posture has relaxed.
“Yeah,” Threes says.
“He was the head of the Ramsay family until about ten years ago,” I tell her.
“Do you know that name?” Nora asks.
“Yes.” Cherry nods vigorously. “There was a man named Roland who came to visit Aunt Ginny a couple of times,” Cherry says. “She said he was a classmate, not a relative. I only remember because he was the one visitor she ever had who didn’t live in Accident.”
“So, Roland Ramsay actually visited you?”
“I mean, I’m not sure it’s the same guy, but the name is right.”
Antony tosses the picture of Roland and the pregnant woman to the top of the pile on the desk.
“That’s him,” Cherry says. “At least, I think it is. It’s not a clear picture and I was pretty young at the time. The woman is definitely Aunt Ginny though—I’d recognize her anywhere.”
“What?” We all turn to her.
“That makes sense,” Threes says. “This is where things get interesting.” He shuffles through the papers again. “Look at this.”
On the top of the pile is an additional medical record with an unfamiliar patient name.
“Sofia Jones?”
“Sofia, yes, Jones, no.” Threes points to the picture of Roland and the pregnant woman again. “That was his little sister—Sofia Ramsay.”
“I didn’t know he had a sister that much younger than him.”
“Half-sister, really. Looks like Quinton Ramsay, Roland’s father, got around a little more than his wife might have preferred. It was a bit of a scandal back then, I guess. They kept her quiet and out of the family business.”
“So, Sofia Ramsay is the second woman,” Nora says. “Roland signed the records for his half-sister.”
I shake my head, trying to sort through all the information and make sense out of it.
“Sofia Ramsay disappeared from Cascade Falls in the nineties,” Threes continues, “presumed dead or married off to some other crime lord back in Italy, but that’s not what really happened.”
“She actually went to Accident, Maryland, didn’t she?” Nora says.
“Yeah, she did”—Threes pulls out yet another stack of documents—“under the name Virginia Bay.”
Cherry lets out a small gasp, and I reach for her hand again. This time, she doesn’t pull away.
“So,” I say, “the woman who raised Cherry was her actual mother, not her aunt?”
“No, Sofia Ramsay’s baby was stillborn.” Threes holds up the death certificate. “That might be the reason she ended up with Cherry, but that’s just a guess. However, at the same time, Leanne was admitted to the maternity ward. Janna was about a year old, and Jay came the following year, so it’s not one of them.”
“These forgeries look like ours,” Antony says as he examines the driver’s license under the name Virginia Bay. “At least, the quality is about right.”
“This is going back over two decades,” Threes reminds him. “Ramsays were still doing their own documents then.”
“Yeah, I guess.” Antony frowns, apparently unconvinced.
“Back up, Threes. This is confusing the fuck out of me.”
“Before Jay, Leanne Ramsay was pregnant at the same time as Roland’s sister, Sofia.” Threes points to documents one at a time. “Sofia lost her baby, changed her identity, and it looks like she ended up with someone else’s child.”
“Cherry.”
“Well, she’s the one Sofia raised, so yeah.”
“Cherry Ramsay.”
“Well, Sofia never married, so yeah, that would have been her surname.”
“And you think Leanne was the mother,” I say.
“We don’t know that,” Nora says. “No more jumping to conclusions, Nate. We can’t swear to it.”
“Leanne died five years later,” Antony says. “Cancer. Maybe she already knew by then that she was going to die. Maybe she asked Sofia to raise her child.”
“But she had Jay after that,” Nora says. “That doesn’t fit.”
“Roland probably wanted a son.” Antony shrugs. “If she said she couldn’t handle another girl, and he insisted on trying for a son…well, you can see where that might have worked out.”
“She could have had any help she wanted,” Nora replied. “There wasn’t any reason to hide her away.”
“They wouldn’t have trusted someone else to raise one of their own,” Antony says. “Leanne clearly did give birth around the same time, and that baby disappeared somewhere. What do you think, Nora? You think Sofia Ramsay just picked out some random child when another one was right there? Maybe there was a reason to hide her, and we just haven’t figured that part out yet. Leanne’s baby went to Roland’s sister, and that baby was Cherry. You wanted evidence, and now it’s in front of you.”
Nora goes silent, glancing apprehensively at Cherry, who begins to cry again.
I release her hand and take a few steps away from the group. I stare out the window, trying to get my thoughts together.
“She’s a fucking Ramsay,” Pops says. “She knew Roland. She played you.”
“We don’t know that,” I reply. “She didn’t hold back when his name was mentioned.”
“It changes nothing.”
I turn away from him, looking back at the group.
“Cherry is a Ramsay,” I say. “Time to accept that.”
“Nate, she didn’t know that.”
I glance at Cherry and the tears streaming down her face, and I have no idea what to do or who to believe. My stomach, head, and heart are all tied into knots, and I can’t untie them.
Did she know, as Pops says? Or is Nora right, and Cherry is just caught in the middle of this—an innocent bystander who knows nothing of her heritage?
“Cherry would still be second in line,” I say. “Why would the Ramsays care
