When she felt brave enough, she looked up to see tears both in Alex’s and Linda’s eyes. “I’m sorry for everything—about Theresa, about what they did, about missing out on being a member of this family for the last twenty-eight years. And I’m sorry for your grief.”
They both looked up, horrified. “Stop,” Alex said, lifting his hand.
“You…” Linda whimpered, then strengthened her features before she tried again. “You’ve done nothing wrong.” She stood and approached Bailey so fast, Bailey didn’t have time to stand up. Linda dropped to the sofa next to her and wrapped her arms around Bailey. “You’re not to blame, and blaming won’t get us anywhere.” She leaned back and wiped the tears from her face. “As a mother, I understand Helen’s desire for a child. As Theresa’s friend, I want to rage and be angry at Helen, but that won’t get us anywhere.”
Alex stood, too, and approached. Bailey stood and embraced him with everything she had. She put all her heart and soul into that hug. She had a father, and no matter what, nobody could take that from her, just like nobody could take her from him.
“I know when we talked before,” he said, “we both wished we had someone to blame. To some extent, this should be a relief to me, but it’s not. I’m not happy knowing you have to live with this knowledge of your adoptive parents.” He ran his hand down the length of her hair. “I’d rather you not know. I’d rather you continue with your fond memories and the belief that they were the wonderful people you remember.”
“But that doesn’t change the truth,” she whispered.
“I think,” Linda said, “we need to move forward.”
Alex nodded, and his chest moved up and down under her cheek. He was crying, and Bailey choked up, too.
“She’s right,” Alex said, the words vibrating his chest. “We can’t change things. We can’t bring Theresa back, and we can’t bring Helen back either, but we still have each other.”
Bailey withdrew from the hug and said, “It’s going to be very difficult to move forward after what Nicole’s done. I hope you understand. I can’t welcome her into my life. What she did…”
Linda gestured for Bailey to sit back down. “There are some things you should know, Bailey.”
“Last summer, when William kidnapped you, Nicole was five months pregnant,” Alex said. “She had just…just made the announcement the month before when she found out the gender.”
Bailey lowered her eyes. “Oh…,” she said, not sure how to process this information, considering Nicole didn’t have a child now. She heard Linda sniffle, and that forced her to look up. “I’m sorry.”
“She lost the baby the day the FBI told her William was responsible for your disappearance. She lost the baby the same day William was killed.”
Bailey covered her mouth with her hand, now feeling sick. “Oh, no. That’s horrible.”
“It doesn’t excuse what she’s done,” Alex said. “But we hope it explains her state of mind.”
“I’m sorry, too,” Ryan said. “That can’t have been easy.”
“We thought she was recovering well, but, apparently, there was some lingering and displaced anger,” Linda said. “She was heartbroken over the whole thing, you know. Terrified for Bailey, and then when she found out about William, she…she collapsed.”
Bailey’s heart hurt. Heaviness and achiness spread through her slowly as she processed this news. She covered her face, trying to hide it, but she couldn’t. Her breath stuck in her chest, and she couldn’t breathe until it all came out on a sob. With a heaving chest, she tried to talk, but words wouldn’t come. She felt rather than saw Ryan move closer to her side before embracing her.
“Breathe, babe. Take a deep breath.” With his hand on her back, he rubbed circles until she calmed some. “I’m so sorry,” she cried. “I didn’t know.”
“Bailey, honey.” Linda sat down next to her again. “This is why we didn’t tell you sooner. We all agreed not to share this with you for fear you’d take on the guilt yourself.” Linda pressed a handful of tissue into Bailey’s hands. “Please don’t. This isn’t your fault.”
“I feel terrible,” Bailey said.
“We all do, Bailey, but that doesn’t excuse what she’s done to you,” Alex said. “I’ve had a brief discussion with a lawyer about her situation, but I wanted to talk to you, as well.” His eyes dropped to the floor, then lifted back to her face. “We feel Nicole needs therapy, not jail.”
Linda held her hand up before Bailey could respond. “Don’t think we don’t understand the gravity of the situation or what she’s done to you. We do.”
“You’re the first victim of this entire situation. What Nicole has done is brutal and deceitful and, well… We’re not trying to excuse it. We just want to get her help,” Alex said.
Bailey nodded. “I understand.” She swiped a tear from her face. “What can be done? What was the advice of the attorney?”
“They suggested if Nicole confesses to everything, hands over any evidence she may still have, and volunteers for psychiatric help, they may offer her a plea deal.”
“A plea deal.” Bailey thought about that for a long moment. She thought about what she’d been through since Helen’s death and everything this family had been through since Theresa’s death.
She hated Nicole for what she’d done, but could she hate her sister? Nicole was her flesh and blood, and she’d been through a terrible ordeal, just like Bailey had. To lose her child and her husband on the same day… None of what Dex had done was Nicole’s fault. She hadn’t known the kind of man her husband was any more than Bailey had.
But Nicole knew what she was doing when she handed over personal information about Bailey to Rosa Sikes.
Bailey shrugged. “I don’t know. Seriously, I don’t know how I feel about this. It’s still too
