A Forever Masterpiece (The Masterpiece Trilogy Book 3) (33 page)

"She looks like me. Everett, you really kept your promise. You brought my baby to me." The woman trembled, but she was finally getting it. "I didn't think it would happen."

"I did, Mom. I told you I'd do everything I could to find her."

"I want to know everything! Where you live, your passions. You'll tell me, right? Will you come back and visit some more?" She took Becca's hands in hers.

Becca smiled through her tears. "Every chance I can." Right there started the bond. Waves of relief captured Hunter's heart. He knew they'd be okay from here.

"Don't be mad at me. I did what I had to do. Your father was a mean man. So cold, so angry," Elizabeth begged.

"I heard what he did. I'm not mad at you," Becca said softly. "It was so long ago. I had a good life, because you made sure of it." They hugged again, both women crying.

"Where are we going, Everett?" Elizabeth asked. The four of them were piled up in the car. Hunter and Jesse were up front as Jesse drove around. Becca sat behind Hunter and had been chatting with Elizabeth- her mother. She couldn't quite fathom the idea that this was her mom. Other than age, the two were a carbon copy of each other. It was so eerie.

"I want to show Becca where we lived," Jesse reminded her. They'd talked about this a little earlier.

"Why are you called Becca now?" Elizabeth questioned.

"You wanted to make sure no one knew I was alive to keep me safe, right?" Becca said softly.

With wide eyes, her mother nodded.

"That's why I'm Becca now. The Beckmans and the people I thought were my parents named me Rebecca. Did you ever plan to come back for me?" The question had been on her mind, but never meant to come out. She clapped a hand to her mouth.

"I wanted to, but I knew it wasn't going to get better." Tears filled Elizabeth's eyes. "I thought I'd have more time to get everyone out without them having to see what kind of life your father lived. I didn't want to give you away!"

"Mama, she knows that. Becca's going to be full of questions. She's not trying to accuse you of anything," Jesse assured her.

"I'm really not. I need to know so I can understand. I found out months ago that I'm not a Lange." Becca took Elizabeth's hand and gave it a comforting squeeze.

"They were good to you?"

Becca smiled, remembering Rusty, Anne, and Ellie. "They were wonderful. They loved me, and I was happy."

"You did a good job, Everett."

"I did what you needed me to do, Mom." Jesse's voice was strained. He pulled up in front of a two story gray house. The shingles were worn and old. The yard wasn't very large, overgrown with weeds. "I haven't been by here in a very long time."

"The house your grandfather got for us when I left your father." Elizabeth peered out the window, her face and hands plastered right up against it.

"Is this where it happened?" Becca asked, her stomach in knots. The house they'd been in together before terror struck.

Elizabeth opened the door and stumbled to the sidewalk. Jesse darted out of the car and to her side.

"This is just a few miles from my old house, Bec." Hunter turned around to face her. His eyes were haunted. "Three or four miles. My God. We were so close to each other."

"We could have met, even if things hadn't gone the way they did," she whispered, taking in his words. "We were always closely connected." Staring out the car window, her heart clenched at the sight of Elizabeth sitting on the front porch steps with Jesse, weeping. After spending a few more hours with her, Elizabeth finally understood and came around to the fact that she had her daughter right there in front of her. A few times, it seemed her mental status took her back in time again, but she'd been doing well.

"You want to get out and peek around a little?" Hunter asked softly.

"Kind of." She pushed the door open and climbed out anyway. Hunter met her at the curb. He curled his fingers over hers, and they walked side by side up the sidewalk to the gravel pathway that led to the old house.
Her
old house.

A month ago, they'd come to Maryland doing a similar thing. Hunter got to see his old house, something Becca felt almost a hundred percent sure she'd never do. Who would have thought they were only miles from her old house? Who would have thought her family had been so close?

Today, she had the answers she needed. She got to meet her mother, she knew her brother and had learned of two other siblings. Becca and Hunter didn't have to wonder why their families were connected. They knew now. It didn't take the sting out of the situation completely, though. It made her heartsick that she took the place of a baby who never got to live. "Rebecca Lange, I hope I did okay carrying your name."

"What?"
Hunter stopped short, his voice choked up. He stared at Becca.

She'd said it out loud. Damn!

"Bec-"

"I spoke out loud. It wasn't meant for you to hear." She inhaled sharply. Her text notification went off. Becca thought maybe it was Shara or Rissi checking in to see how things went. When she opened the message and stared at a familiar painting and the message that went along with it, she gasped. "Hunter, someone's been in our house," she hissed, handing him the phone.

"Guilty consciences make for interesting paintings."

Hunter swore. "Bec, this isn't in the house. Look at the background." He pointed, handing the phone back to her.

He was right. The painting wasn't at home. The very same dark painting she hid from Hunter because she didn't know what to do about it.

It now hung in Brock's gallery.

Elizabeth Laughlin wasn't ready by a long shot to let her kids leave that night. Hunter and Becca kept quiet about the painting and the text, as to not alert Elizabeth. She was already in a fragile place, and adding the crazy details that made up their life the past few months wasn't on the agenda. They knew Jesse sensed something, but so far, he hadn't said a thing.

"You'll come back?" Elizabeth hugged Becca and Jesse.

"Of course I'll come back. And you can call me any time, too. I promise you'll see as much of me as you want." Becca tried to hold it together. She didn't want to go home and leave her mom, either. Not after only a few hours of being able to get to know her.

"My baby. I still can't ... I'm in awe that you're here, all grown up. You tell your brother he better give you your box. I told him to save it all these years. You hear me, Everett?"

"I'll give it to her. I promise. Today was about you seeing Becca. We needed to get confirmation first."

"Why isn't everyone together?" Elizabeth questioned. "Where's Annabelle and Eli?"

They stood on the front porch now as the night sky blanketed the city.

"I'm going to find them, too," Jesse promised. "Go inside and get some rest, okay? I'll call you when we get back to Virginia tomorrow. Next time, I'll bring prints of the pictures we took today. We'll spend Christmas together."

"You too? You'll come back for Christmas?" Elizabeth flicked her gaze to Hunter and Becca, then back to Jesse.

Hunter held Becca close to him. "I'll bring her back for Christmas, and any other time you want. I'll fly her here myself soon. You'll always be able to see Becca."

Dark eyes stared at him. "Your mama and daddy were good people, helping my baby the way they did. I'm sorry you lost them too soon."

Hunter swallowed hard. "Yeah, they were. The best."

She finally went inside, followed by Jesse. Hunter breathed a sigh of relief. Today went rather well, considering. "Shara got back to me," he said quietly to Becca. "Nothing looks out of the ordinary in the house at all. How the hell did that painting manage to be taken out of there without us knowing, I don't know. You didn't get ahold of Brock?"

"No. He's out of town this weekend, according to the person I spoke to." Becca shuddered. "I didn't want anyone to see that painting. It was a dark moment for me. Today was so many things, but it shouldn't have been a day to be afraid! Hunter, we have to figure out who's behind this strange messaging going on here!"

"I know. I'm going to call Joe and Vince, and we're going to try to piece this together for answers."

"If it's Sylvia, we need to move fast. There's no telling what she'll do, especially now that I've found my family." Becca's voice came out hoarse.

"I know," he repeated, feeling the dread. Hunter wrapped his arms around her, holding her close until Jesse reappeared on the porch.

"Okay you two, what the hell is going on?" He asked. "I've been wanting to ask, but not in front of Mom. I didn't want to alarm her."

"Our secret text messaging enemy strikes again," Hunter growled as he filled him in on the latest.

"I'm so sorry, Becca. I had no idea! One of my assistants said someone left it here with a note they thought was from me to display. I wasn't available, so they did exactly what they thought I wanted them to." Brock was perplexed on Monday afternoon when Becca and Hunter entered the gallery.

"This was never meant to be seen by anyone. I surprised myself when I painted it, but I was in a rough place." Becca paced the room, wondering how this could have happened.

"It's down now. Again, I'm so sorry." Brock frowned.

"Do you happen to have that note still?" Hunter asked.

"Let me go check on that." He scurried away.

At home, nothing looked out of the ordinary at all. Nothing was out of place. No important papers missing, and no jewelry or electronics taken. They'd combed through the house three times searching for anything off. The only thing wrong was the missing painting. They found no evidence of tampering on locks or windows. Did someone forget to turn on the alarm one day? How in the world was this possible?

"Here you go." Brock returned, holding out a small note. Handwritten, Becca could tell that right away. She took the paper from his hands and stared at it.

A new piece from Becca Lange. Please display this one on the main wall.

Hunter peered over her shoulder. "I don't recognize the writing, not that I figured I would," he muttered. "Do you have any surveillance cameras around here? Any idea of when this was delivered?"

"My assistant Janine said when she walked in here Saturday morning, it was set in our back room. She told me she thought maybe I left this out in a rush with the note before I left. I do have security footage, so let's go on back and look at it. I can't imagine how someone could get in and out of here with a piece like that without getting noticed, but it obviously happened." Brock led them to the back room.

Becca stood behind him as he settled in a chair, then pulled up the footage on his computer. Hunter clasped Becca's hand. They all leaned in close.

"Let's go ahead and start midday Friday and fast forward. It's going to circulate from different angles. If you see anything out of the ordinary, tell me to stop," Brock instructed.

"Right there. Someone's walking in, making sure to look away, holding a painting. They're walking up to the desk." Hunter pointed.

Brock stopped the footage and zoomed in on the figure. "They definitely made sure to avoid looking around. I think it's a female. Whoever it is has on a shawl over their head. It was rather cold that day."

"It's Becca's painting. I can see the last part of it." Hunter leaned closer.

"Let's see what happens next." Brock zoomed out and pushed play again.

After the woman behind the desk spoke to the newcomer, she moved on to speak to someone else. And there it went. The stranger taped a note to the back of the painting. She stuck it behind the desk and darted away, keeping their head down.

"Damn. The woman she spoke to just went on vacation. Friday was her last day for two weeks, and I'm not sure if I can reach her to get a description of the person." Brock pushed away from the desk, causing Hunter and Becca to back away quickly.

"I think we might know who it is," Hunter said gravely. "Now we just need to figure out where the hell she's been hiding and what she plans to do next."

Sylvia.

It had to be.

"Becca, I know you're uncomfortable with this painting, but can I say something?" Brock pointed to it.

She sucked on her lower lip. "Sure."

"I like it. It represents a lot. I'd love for you to give some serious consideration on putting this out. Maybe for your art show. I like that your work shows different sides of your feelings. It's dark, at least by your standards, but you captured some strong feelings there."

"I- I don't think I could."

"Give it some thought. No pressure at all. I'll see what more I can find out about the person who brought it in."

"Thank you. I appreciate it." She picked up the frame. Hunter took it from her gently and headed out toward the car.

"Mom called me in a frenzy today. She didn't remember us being there Saturday." Jesse heaved a sigh. "This happens every time I leave. She forgets the good day we had and goes back to the past."

"If this wasn't going on with these messages, I'd say you both move here and stay with us indefinitely." Hunter wished they could do that without putting anyone else in harm's way.

"I do want to bring her to Virginia. Now that I've found Becca, I don't want to move back to Maryland. I'm in limbo with everything right now. I'm actually surprised I still have a job, considering how much time I had to take off when she had her stroke." Jesse rubbed the back of his neck and shook his head.

"Hey Hunter? I found something you might want to see!" Shara called from upstairs. She'd come over once they arrived home after visiting Brock's gallery. Becca left a little while after to drive Cherie and Henry to the hospital to visit the baby, since Cherie wasn't able to drive yet.

"That doesn't sound good." Hunter and Jesse exchanged a worried look, then both charged up the stairs. They found Shara in the art room. She held out something in her hand. Something shiny. "How did we miss this before?"

Hunter plucked the ring from her fingers and raised it closer to his face. It was an old ring, a man's. Wedding maybe? "Where did you find it?"