Chapter 2

1 week later

               Freya has finally recovered from her illness and is now eagerly selecting gifts for the children in the hospital.  Both my brothers and my parents each sent her a get-well-soon gift, which means she has to bring toys to the sick children in the pediatric ward of the hospital.  When we arrive at the hospital, we are greeted by the staff as always and push the cart of toys down the halls onto the elevator to the pediatrics floor.

               “Good afternoon, Ms. Russo and Freya,” the head nurse says with a smile.  Nurse Gladys is a lovely woman with tight spiral curls of brown hair and brown eyes who has been a nurse for over thirty years.  “I was wondering when we’d be seeing the two of you this month.”

               “Freya was ill recently, so we needed to wait until the doctor cleared her to come around other kids,” I quickly explained.

               “I’m glad you are feeling better, Freya.  Look at all those toys you brought today,” Gladys cooed.  “We have a full house; you may see some familiar faces.”

               “Thank you, Nurse Gladys.  I wanted to buy the best gifts for all the kids here,” Freya announced.  “My uncles sent me extra money this month to buy each kid 2 gifts.”

               “Isn’t that sweet.  Go ahead, I’m sure they will love it.” 

               As Freya begins walking around the ward with her cart full of toys, I can’t help but notice how Gladys is looking at me as if she needs to say something.  When we open the door and see Freya’s friend Astrid, I smile.  Astrid shared a room with Freya in post-op until we secured her private room upstairs.  The girls hit it off, and we often visit Astrid during the summer when Freya isn’t busy with school.  “Molly, do you mind if I leave Freya here with you for a moment?  I need to make a quick phone call,” I ask Astrid’s mom.

               “Anything for you, Valerie.”  Molly’s a sweet woman.  She’s a single mom, and her child is battling childhood cancer.  I’ve been covering Astrid’s medical expenses for years, ensuring she has the best oncology team at her disposal.  The child is only 8, but she doesn’t let her cancer battle get her down.  She’s the first one to teach my daughter about the power of sheer kindness in the world.

               “Gladys, is everything alright?” I ask, cornering the head nurse at her station.  Her brown eyes look as though she wants to run.

               “Don’t bring Freya into room 26,” Gladys finally whispers.

               “Why not?  You know she goes into each room.”

               “Last night, Mr. Carter brought a young girl in with her mother, telling the doctors she’s his daughter.  At first, I thought you knew, but when Freya didn’t go there first to see her friend, I…  I’m sorry if I’m out of line.”

               “What’s the child’s name?”  I press.

               “I… I cannot disclose that.  It’s against the rules for me to even warn you, but…”  She lets out a sigh.  “Freya is such a sweetheart; if she hears him call himself someone else’s father, it may upset her.”

               “I will speak to Freya when we get over there.  Thank you for warning me,” I force a smile.  Lincoln Carter, you do not want to be betraying me…  I return to Astrid’s room to collect Freya.  Of course, Gladys would know what Lincoln looks like, as he came to the hospital every day when Freya was recovering from her surgery.

               As we exit room 22, a little girl with curly blonde hair in a frilly pink dress exits room 26 to leave.  “Wait, I have a gift for you!”  Freya calls, grabbing a teddy bear from her cart and darting towards the girl.

               The girl, who can’t be more than a year older than Freya, turns around with a look of disgust on her face.  “I don’t need a stupid bear from you.  We don’t take charity.  My daddy is going to take me shopping,” the girl proudly snaps.

               Freya stops dead in her tracks.  No one has ever spoken to her like this.  Every kid through the years has been grateful to have someone thinking of them.  “Aurelia, why did you leave without me?  You know not to do that,” a tall, slender woman with long reddish-auburn hair scolds the child.  Her hair looks dyed, and the hue of the color is a bit much.

               “I want to go shopping.  Daddy promised that as soon as I was done, he’d take me shopping!” Aurelia stated, stopping her foot.

               “He’s on his way up, but you need to be patient,” her mother scolded.

               When the doors of the elevator opened, Lincoln stepped out with a smile.  Interesting, he told me he’d be swamped at work for the next two weeks.  Strike two, Lincoln Carter; let’s see how you play this up.  “Daddy!” Aurelia and Freya both call as Lincoln approaches.  His tailored suit seems out of place in the hospital.  His brown hair looks as though he recently had it cut, but those icy blue eyes are as bright with joy as they were the day Freya was born.

               He stops when he sees Freya holding the teddy bear, and frowns.  “Freya, what are you doing here?”  Lincoln demands.

               “I… I brought gifts for the sick kids, Daddy,” Freya answered sheepishly.

               Lincoln’s gaze falls to me.  “I thought I told you to stop wasting money on frivolous things,” Lincoln said coldly.

               “I make my own money.  What I do with it is my choice,” I answer with a shrug of my shoulders.  “This brings her joy, so I humor her.”

               “Freya, no more wasting money on such things,” Lincoln scolded.

               “But…  But Uncle Hudson gave me extra this month,” Freya pouted.  Her voice full of sadness.  “Mommy says it’s not a waste of money to spread kindness.”

               “Freya, it’s rude to tell lies.  You do not have an Uncle.  Do not make up such stories,” Lincoln snapped as he bent down and lifted Aurelia into his arms.  “Valerie, stop filling her head with lies.  We both know you are an orphan.”  With that, he turned and walked to the elevator.  Aurelia’s mom gives me a smug smile as she follows him.

               That’s how we’re going to play this?  Okay, two can play that game.  Betraying me is one thing, but going out of your way to hurt my daughter- now that’s going to come back to bite him.  Freya let the teddy bear she was holding drop to the floor before her knees buckled under her as she began to quietly sob.  I ran to her and wrapped her in a hug.  “Mommy, I didn’t lie.  Uncle Hudson is real, isn’t he?”

               “Very much.  Your daddy just doesn’t remember meeting them.  The last time he saw anyone in my family was when we got married, and that was before Uncle Hudson and Gideon became well known,” I assure her.  “Don’t you worry.  Mommy is going to fix this.”

               “Who was that girl and why did she call him Daddy?  I thought I was his only daughter.” Freya’s sobbing became uncontrollable.  Strike three, Lincoln.  I pull out my phone and send a message to a number I haven’t dialed in many years, praying it still works. 

               I calm Freya down enough to get her back to her feet.  She wipes her face, dries her eyes, and finishes delivering the toys she bought.  In the car, she stares blankly out the window as if her whole world has just been crushed.  Lincoln Carter, your hell will begin shortly… 

               My phone rings with the number I messaged.  “Hello?” I answer.

               “What do you need, Val?  Just say the word.”

               “Are you local?  I need some favors,” I reply.

               “I’ve told you before, wherever you are, I am.  What’s the favors?”

               “I need an investigation for Lincoln Carter.  And I want to know who the woman is whose daughter is calling him ‘Daddy.’  The child’s name is Aurelia,” I answer calmly.  “And I need a place to stay starting tonight.”

               “I will send a car to collect you and your daughter at seven tonight.  For what it’s worth, I’m sorry.  I thought he was genuine.”

               “I thought so too,” I sighed.  “I’ll see you tonight, and thank you.”

               “You do not have to thank me.  I promised you that I’d always be here for you, Val.”  The phone call drops, telling me that he hung up.

               “Mommy?  Are we leaving?”

               “Just the house.”

               “Okay,” she looks down at her hands.  “Who were you talking to?”

               “An old friend,” I answer.  “Don’t worry too much about it.  I promised you that I’d fix this, and I will.  Things just take time to fix.  Now, cheer up, baby.  Would you like to go get some ice cream?”

               “No, I just want to go home.  Daddy will be angry if we spend more money today.”

               “Okay, sweetie.”  She turns her attention back out the window. 

“Mommy, are you sad too?”

               “No, baby, I’m angry.  I’m angry that he hurt you the way he did.  My daddy always told me that if a man makes you cry, then he’s not worth your time,” I answer honestly.  “The day you were born, I was very clear on my expectations of your dad.  No matter what, you are to come first over everything else, and he agreed to it.  Today, he broke my rule.”

               “Did I do something wrong?”

               “Not at all, baby.  You are the sweetest child around.  Remember all those kids you helped today.”

               “They were all happy that I brought them get-well gifts.”

               “And what does Nurse Gladys always tell you?”

               “That happiness and laughter are the best medicine for kids.”

               “Very good.  Mommy needs to make one more call,” I smile.  I dial my bank and speak to the president again. 

               “Ms. Russo, how can I help you today?”

               “Freeze all accounts with my name and my husband Lincoln Carter’s name jointly on them.  I saw some fraudulent charges on his card recently, and I don’t want to chance having any more charges going through,” I explain.

               “I understand.  Let me go over each account to ensure I freeze the correct ones.”  I listen and direct that all 7 joint accounts be frozen until I verify and unfreeze them.  Given that I’m the primary holder on these accounts, and my family does a lot of business with this bank, I’m not concerned about him overriding them.  I was wondering what all the extra charges over the past 6 months have been on, but after today I’m pretty sure I have an idea.  If he wants to spoil those two, he’s going to have to do it on his own dime, not mine.