The Hours in Between - The Devereaux Case Files Book 5

Chapter 6

Reggie thought nothing more of his talk with 'Kelly' that weekend, and had no inclination that he had actually been speaking with Reed. He had enough suspicion surrounding him without suspecting that people weren't who they said they were. He spent the whole weekend going through his fathers paperwork, trying to clear up accounts and get rid of old belongings now that he was gone. He was a little surprised when he came across one of his father, Leland's journals, dated 2011, the year Blake had acted out and kidnapped Ayah. He was so curious about whether his father had anything to do with it, that he decided to take a look.

The nitwits are at it again. My sons are up to their usual tricks. Reginald has a lovely wife and two children; I do not understand how he managed it. She is a beautiful woman, smart and raised in a well respected family. How she ever became held back by Reginald, I'll never understand. It's such a pity, but I truly hope that the little boy does not end up like his father.

They are both such a disappointment, and now that ingrate Blake is attempting to steal dear Faith's sister, to take as his bride. I gave my consent only to shut him up. He is desperate to inherit the family business, but he doesn't know my secret. If he knew, he would realize that his claim was not as stable as he believes.

How I wish, now that I have seen my sons grow, that I had kept that little girl of my own blood. Girl though she is, I would rather she inherit the business and lead it into the new decade, rather than it suffer at the hands of such fools as my sons. She has grown into such a clever, talented young woman, though she does not yet know of me. She will one day, and I hope she accepts her share of my assets when I die. She will not forgive me quickly for putting her up for adoption, but with her dear mother dead after the birth, it would have been cruel of me indeed to ask my lovely wife Nicole to take her in. Her temper was sweet, but I believe it was not sweet enough for that.

However the company is divided now, at least it will be according to my will.

Reggie was shocked at what he had read. The insults to himself and Blake were bad enough, but to find out that he had a sister was a stunning revelation. No name had been provided, no hint of who her mother might have been or how he might find her. But there were two clues Reggie had; firstly that her mother had died at birth, and secondly, that she was going to be left something in his father's will. He could go through the women that had surrounded his mother and discover who had died suddenly in childbirth. That would give him somewhere to start and some sort of road to follow. Whatever he knew, he would have to find out who this sister of his was and deal with her.

She might accept a monetary payment to relinquish her claim on anything their father bequeathed her. O Reggie might be forced to offer her a lowly position in the family business to keep her quiet. He didn't want her getting ideas above her position in the family, and expecting more than he and Blake were willing to give up. Reggie had already convinced Blake to sign over his share of the family business, to keep the company safe and within family hands. Convincing his sister to do the same might not be so easy.

His father was right about one thing, being put up for adoption would not make the job of including her in the family, or keeping her from family business, any easier. There would be a lot of hatred, a lot of anger and a lot of peace making to get through before the matter could be settled to any degree that he or his sister would be happy with. But settle they would.

They would have to. Reggie had one brother and didn't need any other family members wangling in on his business. He didn't even have an incline as to whether he or Blake had the strongest claim to the family business, and he didn't know when his sister had been born. Or if she had a more legitimate claim than he and his brother did. But however it worked out, he was going to make sure that he came out on top. He had spent too much time working on his strategy, too long dealing with Kelly and far too long hoping, and waiting for his just desserts. He deserved more than what his father had given him, and he was determined to get it. It was his time to shine, and with Blake in jail, there was no way he was going to allow his sister to take his spotlight from him.