CHAPTER 116: WENDY’S MIND (2)

Nick’s POV

"What made you think that?" I asked Wendy immediately, my grip tightening on the wheel. My chest burned with impatience. I couldn’t wait another second for her explanation.

Her eyes flickered with something heavy, almost haunted. "Even though David and Raymond grew up like brothers, I saw too many times when Raymond lied. And every damn time, David took the blame—just so Raymond’s father wouldn’t come down on him. David knew the truth, but he still protected Raymond.

And Raymond... he exploited that. Lied on purpose because he knew David would shield him. At first, I dismissed it. Kids, I thought. But it didn’t stop. It only got worse as they got older, especially after the real Davis son appeared."

The words hit me like a fist to the gut. I slammed the brakes and pulled the car to the side of the road. My pulse roared in my ears.

I turned toward Wendy, my brows furrowed, my voice sharp. "What do you mean, the real son?"

She pressed her lips together, exhaling as if the truth carried too much weight. "Hmm... it’s a long story, but—"

"I don’t care how long it is." My voice came out rougher than I intended, but I didn’t soften it. "Tell me. I swore to Georgia I’d find out who murdered her brother. Not just to clear my own damn name, but to make sure she and Katie are safe. I won’t stop until I do."

Something changed in Wendy’s eyes, respect, maybe even relief. She finally nodded.

"Alright," she said softly. "Here’s the shortest version. Raymond isn’t Jefferson’s real son. He’s Solana’s child from her first marriage. His biological father was already dead when Solana met Jefferson.

Back then, she worked as a receptionist for Georgia’s grandfather. Jefferson came here for business, met her, and when they married, he adopted Raymond as his own. Everyone believed Jefferson finally had an heir. But the truth is... his real son already existed."

Wendy’s voice dropped lower, as if even the air around us might betray her words.

"Before Jefferson married Solana, he had another relationship. Rumors swirled that he got a woman pregnant, but then she vanished, and everyone dismissed it as gossip. Until one day, the truth clawed its way out, she had been pregnant. And she was already dead."

My chest tightened. I gripped the steering wheel hard enough that my knuckles ached.

"They had a son. Laurence," she continued. "Social services brought him here after finding a letter in his mother’s belongings. That letter had Georgia’s mother’s name, her closest friend, as the one to trust with him.

But by then, Georgia’s mom had already passed. So, her father stepped in. He reached out to Jefferson, one of their biggest clients, and told him about Laurence."

I could almost see it, the storm that must have erupted in their world.

"Solana refused," Wendy said bitterly. "She wanted nothing to do with the boy, demanded a DNA test. It wasn’t cheap back then, but Jefferson did it. The results were undeniable: Laurence was his son. And Jefferson... he embraced him without hesitation. Loved him. Gave him everything he deserved."

I exhaled sharply, because I knew what that kind of shift did inside families... It’s a familiar territory for me and Vicky. It changes the balance of power, of inheritance, of loyalty.

"After that, Raymond and David grew closer. They were always together. David... he was the kind of boy who carried everyone else’s burdens, even as a kid. He comforted Raymond, treated him like a brother, maybe even more. But Raymond..." Wendy’s voice faltered, and she shook her head slowly.

I turned to her, searching her face, my pulse rising.

She finally whispered, "I’d catch Raymond looking at David with something dark in his eyes. Not brotherhood. Not love. Something sharper. Something dangerous. I can’t prove it, but deep down...

I believe Raymond’s anger at David ran deeper than we ever imagined. Maybe I’m paranoid. Maybe I just need someone to blame for David’s death. But my gut... my gut says it was him. Or he participated."

"Don’t dismiss gut feelings, Wendy," I told her firmly, my voice rougher than I intended. "When your instincts flare, there’s always a reason. Sailors like me survive storms because we listen to that whisper inside. I’ll dig deeper into this. You have my word. And... thank you for trusting me enough to tell me."

I pressed the gas and steered us back onto the road, but her next words caught me off guard.

"Aren’t you going to ask why I trusted you, even after you were the first one suspected of killing David?" she asked.

A smirk curved on my lips. I threw her a sidelong glance. "Besides what you said earlier—that I’ve got money and power—I’m guessing it’s because you secretly think I’m handsome. Maybe even trustworthy." I let the tease roll off my tongue, hoping to cut through the heaviness.

Wendy laughed, the sound softer than I expected. "Just like you said—gut feeling. I trusted mine. And it feels right."

Her smile lingered, and for a moment, I felt something shift inside me. Rarely did anyone look at me without suspicion anymore. Her words shouldn’t have mattered as much as they did, but somehow, they steadied me.

If not for being accused... if not for this cursed spiral of betrayal and death, I wouldn’t have met Georgia. And now, everything dark in my past, everything that used to hollow me out from the inside, was slowly losing its grip.

Georgia had become the unexpected plot twist in my broken story—the unforeseen light I never saw coming.

We pulled into The Home Depot parking lot, and just as I was about to step inside, Wendy’s hand brushed against my arm, halting me. I turned, instantly alert, but she only tilted her head toward the donut shop across the street.

"She likes sweets," she said with a knowing grin. "Donuts, cakes, cupcakes, muffins, cookies... anything that screams sugar rush, she’ll melt for it. Thank me later."

She gave me a playful wink and sauntered ahead, leaving me standing there with my pulse thudding in my throat—because she wasn’t just feeding me information about Georgia. She was arming me with a weapon to her heart.