Everyone in the mansion stopped to stare at Melissa as she walked down the stairs in a short sleeved white dress that flared around her ankles.
Raising it slightly with one hand supporting herself on the handrail with the other, she gracefully took a step after the other.
"Thank you." She smiled as David offered his hand guiding her down the last steps.
"My baby sister looks stunning. When Mark sets his eyes on you, he won't know what hit him." He teased, handing her a gun.
"Don't flatter me, brother. You know why we are going there, so don't get carried away." She said putting the gun in her clasp pochette bag.
"Do you need to take that?" Joining them, Betty asked, with a concerned look on her face.
"Yes aunt I have to. I'm not leaving that place without my son no matter what." Sighing, she turned to look at her aunt. "For your safety aunt, you can't come. Please stay here. I don't want you to get hurt."
"I promised to take care of you, honey." She touched Melissa's hand. "However dangerous it is, I'm coming along." Insisting, she proceeded to the waiting vehicle.
"You should tell her before we get there." David advised sitting beside Melissa in the car.
"I know if only I can stop it. It will hurt her once she knows her husband lied so he could take their son away."
In the private plane, Mr. Edward sat with a newspaper in his hands as flashes of his childhood crossed his mind. For his granddaughter, he was going to meet with the one person who ruined his life and took away his happiness and freedom. He never thought of meeting him in such circumstances.
"Grandpa, are you okay?" David's voice woke him from his nightmare.
"I'm fine, my child. I'm only worried about what this anger will do to your sister. She is a kind and loving person but everything happening in her life right now might break her. I'm afraid she will turn into the monster I have been." He said his eyes fixed on Melissa.
"Don't worry grandpa, I'll take care of her. She trusts me and no matter what I'll be by her side." David assured him.
Once the plane was steadily in the air, Melissa left her seat to sit next to her aunt
"Aunt, I have to tell you something before we get to Johnson's farm."
"What is it?"
"When we got to the city months ago, I promised myself I would look for your family's resting place. I wanted you to move on. I wanted to ease your pain and make you happy so I went to all the cemeteries in the city but I couldn't find them. Since I couldn't find any answers, I recently hired one of Edward's private detectives to help me look." She held her aunt's hand assessing what her reaction would be.
"You're so thoughtful my child, but you don't have to go through so much trouble. It's been years, I can't forget them but I've learned to live because I have you." Betty smiled, touching Melissa's cheek.
"No Aunt, you don't deserve that pain. You never deserved it because they are alive. I found them, aunt. Mr. Richard and Mathew are still alive." She confirmed handing her the phone with pictures of the whole report as the plane touched down on the small airstrip. "That's why I didn't want you to come. I don't want you to get hurt, aunt. Mr. Richard is married, he faked his death to keep Mathew from you."
"What? This can't be true. You're trying to stop me from coming with you but it won't work." She handed back the phone then stepped out of the plane.
"Watch my aunt David. I don't want her to meet Mr. Richard or his wife." Leaving the plane, Melissa told David as they met Lisa who stood waiting beside two hired vehicles.
Lisa had gone earlier to make travel arrangements and secure their invitation. "Has the party begun?" Melissa asked, sitting beside Lisa in one of the cars.
"Yes, are you sure you want to do this today?"
"We are here Lisa, there is no turning back. We'll leave as soon as I find Tommy." Melissa said, looking out the window as they drove the short distance to the ranch.
"Melissa, Mark is waiting for you down the hall. He asked me to take you to him. You two need to talk." Lisa informed her as they stepped out of the car outside the house.
"Lisa, I didn't come all the way to see Mark. I came to get Tommy from them. I won't let my son live with the Johnsons. Stick to the plan." She commanded, stepping out of the car smiling at other guests arriving for the party.
"You can do this." Taking a deep breath, she stormed into the building looking for her son. She checked one room after the other calling his name like a crazy person. In the corridor to the hall which was set up and decorated for the small intimate party, Melissa pumped into a hard masculine chest almost falling on her back but he held her in his arms.
Smelling the so familiar Cologne, she raised her eyes only to see the face she has been missing and dreaming of all these months. For a moment she forgot about her son and her mission of the day because all she wanted was to be with him. Feel his arms around her again and forget the world existed.
“Are you okay?”
“Get your hands off me. Where is my son?" She stepped back trying to get away from him.
"We have to talk, Melissa."
"I have nothing to talk about with you Mark." Lisa had told her he lost his memories after the attack and his grandfather was taking advantage of his condition to get him engaged with Sasha but looking at him, she knew it was a lie.
He chose to be with another woman to please his grandfather and it hurt her more than she imagined it would.
Melissa thought being angry and resentful towards him and his family would make the strong feelings she had for him go away, but being this close to Mark brought back all the memories and feelings she fought so hard against.