Secret Deception (Jonathan Black's Love Story)

Chapter 36: Breakdown

"Is it real?" Jonathan asked as we sat in my office.
"I can't tell by looking at it, baby. I sent it for tests. They're running a handwriting analysis against your father's known handwriting. They're running tests to determine how old the paper and ink is. They're trying to run a DNA test on any saliva on the envelope flap." I sighed.
"What are the odds that he could pull this off?" Kay asked sitting in Cameron's lap.
"I wouldn't put it passed him." I answered.
Jonny looked at me with fear and pain in his eyes.
"There's nothing else for us to do here tonight. Let's go back to the house and try to get some rest."
"Where are the kids?" Jonny asked when we got home.
"With Jasmine and Dina. I'm sure Jordan, Gunther, and Brad are there too." I answered walking up to our bedroom.
"Why?" He asked following me.
"Jonny. You know why. If this is really him do you think he'll spare our children? I don't. Sebastian Black didn't have a compassionate bone in his entire body."
"You're right, Lexa. I'm sorry, baby. I'm just scared." He admitted.
"I know, Jonny. I'm scared too. Come here." I sighed as I sat on our bed.
He walked over to sit next to me. I buried myself under his arm and wrapped myself around him.
"Where is she?" He asked after a long moment.
"I don't know. We weren't holding her for anything and she refused protective detail." I answered.
"I don't trust her, Lexa."
"Neither do I, babe but that's not a crime."
"I've never known my mother but my father was a monster... maybe I'm just worried she's a monster too." He gently kissed my head.
"I'll see if Penelope can unseal her medical records. If there's any sign that something's not right it'll be in there."
"Lexa... we got married six years ago. She had to know. It was on every news station and she didn't reach out. We have four children, all the pregnancies were announced in the media. Still nothing. Now, Cam's getting married and here she is? Can't I be one person's favorite?"
I looked up at my husband. The love of my life. The father of my children.
"You're MY favorite. You always have been." I kissed the tear from his cheek.
He kissed me deeply and smiled at me when he pulled back.
"You always know just what to say." He kissed the tip of my nose.
I straddled his waist and wrapped my arms around his neck.
"I love you so much." I kissed him.
"I love you too, my queen."
I woke up alone in my bed. I climbed out and made my way down the hallway. The house was eerily quiet as I made my way down the stairs.  I could see a figure in the corner of the basement shrouded in darkness. My heart pounded as I searched along the wall for the light. As the light flickered on I found Jonathan hanging by his wrists in the shackles in the corner of the room. His shirt hung tattered from his shoulders covered in blood. His chin rested against his chest and his hair matted. The room went black again.
Suddenly I felt metal around my own wrists pinning me down to a mattress. Sebastian Black stood above me.
"I told you what would happen if you told him what happened." He growled grabbing me by the throat.
I screamed as I shot up in bed. Jonathan sat up behind me touching my shoulders.
"Lexa? Alexia?" He said my name gently but firmly.
Cameron rushed into the room.
"Are you okay?" He asked sitting on our bed in front of me.
I nodded and leaned back into my husband's arms.
"I had a bad dream too." Cam said touching my forearm.
"He scarred us." Jonny murmured against me.
"We don't even know for sure if he's the one that sent that message to our mother." Cam added.
"Can we even call her that?" Jonathan asked holding me tighter.
"I don't know." Cameron admitted.
"By blood she is."
"Blood isn't everything." I sighed.
"That's true." He smiled at me.
When we arrived at the office the next day Emily brought me a Manila envelope with the test results.
"The handwriting analysis came back consistent with your father's known handwriting. The chemical components of the ink and paper dated them both to the mid 2000's. And the DNA came back inconclusive." I said sitting in my office chair.
"What does that mean?" Jonny asked.
"Essentially it means that your father likely wrote the letter but he could have written and sent it before he died in 2007." I answered.
"So what do we do?" Cameron asked.
"For now there's nothing we can do. I'll ask Penelope to search for any of your father's aliases from 2007 to now and we'll see if anything comes back."
"What about Elizabeth?" Jonny looked at me.
"I don't know, baby. That's up to you and Cameron."
"She faked her own death. Isn't there a way to prosecute her?"
"Technically there's no law against faking your death. We could arrest her for fraud but I'm not sure if it'd be worth it, babe."
"What about what he did?"
"I don't know if I can prove she knew he'd hurt you. She could have, but I don't think I can prove it."
"I want to tell her. See her reaction." Jonny said.
"I'll call her in if that's what you want."
He nodded.