Total pages in book: 145
Estimated words: 141385 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 707(@200wpm)___ 566(@250wpm)___ 471(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 141385 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 707(@200wpm)___ 566(@250wpm)___ 471(@300wpm)
“No. I’d rather know. It’ll only eat away at me.” I turn back to Alec with a deep breath. “What did you find out?”
“Four children not including you came back. Valentina Devereaux returned to St Peters around seven or eight months after she went missing, but there’s no record of where she came from, nor have the Devereauxs ever spoken about it. Olivia Peters-Wright was missing for two weeks before she was spotted at a marina down south and brought home. Amelia and Austin Navarra were found around two months later in Poland. Valentina and Olivia were relatively healthy, but Amelia and Austin were malnourished and had some injuries. They claimed to have escaped and hidden until they were able to find someone who spoke enough English to help them.” Alec sighs and runs a hand through his hair. “They were older, though. About fourteen. Everyone else was younger.”
I nod slowly. “Valentina was with me in Asia,” I say after a moment. “I don’t know how she was found and why the rest of us weren’t, but it doesn’t matter.”
“Yeah, that information is impossible to come by. There are no records of her during that time, and her father especially has never spoken about it. I fear that’s one answer I might never be able to give you.”
“Don’t worry. I accepted that I’ll never know everything a long time ago.”
“Okay.” He pauses. “I also investigated the familial relationships of the children who went missing. Over sixty percent of them were from broken homes, for lack of a better term. Their parents were either divorced, separated, or widowed. At the time of their disappearances, all but one had at least one new partner involved. I didn’t include you in that group because your parents were technically married, even though your father had Rosalyn as his mistress.” He flips to another sheet of paper and motions for me to look. “That was the case for around ten to twelve percent of the others who came from seemingly happy homes. One of their parents engaged in an extramarital affair. Some long-term, some short. The remaining disappearances can’t be linked to a familial breakdown in any way, so they were likely either collateral damage or taken by chance.”
My gaze flicks between him and the paper for a moment. “You know what I’m going to ask next.”
Alec’s lips pull to one side in a knowing smirk. “Yes. Rosalyn can be tied to every single family. Even her indirect contacts are linked enough to assume that they had some kind of conversation at some point. In fact, the stepfather of Matthew Mason knew her back in college, and from what I’ve found out, there’s an indication they once had a relationship.”
“And Matthew didn’t come home,” I say, checking the list of names again.
“No. To this day, he’s still listed as a missing person.”
“Do they still speak? Rosalyn and the stepfather?”
“Yes. The two of them grew up on the peripheral of the upper class.”
“New money, as the term goes,” Oscar says. “I’m familiar with Matthew’s stepfather, Daniel. My father has done business with him. His family is extremely wealthy, but his parents were never quite able to break into the aristocratic circles. He did so when he met Susannah Mason during her divorce.”
“Who is she?” I ask. “I don’t know half these families, although some names ring a bell.”
“The Earl of Longford’s granddaughter. Well, she was at the time. She’s now the niece,” he explains. “No title of her own as she’s of a female line, but blue-blooded enough that Daniel could get a foothold in society. Matthew was the heir to the earldom at the time as his uncle was unmarried and childless, but after his disappearance, there were rumblings that Susannah and Daniel’s son was lined up to become the heir.”
I wrinkle my nose up. “Is he still the heir?”
“No. The earl… Well, everyone thought he was gay, honestly. He married later in life to a younger woman and had children. There were rumours at the time it was transactional was because he refused to allow Daniel’s child to be his heir, but they’re still married today, so who knows?” Oscar shrugs and holds out his hands. “It wouldn’t be unusual, even if he is gay. He can live his life, have a secure heir, and his wife lives in the lap of luxury. As long as she consents to it, I don’t see a problem.”
“If we assume that’s correct and the Earl of Longford is gay, it wouldn’t be unreasonable of us to come to the conclusion that Daniel was involved in Matthew’s disappearance.” I set the papers on my lap then look at them both. “If his own son was being lined up to become the heir…”
“Theoretically, but not guaranteed,” Alec says slowly. “Depending on the rules of inheritance. However, if Christian Longford expressed to Her Majesty that he wished to nominate another blood relative as his heir in the absence of him having his own children, she’d likely approve it. It’s happened with Matthew, so there’s no reason to believe she wouldn’t approve it again, but Lord Longford didn’t do that.”