Chapter 31--Voices

Part 1--


"Are you girls ready to go to the party?" asked Julia when she came to collect her sisters for the get together at Jeremiah and Jasmine's house.

"But it's a grown up party, Jules," Kimber said. "How come me an' Niki get to go?"

"Because Matty and Sandrina will be there, too. And Joe, Tracy, and Danica came all the way from Kittery," Julia said.

"Just for a party?" Niki asked.

Julia nodded.

David came into the room, knelt down before his daughters and said,

"Now Mama and I expect you to be good girls and do what the adults tell you; just as if it were me and Mama telling you, okay?"

"Yes, Daddy," they both said. Then they went to the door to wait for Julia.

"Your mom will come by and get them at six," David told Julia. "You and Ryan need to keep your eyes on them and not let them out of your sight."

"Has there been a threat?" asked Julia, concerned.

"Just the one you found out about in Montpelier," he said.

"Okay, David," Julia said; "I'll let the others know that we should all be watching the little ones."

"That's a good idea," David said. "We don't need any mamas or expectant mamas to get freaked out, so keep it neutral."

"Of course, David," Julia laughed.

"Joooooooleeeeeahhhhh..." Kimber said, the impatience showing her voice; "when are we going to gooooooooo?"

"Now good enough?" asked Julia.

"Yay!" Kimber said, jumping up and down.

"Have a good time, ladies," David said as they left.

He shook his head. Sometimes, his little girls truly amazed him. He wondered if the little boys would be the same way.

----------

"Is there going to be cake?" Niki asked as she, Kimber and Julia walked to the house Jeremiah shared with Jasmine.

"Ice cream?" Kimber interjected.

"I don't know," said Julia; "we'll just have to wait til we get there, won't we?"

"Poo..." Kimber said under her breath. Julia just rolled her eyes at her sister.

Soon, they arrived at the house, and Jeremiah greeted them warmly as he invited them inside.

"We're the first ones here?" asked Julia.

"Yeah," Jeremiah said; "Joe and Tracy took the baby out for a drive. Jasmine's laying down for a few minutes."

"Is she taking a nap?" asked Niki.

"Not really," Jeremiah said; "she's just resting."

"We have to take naps," Kimber said. "I hate naps."

"But naps are so good for you, Kimber," Jeremiah said. "Even I take a nap sometimes."

"You do?" Kimber asked. "Grownups can do that?"

"Sure can," Jeremiah said. "And I feel so much better after a nap, don't you baby?" he finished as he saw Jasmine walk into the living room.

"Oh yes," Jasmine said, sitting down on the couch. "I even get to nap at work sometimes."

"Wow," chimed in Niki, "really, Jasmine?"

"Yes, really Niki," said Jasmine. "Nurses have to be right, and they have to be awake, so if I'm tired, I can go take a short nap."

"I still hate naps," Kimber said. "I miss stuff."

"Trust me, Kimber," Julia said; "you're not missing anything. Mama and Daddy get to spend time with each other while you and Niki are napping."

"See!" Kimber said; "I do miss stuff!"

Jasmine laughed; "Oh, to be so knowledgeable!"

Julia noticed that Jasmine's remark went right over her sister's head, and she had to smile.

Jeremiah was going to say something, then Joe, Tracy and Danica came into the house, followed by Ryan.

Niki and Kimber seemed confused. Who are all these people?

"Whose baby is that?" Kimber whispered to her sister.

"I don't know, Kimber," Niki whispered back. "Jer'miah and Jasmine's?"

"Oh," Kimber replied.

Ryan walked over to where the girls sat on the couch. "You look like you just saw a bunch of strangers," he said to them.

"Ryne, whose baby is that?" Kimber asked.

"That's Joe and Tracy's little girl, Danica," Ryan said. "She was born the same day in the same hospital as Sandrina; right before Christmas. You guys don't remember?"

Both girls shook their heads no.

"They were kinda young," Joe said as he walked over to the couch. "You girls remember me and Tracy, right? We lived at your house for a while."

"You look like Jer'miah," Niki said.

"Well, yes, Jeremiah and I do look alike."

Tracy came over with Danica and introduced her to Niki and Kimber. Danica babbled something and the twins just looked at each other. "She sounds like Sandrina," Kimber said. "She just makes baby sounds."

"You girls did that, too," Julia said.

"We did not," Niki said. "We've always used real words."

"Oh, I beg to differ," said Julia, laughing. "I remember when you two made 'baby sounds'. I couldn't wait for you to learn real words!"

"Niki," Kimber said to her sister, "is that true?"

Niki only shrugged.

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Jayme couldn't bring herself to go to Neil's funeral. She knew that Sarah Kathryn wouldn't be there, but the idea of going left a bad taste in her mouth.

The emails started coming in Friday evening from her former coworkers at the law firm; some asking why she wasn't there; some telling her it was a nice service; others expressing regret that he had to die alone in that secluded little house.

Jayme had the address of the small church cemetary where Neil and his family were buried, and after an appropriate time, she'd send flowers. Maybe around Neil's birthday in November.

Meanwhile, Jayme and Neil's daughter grew and moved inside her mother's womb. Jayme had decided to name her Cassandra after all. Jayden gave his approval.

"I like that name, Mama," he told Jayme. "I wish her daddy could be here to meet her."

"I do, too, Jayden," Jayme said, "but God had other plans for him."

"He'll watch from heaven, right Mama?" the boy asked.

"Of course he will," Jayme said.

Jayme had cut out Neil's obituary from the paper and placed in her Bible, on the page with the twenty-third Psalm. She closed it up and put it back in the drawer by her bed.

She decided to head to bed shortly after Jayden did. She wanted to be awake and alert in the morning when she accompanied her mother and her son to the small church her family had gone to all of Jayme's life. They all volunteered there to feed the less fortunate. It gave Jayme a little piece of mind that she was doing the right thing. Community service was something her preacher father insisted on while she and her brothers and sisters were growing up. Her oldest brother was a preacher himself; and her younger brother and his wife were expecting their second child in September.

God, please forgive me for not being perfect. I know I am in Your eyes, but I struggle so.

Jayme went to bed, thinking about a future without her daughter's father in it.

In a few weeks, her future would change.

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Dan Donegan hated doing intel work on Saturdays, but things were happening so quickly, that had he taken the day to spend with his family, there would be a stack three feet high on his desk on Monday morning.

In the pile he had just taken from the printer, he learned that the New Army's plans for arresting the band took a back seat to the arrest of one person.

Julia.

Why Julia? Dan thought. What is so damned important about getting her into custody? Do they think once they have her, we'll give up?

"Don't think so," he mumbled aloud.

Good luck trying to arrest her, assholes, he thought. You don't know what you're dealing with.

"Hell, sometimes I think we don't know what we're dealing with," he said. "I wonder if Peter saw something in her at age five that none of the rest of us saw until she was much older?"

Dan hated that Julia could pull off the disappearing in front of your eyes trick that Morbus liked to use. It always made him wonder if he was losing his mind.

I'll bet that makes for fun nights at her place, he thought.

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Part 2--

The latest reports on his wife's condition indicated that she was not getting better. In fact, Mirielle Coltrane would get progressively worse. Jack often wondered if Mirielle's condition was payback for his behavior in the performance of his duties as an officer of the New Army. He also wondered if his abusive behavior towards the inmates--especially the female inmates-- would be considered a betrayal of his wedding vows. He wondered if Mirielle knew about it and that's why she's so sick now.

Jack Coltrane never raised a hand to his wife. She was his rock. She was the one who supported his decision to transfer to the New Army when it appeared that the old system of government was on its way out. He knew she didn't like a lot of what went on in the New Army, and the different person her Jack had become. She knew his love was unconditional, and had been since they were fifteen years old.

Her illness began slowly. At first, it was just forgetting things. She started to write things down so she'd remember them, and that seemed to work for a while. Then one afternoon about five years before, she went out to the store to shop for groceries. She remembered everything she wanted to get. Paying for them was okay, but finding her car in the parking lot was impossible. She searched for what seemed like hours, each time passing it. When someone saw her searching for several minutes, they approached her to offer assistance. They asked her name and she couldn't remember it!

At some point, Jack was called, and he saw immediately what was wrong. Mirielle looked confused, scared, and embarrassed. "It's okay, Miri, I'm here, and we'll get you home so you can rest," he had told her. She looked at him and asked,

"You're so kind. But who are you?"

From that point it only got worse. She could remember things that happened when she was young, but not what the current date was. She spoke to her husband as if he were a stranger; or her doctor.

Presently, she quite literally lived in the past. She sounded like herself, then she would go off into a tangent about winter coats, or pressing Jack's uniform pants, or one of their children's birthdays. She even went back to her childhood in the French speaking regions of Canada. She sounded like an older woman, but spoke French like a young child.

By that time, Jack knew he'd lost her, but he didn't want to give up trying to find a way to help her.

At work, he was impossible. He was mean, evil, and took his frustrations out on everyone. A patient man he'd never been, but now he was even more impatient. Fail an assignment and your fate was the interrogation room. Most people sent there didn't make it out alive; those who did wish they hadn't.

He'd come home and talk to Mirielle about his day, and she did not react to anything he said. It was almost like her mind, and her memories, stopped at that day at the market five years before.

She slept a lot now, and when he was home, Jack still doted on her. He wanted desperately for her to remember something from now, and not something from forty years ago. The worst part was, he knew in his heart that would never happen.

He didn't know that his time with her was limited.

And he didn't know that when her time with him was up, that someone else would show him the the errors of his ways without doing anything special.

They would not be afraid of him.

----------

At six, Jordan came to Jeremiah and Jasmine's to pick up her little daughters.

"I don't wanna go home, Mama," Niki said, near tears.

"I do," Kimber said. "I'm tired. Playing with babies is hard work!"

Jordan had to laugh at that. "Just you wait, Kimberlin," she said; "You're going to love it in a few months."

Niki and Kimber said their goodbyes to everyone, then left with their mother.

"Those two are always so well behaved," Tracy said. "I hope I do half as good a job with Danica!"

"Didja catch that 'playing with babies is hard work' line?" asked Nik. "I just about fell out of my chair when I heard that!"

"They manage to say stuff that I don't think Mom and David believe could come from them," Julia said. "Niki saw pictures of David with his chin piercings and asked why he had fangs! I'd never seen David so non plussed!"

"I'm glad they're having boys now," Jeremiah said; "We need to even up the male to female ratio in a hurry!"

KateLynn asked, "Jasmine, do you know what you're having yet?"

"I have a chance to find out when I have my first ultrasound in a couple of weeks," Jasmine said; "Part of me wants to know, and part of me wants to be surprised."

"I want to know," Jeremiah said, "if I'm buying dolls or toy trucks."

"Dolls," Joe said. "I'm making that prediction right now, you're going to buying dolls and lots of pink stuff!"

Nik and Ryan got an idea. "How about a baby pool?" asked Ryan. "We can take bets on whether Jas is having a boy or a girl, then put the money in a college fund."

"I like that!" Jasmine said. "Jere, what do you think?"

"Sounds good to me, but you guys will have to wait until we find out, and I might feel like keeping it to myself for a while," said Jeremiah.

"Fine," Julia said, laughing; "be that way, Jere!"

They all set up the "Donovan Baby Pool" and each donated money and their guesses as to what gender the baby would be.

Nik noticed that Matty and the baby girls were all asleep or nearly asleep. He carried Matty, while KateLynn and Tracy carried their daughters to the bedroom where Joe and Tracy were sleeping.

When everyone returned to the living room, the talk started about Julia's latest assignment. Then Julia said,

"I thought Vixen, Kylee, and Susie were coming over."

"I thought so, too," said Jeremiah. "I'll go give one of them a call."

Just then there was a knock at the door. Jasmine went to answer it, and the three ladies that Julia had just asked about were on the other side.

"Sorry we're late," Vixen said; "We decided to get a gift for the mom-to-be and lost track of time." Kylee then gave Jasmine a wrapped box.

"You didn't have to go to all that trouble," Jasmine said.

"Yes, we did," Kylee said. "My mama always taught us that we don't go to a party or gathering without bringing a gift. So this is from the five of us gals."

Jasmine looked at Julia, and asked, "Did you know about this?"

"Yeah, but I trusted their judgement on what to get, because I have no idea what expectant mothers need," she said.

"How is Rebekah?" KateLynn asked. "I heard she's taking some time off and staying with Director Collins in the Arlington Sector."

"As far as we know," Vixen said, "she's doing okay. I think she was just a little stressed out. I certainly can attest to that!"

"Me, too," Susie said. "I'm kind of glad Morbus gave us some time off from training."

"We could all use a break sometimes," Nik said; "but I think that's what makes us as good as we are. We're always training. But breaks are good, too. Morbus sometimes forgets that part."

"Morbus takes plenty of breaks," Julia said, remembering how she figured out that she and JT Collins had the same father.

"You're so sure of that, Jules," Susie said.

"Don't ask me how I know that, I just know," Julia said.

Susie did want to know, but let the subject drop when she saw that Julia didn't wish to discuss it.

"When's Rebekah coming back, anyone know?" Jasmine asked.

"Soon, hopefully," Julia said. "I haven't had a chance to talk to her yet."

Julia then noticed Vixen staring out the window. That doesn't look right, she thought.

"Vixen?" asked Julia

No answer.

"Vixen?"

Still nothing.

Julia looked back at the group. "Jasmine...I think Vixen's having a blank out."

"Like the ones your mom sometimes has?"

"Yes," said Julia.

Jasmine went over to Vixen and looked at her. "Vixen!" she said sharply. "Can you hear me?"

Still nothing.

"Whatever it is, she's deep into it," Jasmine said. "Should we call someone?"

"She's been doing it a lot the last few weeks, but nothing like this," Kylee said. "She was fine this afternoon when we were out shopping."

"Vixen hates shopping," Julia said. "She told me once she'd rather have a root canal than go shopping."

Jasmine led Vixen to a chair and sat her down. The others could see that Vixen was transfixed by something. What that was, only Vixen knew.

----------

She remembered being told she was thirteen years old, and that it was time to put into practice what she had been taught.

"Where's my brother?" she asked.

"He's dead, remember?"

"Did you kill him?"

"No, he died with your parents."

"I don't believe you."

"I don't care if you believe me or not," her "new" father said. "You have to go out now and show me what you've learned."

"I don't want to," she said. "It hurts me."

"I don't care if it hurts, you little bitch," he said. "You will do it, or you'll join your parents and brother in hell."

She sighed. As if the sick and twisted things he did to her weren't enough, now she had to let someone else do those same sick and twisted things to her. And she was to like it. If she did well, she was told, she'd get money. If she didn't, she'd get a beating.

So she went out and had sex with a much older man. He paid her a lot of money. She went back to the house and gave that money to the man she lived with.

"Do I get any of that money?" she asked.

"No, Amanda, you don't."

"Why?"

Her question was answered with a sharp slap to the face. "No, Amanda, you don't get any of the money. You work for me, and I get the money. You're just a whore."

"What's a whore?"

"It's what you are," he said. "You let men fuck you and I get the money because they ask me to send you to them. You're lucky you have a place to live, clothes to wear and food to eat. You don't need money. You just need to spread your legs."

She soon realized that was all she was good for as far as he was concerned.

Because she was smart, she got to be schooled at the house with two other girls. None of them went to a real school like she remembered when she was younger. She was way ahead of kids her age academically. Unlike other kids, though, she had to go on "jobs". Older men would have sex with her, do terrible things to her because that's what they paid for. They paid for a teenage whore, and that's what she was. She learned to act like she enjoyed it, but she never really did. She knew that sex was worth money.

When she was fifteen, she was sent to stay with a man named Corbin. He was her pimp, and had ten other girls who walked the streets for him. She would be the youngest. He had specifically asked for a young blonde several years before, and this was that girl. He looked forward to breaking her in, then sending her out to walk for him.

She stayed until she could bear it no more. Corbin's abuse of her was criminal, and then he'd send her out to be abused more by the men who paid Corbin for her "services". She knew she was the only one who could end the cycle of abusive sexual servitude and escape the only life she remembered since she was nine years old.

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Part 3--

Rebekah received permission to spend her time in the Arlington Sector in the apartment that Christine had approved for Chris' stay. Christine had decided to let Rebekah have some autonomy to deal with her life her way.

Christine was happy that Rebekah's life no longer revolved around heroin and sex. Chris Patrick seemed to be a good match for her. It was good to see Rebekah smile and at least look like a normal 23 year old woman on the outside. It was on the inside that Rebekah's demons lay, and Christine knew this.

Christine had told Rebekah about the threat to her sister's life, and that Julia took care of it. Rebekah wasn't exactly thrilled to learn that Christine had to tell the members of Disturbed about her previous life, but realized that they needed to know.

"I couldn't have done that job, Christine," Rebekah said to her. "My head wasn't clear enough to do it. I'm glad that Julia took care of the threat. My only concern is that Julia has figured out that I'm not who I say I am."

"I haven't heard anything from Chicagoland about that," Christine had said. "If Julia does realize your true connection, she's probably going to keep it to herself until she can talk to someone about it."

"I'd like to be the one to tell her," Rebekah said. "Or at least confirm her suspicions, if she has any."

"I agree," Christine said. "It will have to come from you, along with an explanation why you had to keep it a secret. But you should tell your father, sister and brother first."

"If Julia figures it out, I'll have no choice, Christine," Rebekah said. "But I'll have to ask her to keep my secret a while longer."

Christine had another thought. She asked Rebekah,

"How much of your previous life does Chris know about?"

"He knows I have a twin sister, he knows about the accident and the identity swap I was forced to take over, but I've not mentioned any names," Rebekah replied. "I thought it was best to keep him in the dark about that until I was sure I could trust him."

"And can you trust him?" asked Christine.

"On some things, yes," said Rebekah. "I told him about having to give up my son, my life as an addict, and you recruiting me. He's being just as guarded as I am, I think. There's only so much he's told me."

"Yet, you've trusted each other with your bodies," Christine said. "That's what I find weird."

"It's a weird world I come from Christine," Rebekah said. "Addicts are paranoid by nature, and everything revolves around sex. If some guy has your drug of choice, there are things you have to do to get it. Especially when there's no money to pay for it. I hated being on the stroll, but it gave me enough money to keep my habit going. Then I got pregnant and quit. After that, I learned that if I measured it right, then smack helped with the physical pain I had. I knew how much would relieve my pain, and how much would get me high."

"Have you been able to use your knowledge of chemistry at Chicagoland?" asked Christine.

"I figured out how to make knock out drops," Rebekah said; "and they work. Then I put together a formula that would cause a heart attack and be untraceable. Kylee used that to off some judge in Austin a few months back."

"And Morbus, he was pleased?"

"I think he was more impressed than anything," Rebekah said. "Sometimes I wonder if I should just give up the spywork and the assassin jobs and just tinker in a lab coming up with chemical combinations that can either kill or disable an enemy."

"Maybe when this war is over, you can use your knowledge and go back to school and get a degree," suggested Christine.

"I have given that considerable thought," Rebekah said. "I'll definitely look into it."

"That's good," Christine said. "Better than you joining the military and doing essentially the same thing you're doing now."

"And I want to see if a relationship with Chris is possible," Rebekah said. "Because I really do like the guy."

"I like him, too, Rebekah," Christine said, "but if he hurts you..."

"Stop, Christine," Rebekah said; "You're turning into a mother hen, and honey, this chick's left the henhouse!"

Christine had to laugh at that. But she finished her thought: if Chris hurts her, he won't live long enough to regret it.

----------

Vixen didn't remember sitting down in a chair. She didn't remember the conversation going on around her. She didn't even remember staring out the window.

All she remembered is what she saw in front of her; her friends, their faces concerned.

"Vixen, how long has this been going on?" asked Jasmine.

"How long has what been going on?"

"This the lights are on but no one's home thing."

"A few months I think," Vixen said. "I just have these times where I don't remember anything."

"Think you should have it looked into? Because frankly, girl, you scared me!" said Jasmine.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to ruin your party, Jasmine," apologized Vixen.

"You didn't ruin the party, Vixen," Jasmine said; "We're all just concerned for your welfare."

"Mom sees this great therapist, Vix," said Julia; "She has the same type of thing and therapy helps her."

"I'll think about it," Vixen said, embarrassed. "I think I better get back to the dorms."

"Oh no you don't, Vixen," Jasmine said. "You're going to stay right here til morning. I don't think Morbus is going to miss you."

"I have training at six in the morning."

"And how good an assassin will you be if you have one of those episodes on a job? Tell me that!" said Jasmine.

"I never thought about it that way," Vixen said. "I could be putting a lot of people in danger."

Jasmine showed Vixen to an empty bedroom and had her lay down on the bed.

"You need to rest, Vixen," said Jasmine. "I think all of you girls are overextending yourselves. You don't have to prove anything to anyone. We all know how good you all are at what you do. But you need to find time to really rest and recharge. You won't be any good to Morbus or anyone else if you don't get this under control. It just may be that you need rest, and not anything really wrong with you. Julia's mother spent time in prison where she underwent horrible torture and abuse. I don't know what your background is, but if it included things that would drive most people insane, then you're a stronger woman than I."

"Thank you Jasmine," Vixen said. "I am tired a lot. Maybe I just need sleep."

"There you go," said Jasmine. "Now you rest. I mean it. And you better be here in the morning."
"Yes, ma'am!" laughed Vixen. "You're gonna be a good mom."

"I hope so," Jasmine said. "If I could just be half the woman Kiera San Marco was, I'll be happy. She's Jere's ideal of a mother. I have big shoes to fill."

"You'll be fine," Vixen said. "I'm pretty hardheaded about stuff, and you knocked me down a peg or two."

"Get some rest, okay, and we'll see you in the morning," Jasmine said.

Vixen nodded and Jasmine left the room. Vixen sighed. Soon, she was asleep.

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Part 4--


Jayme really didn't want to go to the reading of Neil's will.

It had been a month since Neil's funeral, and an attorney informed her that she had been mentioned in the will. What on Earth for? she asked herself. Surely he didn't leave me anything I really need. Having his child is enough for me.

She had asked if she had to go, and was told that she could come herself, or send someone to represent her.

Jayme contacted her family's lawyer, who agreed to represent her at the reading of the will. When he asked why she was mentioned in the will of the President's husband, Jayme said,

"I was his secretary for the last three years of his life. Maybe he felt the need to give me something for my loyal service or something."

"Jayme, I'll go. I know you're expecting and probably shouldn't make the trip to some little country hick lawyer's office on the Eastern Shore," he said.

"If he was Mr. Hope's lawyer, then he's probably no 'country hick'," Jayme said. "Shame on you for generalizing!"

The lawyer laughed. He'd known Jayme since she was a little girl, and that her father often preached about stereotyping people. Maybe that's why he was so successful. He had been a white preacher at a predominately black church, and everyone loved him and his family.

"You're right, my dear," he said. "You're your father's daughter."

----------

Jonah Bastrup arrived at the "country hick" lawyer's office about half an hour before the reading of the last will and testament of Neil Douglas Hope was to begin.

No one asked him why he was there, though Sarah Kathryn had a pretty good idea. Neil probably mentioned Jayme Crist in his will, she thought. She had been his secretary until the attack on her in his office shortly before Neil's breakdown.

Bastrup took his seat, or rather, one marked with Jayme's name along with the President, her son, and several other people.

Neil's lawyer began the reading,

"Each of you are here because you, or a person you represent, has been mentioned in this last will and testament, or you think you may have been mentioned. There are only two names listed here, and those persons or their representatives are in attendance. Shall we begin?"

Sarah Kathryn was certain it was her name and her son's name that were the ones listed in the will. She didn't understand why the man who, it turned out, came to represent Neil's former secretary was even here, unless it was Sarah Kathryn's and Jayme's names that were the two listed.

"I'm probably not one of the two names Dad listed," her son said to Sarah Kathryn. "I asked that he leave me out of his will. I don't need his money or his property. I don't know why you asked me to accompany you."

"Because it'll look good to see the family united here, since I couldn't attend the funeral," Sarah Kathryn whispered to her son.

The lawyer began to read the will:

This is the last will and testament of Neil Douglas Hope. This edition, dated on April 2nd of this year, replaces all previous wills. It is signed by Neil Douglas Hope at Ocean City, SouthEastern Region, in the presence of his lawyer and two witnesses.

I, Neil Douglas Hope, leave my entire estate to one person. This person was someone I came to rely on and someone I came to trust. Someone who saw my dark side far too many times, and gave me a chance when I sought to make changes in my life. I am in this person's debt, and I felt that the only way I could repay such kindness was to make their life easier. Therefore, my entire estate, which includes savings, investments, property, and cash, goes to Jaymes Evangeline Crist. Thank you, Jayme, from the bottom of my heart.

To my wife, Sarah Kathryn Hope, I leave nothing. You made my life a living hell. You don't deserve anything. Your actions spoke volumes. I hope you burn in the deep recesses of hell.

There is a no contest clause attached to this will. These are my final wishes, and they will be honored.

Signed this second day of April, in the year of our Lord Two Thousand Seventeen, by Neil Douglas Hope. Witnessed by Cathleen Sue Monaghan and Eric Douglas Hope.

The assembly sat speechless. Bastrup thought, dear Lord, this man has taken care of Jayme for life! Then it dawned on him: he's the father of her baby! It's the only thing that makes sense!

Sarah Kathryn, meanwhile, looked at her son with evil in her eyes. "You knew! You little bastard, you knew about this!"

Eric just sat there and smiled. It sucks to be you, Mother, he thought.

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