Don't Say a Word - Barbara Freethy [152]
"I wanted to talk to Liz. My aunt told me she was helping you with the house. It's nice," she added somewhat awkwardly. "This room is really bright."
Liz got off the ladder. "So, tell us-did you find what you were looking for? Did you find your real father?"
Her question made Julia realize how little Liz knew about all the events that had happened in the past few days. "I did. I found out a lot of things about my father… and my mother."
A glint of fear flashed through Liz's eyes. "I don't want to hear this, do I?"
"You have to hear it."
"I'm not your real sister. Mom adopted you, didn't she?"
Julia saw the worry in Liz's eyes and knew she had to put an end to that right now. "You will always be my sister, no matter what, so don't even think about trying to end our relationship. I'm not giving you up."
The tension in Liz's face eased at her words. "But we don't share the same blood, do we? Come on, Julia, tell me the truth. I can take it."
"We don't share the same blood."
"So you are that Russian girl in the photo?"
"Actually, I'm not. That was my sister."
Liz's jaw dropped. "What?"
"There are two of you?" Michael echoed, shock in his voice.
"Yes, there are two of us. We're identical twins." She paused, letting her words sink in. "Her name is Elena. I think I used to call an imaginary friend Elena, but she wasn't a friend, she was my sister, and I didn't know what had happened to her."
"Dad told me about your imaginary friend and your made-up language," Liz muttered. "That was Russian, wasn't it?"
"I think so." She swallowed hard, trying to figure out the best way to tell the story. "My parents were important Russians. They were trying to defect. We were separated to make it easier to get us out of the country, and they were killed before that could happen. Elena and I were brought to the U.S. by different government agents, and Sarah, who was one of those agents, decided to keep me and raise me as her own."
"No," Liz said in disbelief. "Mom was not an agent. You're not going to tell me that."
"She was. I know it sounds incredible, but it's the truth. Oh, Liz, it's a long story, and I want to tell you everything. But I need to tell Dad, too, and I was hoping maybe we could do it all at once. Will you come with me to see him?"
Liz hesitated, glancing over at Michael. He gave her a small nod of encouragement.
"All right," Liz said, "I'll come with you." She set the roller down in the tray. "Just let me wash my hands." She walked out of the kitchen into the adjacent laundry room and turned on the faucet in the big sink.
Julia stared at Michael, feeling more than a little uncomfortable being alone with him. She didn't know what to say, so she settled for, "I'm sorry about everything."
"So am I," he replied. "But I'm glad you found your past. No more missing pieces."
"It feels good knowing who I am, why I never felt like I quite fit with my parents, why my mom tried to steer me away from things that I loved. She didn't want to lose me. She gave up her whole life to keep me, and she couldn't take a chance that I would ever slip away, so she trapped me with her love. I didn't see it until she was gone."
"And then you thought I was trapping you, too."
"Not exactly-"
He cut her off with a wave of his hand. "No, I think that is exactly what I was doing, although I didn't realize it. I had this image of you that I couldn't let go." He smiled sadly, with enormous regret. "I'm just sorry that I wasted so much of your time."
"You didn't. You were great. It was me. All me. I couldn't commit to you because I knew deep down I wasn't happy with the way my life was going."
"I can't believe I bought this house for you without telling you. Pretty stupid, huh?"
"It's going to be a great family home for you and the right person."
"I hope so."
Liz returned to the room, looking from one to the other. "Are we done here?"
"We're done," Michael said, meeting Julia's gaze. "We're definitely done."
Two hours and several cups of coffee later, Julia finished telling her story to Liz and Gino as they