“No.” I don’t think so. “I had very little memory of him anyway, same with my bio-mum, so a clean slate seemed fine. To be honest, from the moment I got free, the only person I wanted to see, the only person I wanted to be with, was you.”
She reaches out and rubs my knee. “Tabula rasa.”
I blink at her before chuckling. “Harry Potter spell?”
She giggles. “Latin. It means ‘scraped tablet’, but it usually gets translated as ‘blank slate’. I guess we both got a tabula rasa, in a way. Though, I think our circumstances are more akin to the ‘scraped tablet’ translation. It wasn’t blank—it was scraped.”
“Maybe that’ll be my first tat.” I laugh.
She glares at me, a hint of smile on her lips. “Don’t you dare mark that beautiful skin.”
I slap my knee theatrically. “Oh, man, but all the other kids will tease me.”
She rolls her eyes and picks up a news article—a feature showing an old photo of a group of teenagers. She taps on a young woman. “Who is this? She has your eyes, Konnor.”
I blink at it for a moment, trying to feel more than I do. Wanting to feel more for her. “I have hers. That’s my bio-mum in high school. I’ve seen that article before. So your dad kept every article about me?”
“They say serial killers take trophies.” She smiles tightly, gazing at the image of my mum. “She’s beautiful, Konnor.”
“I suppose she was.” I nod.
“Do you know these other people in the picture?” Her finger moves across their faces.
“That’s Dad, Ben. Don’t recognise the others. They all went to school together.”
She lifts a blonde brow. “Coincidence?”
“It’s the District, Duch.” I shrug. “Everyone knows everyone. Four degrees of separation, maybe less.”
“Less, I suppose, when they were growing up,” she says, flicking through pages. Her brows tighten and her shoulders drop on a sigh. “It’s all useless. Articles we could have found online. Pictures they put in the paper.” She scrunches her nose. “Did Ben ever tell you why he adopted you?”
I nod. “My bio-mum and Ben were close in high school. When the cops found me, he did everything he could to get me. He knew my story. I think he loved her—my bio-mum. I think he loved her a lot. He wanted to make sure my future would be better than my past.” I pause. “He’s always been straight with me about it.”
Something both sad and happy moves across her face. “So, that is why you are the way you are. So honest and open and vulnerable. What makes you say he loved her?”
“Don’t call a man vulnerable, Duch.”
She giggles, her tongue poking out slightly, and I literally forgive her for everything she may ever call me.
I answer her, trying not to look at that pink tongue. “Sometimes Ben gets this expression.” I shrug and frown. “Then he sighs and says how much I look like her. I don’t know. It’s just a feeling. Like I should be the one comforting him sometimes.”
“It’s plain to see he loves you, Konnor. You’re his son in every way but blood.” She looks at the paper, exhaling a memory. “My parentsalwayswanted a girl. Mum says she fell in love with me the moment she saw me. And my dad…” Her voice trails to a soft pause. “I’ll tell him what happened between Erik and me soon. Tonight, maybe.” Her eyes leave the documents and drift to her phone on the chest of drawers. She says it again, quieter. “Tonight.” Then clears her throat. “What’s your adoptive mum like?”
“You’ll meet her soon. You can decide for yourself.”
“Come on, Konnor,” she pleads, peering up at me.
I look at her for a moment. “Okay, Duch.” I exhale. “Well... Mum is awesome. She’s a little like Cassidy. A bit eccentric. A little—” I stop, something in the pile catches my eye. “Weird…”
The air seems to thicken.
I’m off the bed before I finish the thought, with a bank statement already in my hand. I look at it. Stare. $5,100,000. One deposit? I check the sender’s account: Lumad LTD.
Why do I recognise that account?
The name at the top of the sheet says Donavon Knight. Blesk’s dad. The date of the deposit: August 22, 1999. I can hear Blesk shifting behind me, but I can’t look at her yet.
My jaw is locked.
