Reborn by Melody Anne
Chapter Four
There were times a man didn’t know which way was up and which was down. There were times a man questioned who he was and what he’d done and where he was going. There were times that just didn’t make sense.
This was one of those times for Joseph Anderson.
His life was a dream. Many had said he was blessed with the touch of Midas. There were others who said he’d been blessed by the gods. There were many who believed he’d made a deal with the devil.
Joseph rolled his eyes as he walked next to his nephew Damien Whitfield into the county jail. No one saw the gesture.
The reality for Joseph was that he’d made it to where he was because he’d worked hard and never took no for an answer. He’d gone after what he’d wanted from a very early age and he’d never believed he could be anything less than the best. He hadn’t questioned his decisions even when he’d been hit the hardest — and that had happened more than once.
Instead of letting logjams slow him down, he’d used the opportunities to build bridges. He wasn’t a man to give up, and he wasn’t a man who liked to leave questions unanswered. Even with all of the confidence in the world, Joseph was still a man, and he still had highs and lows.
The lowest point in his entire life was thinking he might lose his dear wife. He loved his family, couldn’t imagine life without them, but at the end of the day, it was Katherine and him in the center of his universe. He knew he wouldn’t get off of his knees if he were to lose her. No matter what came, he could face it as long as he did it next to his wife.
He’d recently discovered that Katherine was in the beginning stages of dementia. His heart had cracked at the news. He’d gone through all of the expected emotions when learning the center of his universe would slowly be pulled from him — grief, anger, disbelief . . .
Once Joseph had accepted his wife would go through a new journey in life though, he’d realized it didn’t matter. She’d still be by his side, and he’d be by hers. Even if he had to remind her every hour on the hour of who he was, it didn’t matter — she’d still be with him. He loved her, and he didn’t mind telling her the story of their love over and over again.
“ID’s please.”
Joseph and Damien had reached the front desk of the county jail. The man in front of them, looking weary as if he’d had a very long week, didn’t alter his expression. Joseph felt for the man, knowing he had to deal with the scum of the earth on a daily basis. Joseph didn’t understand how anyone could smile while working in a world of liars and cowards. That’s how Joseph looked at criminals.
Sure, some of them had a legitimate excuse as to why they’d fallen into a world of crime, but Joseph believed a person’s integrity was stronger than any obstacle that could be thrown their way.
“I don’t see the point in going in here,” Damien said as he pulled out his driver’s license and placed it through the opening of the bulletproof glass.
“Because we aren’t cowards,” Joseph told his nephew. “We need to find out why Anna Miller has said she’s your sister.”
Damien sighed. “Even if she was born to the woman who raised me, we now know that wasn’t my birth mother,” Damien pointed out. “So, I don’t see how she’s my sister.”
“That’s why we’re here,” Joseph told him.
“I won’t believe anything she says.”
The guard had them sign in, and then a door opened, and they were escorted back to a small room and told to wait while they brought the prisoner in.
Though it seemed as if Damien had been a part of their family for his entire life, Joseph had learned about his nephew when Damien was already an adult. Joseph’s uncle Nielson had been a terrible, terrible man. He’d carried on multiple relationships and had produced several children he’d kept from the Anderson family out of spite. He’d never cared about the women he’d been with, and he’d never cared about his children.
A few years earlier Joseph had discovered five more nephews when their mother had been on her death bed and confessed to Joseph she’d been too ashamed to come to him. Joseph didn’t hold a grudge against her. She’d had a very difficult life and done the best she could. She’d raised fine sons, though, and Joseph now got to be a part of their lives. Damien was still getting to know his siblings. It would take time, but Joseph was sure they’d all be one big happy family before too long.
Today was about discovering who in the hell this Anna Miller was, and why she was claiming to be Damien’s sister. If that were the case, she’d also be the sibling of his other five nephews, but she hadn’t mentioned them. It was either a cruel game, or she was trying to get something from the vast fortune the Andersons possessed. It was a toss-up as to what the end game was for Anna Miller.
The door opened and Anna walked inside. Joseph nearly didn’t recognize her. The former US Senator had always been so polished and poised, her hair styled to perfection, her face a perfect mask, and her clothes expensive and fitted. The woman approaching them wore a smirk on her haggard face, a rumpled orange suit, and her previously silky black hair was frizzy and ladled with grey. Jail hadn’t been good to her.
“Enjoying the show?” Anna asked as she moved to the opposite side of the table from Joseph and Damien. “Jail’s just been wonderful for me,” she added with a smirk.
“Forget this jail, prison’s where you belong,” Damien said, his expression blank. Damien wasn’t going to give the woman the power of letting her see he was tense and angry. It was more than clear that Anna Miller thrived on power — power over people, emotions, and the end goal of power over the entire United States. Thankfully, she’d never make it to the highest office in the land. Joseph shuddered at the thought of her being President of the United States. It could’ve been close had she not been caught. She was charismatic and had once had a huge following. Her incarceration had dwindled following the criminal action but hadn’t completely eliminated it. There were still some who believed in her innocence.
“I won’t be here long. You see, my dear brother, I have a lot of friends, more than you can imagine. They don’t want me here. I also hold a lot of secrets that nobody wants to get out,” she said, leaning back, confidence shining in her eyes.
“If you hold so much power, don’t you worry they’ll simply off you?” Damien asked, still not showing a lick of emotion.
Anna laughed. She was so good at faking emotion, Joseph honestly couldn’t say if the sound was real or not. What a depressing life to live when it was all a farce. Did Anna even know how she felt at any given moment? She was so used to putting on a show, Joseph wondered if she knew who she really was.
“We didn’t come here for idle chitchat. You dropped a bomb to a reporter that you’re my sister. I’d like to know how you came to that conclusion,” Damien said. The words came out matter-of-factly as if he didn’t care one way or the other if she answered. Joseph held back a smile. The way Damien was speaking to her was certainly getting to Anna. She didn’t like it when she didn’t feel in control. That was more than obvious.
Joseph decided to sit back and watch the exchange instead of piping in. Maybe he was mellowing in his older years. Normally, he’d run the entire conversation. Of course, he did have a lot on his mind these days so maybe it was time to let the kids solve their own problems. He’d have to think through how he felt about that. If he wasn’t meddling he wasn’t sure he’d have meaning in his life. That thought almost made him chuckle.
“I don’t know if I’ll give you that answer,” Anna said.
Damien stood. “Okay then, I hope you have a nice day.” He moved toward the door. Joseph stood as well. He wondered if Damien really cared that little. Joseph was curious, but this was about his nephew, not him. That was a difficult concept for Joseph to accept.
“Where are you going?” Anna screeched as she stood and leaned her cuffed hands on the table.
Damien only half turned, his hand hovering over the buzzer that would tell the guard he wanted to leave. “I told you I really don’t care if you tell me or not. If you have something to say I’ll listen. What I won’t do is sit here and play games with you. I have zero feelings toward you — zip, zero, nada. I don’t care if you’re alive or dead. I don’t care enough to read the articles about you that come out once in a blue moon as you’re slowly forgotten. I agreed to come in, but that was only because other people wanted answers. I think you’re a liar, and I think this is a waste of my valuable time.”
Joseph realized his nephew meant what he said. He didn’t care what Anna had to say. Joseph looked at Anna and realized she knew he wasn’t bluffing. She deflated right before their eyes. In her few months in jail she’d shrunk. She tried to keep up her persona of a powerful woman, but each day she was incarcerated she lost a little more of herself. Joseph wondered if she regretted any of her choices. He somehow doubted it.
“Fine, no games,” Anna said as she sat back down. Joseph could normally read people very well, but in this case he wasn’t sure if she was still playing games or if she’d been slapped down so hard she’d been defeated — at least in this round.
Damien shrugged, turned back around, and sat down. Joseph moved back to his chair and joined his nephew. They both waited without saying another word.
“We have the same father, which I know doesn’t shock you. I’m ten years younger than you, as you know.” She paused and Joseph knew that both he and Damien were doing math in their heads. If she was ten years younger than Damien, their father had still been alive, but he’d been with Damien’s biological mother at that time. It didn’t shock either of them that Nielson had been with other women though. He’d done that his entire life.
“And how did you come to this conclusion?” Damien asked.
“Because he lived with my mother until I was ten years old. The first few years he hadn’t been around much, but when I was five he moved in and didn’t leave again until I was ten.”
This time Joseph wasn’t able to hide his shock. How did the despicable life of Nielson Anderson keep on getting worse and worse? How many times could a man fake his own death?
“Did you see him die?” Damien asked coldly.
“I was at his funeral . . .” She paused. “And it was open casket. There was no faking it that time.”
Joseph was almost shocked. Even though Neilson would be about a hundred years old at this point if he were living, there was a part of Joseph that had believed the man might one day show up on his doorstep. It wouldn’t have shocked Joseph one bit.
“How did he die?” Damien asked. The shock had gone away and he’d moved on. Maybe they’d all feel a bit of relief, knowing for sure that Neilson was either buried eight feet in the ground or burned up.
“My mother killed him,” Anna simply said. Neither Joseph nor Damien blinked.
“Seems about right,” Damien said.
Anna laughed, this time the sound coming out a little hysterical.
“My mother didn’t get blamed for his death. She was far too smart for that, but she’d had enough of him. She also knew all about you, Finn, Noah, Brandon, Hudson, and Crew. She didn’t care. She did check on them.” She laughed again. “She even made friends with your mother who lived a couple of hours away from our home. She wanted to see who the competition was. She hadn’t minded sharing him for several years. When he’d grown bored with your mother he’d left and come to us to live full time. She knew there were other women, but one day she’d had enough.”
Damien didn’t ask how her mother had killed him, but Anna kept talking.
“She took her time offing our dear old dad. She put just a little poison in his food every day for two months. He grew weaker and sicker but didn’t figure it out. Finally, he had a heart attack in his sleep. He lay in that bed gasping for air as he clutched his chest, begging my mother to call an ambulance. She’d stood over him, brushing her hair as she told him what she’d been doing. He’d died with acceptance in his eyes as if he’d known it would eventually happen.”
“Did your mother tell you about us or did you overhear something? I’m still not convinced we’re related,” Damien said.
“I knew about you from the time I was three. My mother made sure to shape me into the woman I am today. She told me she’d had to play a part to survive, but I wouldn’t have the same life. She told me to get my revenge on the family who had so much.”
“Neilson left a lot of bitter women out there,” Damien said with a shrug. He’d heard this story before and he didn’t even blink at Anna’s words. He’d once been angry too: at the injustices his fake mother had convinced him had been done to her and Damien. He’d gotten over it all, gotten over the bitterness, the need for revenge, and the lies that had been hard to get from his head.
“Yes, I’ve followed you a long time,” Anna said. “I liked you better when you were a man seeking revenge on the world like I always have.”
This time Damien laughed. The sound wasn’t full of joy, but Joseph realized his nephew really had healed from the many wounds inflicted upon him from the time he was young.
“I was angry, Anna, for a lot of years. When a lie has been set in a person’s mind, it’s nearly impossible to change. No matter how much truth is thrown at them, they still believe the lie. It’s really odd. I don’t know if I would’ve realized my fake mother had been lying to me if it hadn’t been for the love of an incredible woman. Lucky for me, I did realize the truth, and I let it all go.”
“Well, isn’t that just wonderful for you,” Anna said, meaning anything but the words she was saying.
“It was great for me,” Damien told her. “The best part was I let go of my anger, and I now have an incredible wife and daughter, and a family who truly does love me. What is your anger getting you?”
She glared at him, no longer having fun with the game she thought she’d control. Before she could say anything more, Damien shrugged as he looked her right in the eyes. If he was playing a game of chicken, he was the clear winner.
“You might be my sister. I might have a dozen more siblings out there. If they come to me honestly and want to know me, I’m more than willing to sit down and see if we get along. But you, I don’t like. I don’t care if you are related or not. You have nothing to offer me or my family other than misery. Just because we possibly share some DNA doesn’t make us family, and it never will. I came here because I was asked to, but I feel nothing for you, not anger, not love, and not even pity. I will walk out of this room and I won’t think about you. There might be times you cross my mind, but it will be a fleeting moment and will disappear into a puff of smoke. I have no desire to take a DNA test, I have no desire to pursue this further.”
With those words Damien stood up. Joseph, for once in his life, didn’t know what in the hell to say or even think about his nephew’s words. He stood up too, knowing this conversation was over.
“How dare you dismiss me,” Anna screeched. She stood and moved around the table just as Damien rang the bell to let him out of the room. Right before Anna could grab him, he turned and wrapped a large hand around her wrist, quickly stopping her. He didn’t look rattled in the least as the door opened and a sheriff stepped inside.
“We’re done here,” Damien said as he let go of Anna’s wrist. He took another step as Anna shrieked and launched herself toward Damien again.
“I will kill you,” she shouted. She started to say something more, but a gurgle came out as the officer tased her. She fell to the ground. Damien turned around, his expression blank.
“I will tell my brothers about you and let it be their choice if they want to know anything about you. I’m done, though.”
With those words he walked away from Anna Miller with Joseph at his side. Neither of them spoke as they exited the jail. They moved through the parking garage and stepped into the vehicle. Damien didn’t start it and Joseph waited to hear what his nephew had to say. His expression hadn’t changed.
After about two minutes of silence, just when Joseph felt as if he was going to burst if he didn’t say something, Damien turned to him, a relaxed smile on his face.
“That was fun,” he said. A chuckle came out. Joseph was shocked at his words and didn’t know what to say. Then Damien laughed harder. Joseph joined him. The two of them sat there for several minutes as they laughed. The situation was so odd that neither of them knew what else to do.
“I wonder how many more kids are going to come out of the woodwork,” Joseph finally said as he wiped tears from his eyes. It felt good to laugh. It had been too long since he’d had a gut-hurting laughing session.
“I don’t know and I honestly don’t care. I meant what I said, blood doesn’t make family, love does.”
“No truer words could be spoken. Love is the bridge that brings us all together,” Joseph told his nephew, prouder of him than words could say.
Joseph knew a weight had been lifted from his nephew’s shoulders. In the end, it really didn’t matter if Anna was his sibling or not. The bottom line was she just wasn’t family.