Haunting Secrets

Thirty-Five

"I don't recall them having another sister." Justin shrugged.

"How strange, indeed. Is there a name anywhere on the book?"

Justin flipped to the front again, then to the back. "Not that I can see."

"Read the last few entries. What does it say?"

Justin's fingers swiped the dusty pages and he held the book up to the light pouring through the dirt-streaked window. "This is what it says. I sit in misery, waiting for my child to be born. The heat suffocates me, and the cramping in my large belly and legs are impossible to bear. But it's my heart that is heavy with sadness and pain. He knows he's the father, yet he doesn't want to accept the fact."

Victoria gasped. "Do you suppose it's one of Roderick's liaisons?"

Justin chuckled. "That was my first thought as well, but the date on the page reads—" He clamped his mouth closed, his lips thinned. His face lost color.

Victoria jumped up beside him and touched his arm. "Justin, what is it?"

"I'm reading the journal of Jonathan's mother."

A gasp sprang from her throat. "Bethany is Jonathan's aunt?"

"That is certainly the way it looks. But, I don't know who the woman is. I don't remember anyone else but Bethany and Ethel living here with their mother."

"Do you suppose Bethany's mother was Jonathan's mother?"

He shook his head again. "That doesn't make sense either, because in the early journal entries, she refers to Bethany as her sister."

"How very odd. Definitely a mystery that needs to be unraveled." Victoria peeked at the book in Justin's hands. "She has said that the baby's father didn't want to acknowledge Jonathan's existence, yet we know your father did."

"Yes, he did." Justin met her stare. "But then again, maybe at first he didn't."

"True. I never thought of that." She nodded toward the book. "What does the last entry say?"

He turned the page. "It's dated a week after Jonathan's birth. I'm an outcast now, and my life is ruined. He wants to raise our son without me. Most the staff knows, yet he is still acting like this has never happened—that Jonathan just magically appeared into his life as his son. Jonathan doesn't deserve a father like that. I don't deserve the way I'm being treated. Today, I vow that I will see that all the Maitland men—everyone but my Jonathan—are destroyed. If it takes until my last breath leaving this world, the Maitland men will regret their actions."

Once again, Victoria gasped, but this time covered it with her hand. Justin's gaze met hers, his eyes reflecting the same bewilderment.

"Justin, you don't suppose Jonathan's mother is...a witch?" she ended in a whisper.

Slowly, his head moved in a nod. "That's what I'm thinking as well."

Victoria glanced back at the trunks at the other books inside. The different shapes on one book cover caught her attention, and she bent to lift it from the truck. After dusting off the cover, she could read the words better. Witchcraft.

She yipped and dropped the book. Justin grasped her arm and pulled her away.

"Let's leave this place. It's pure evil," he said.

"I agree."

They hurried out and Justin closed the door tight. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close. Snuggling her face against his chest, she breathed in his intoxicating scent, feeling much calmer by the second.