𝙷𝚎𝚒𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙱𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚝 [𝙱𝚎𝚊𝚞𝚝𝚢 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙱𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚝]

Chapter 12

Vincent's POV

      "What?!" JT yells at me. "What do you mean Cat was attacked?!"

      "I found her in her car. She was shot," I explain. "She's at New York General, but that's umm... that's not all."

      "What else is there?" JT snaps.

      "I saw Alex," I tell him.

      JT's face goes white. He looks like he's freaking out.

      "Did she see you?!" he exclaims.

      "Yeah..." I tell him. "She saw me."

      Before he can ask anymore questions, I leave. I can't keep hiding from this. I find her car. When she gets in, she jumps.

      "Hi," I say. "It's me."

      She looks at me in shock. I think she may actually cry.

      "They said you were dead," she says. "I thought you were dead."

      "It's a long story," I tell her. "I can't exactly explain it."

      There's something else bothering her. It's not just the fact that she believed me to be dead. Her heart is racing. She's sweating. Her pupils are dilated. She's looking at me like she wants to tell me something but can't.

      "What is it?" I ask.

      "It's just..." she starts. "I'm sorry."

      "What are you sorry about?"

      "I... I can't do this now."

      I don't push anymore. I get out of the car and go back to the chem plant. JT is plenty mad about me reaching out to Alex when I get back, but just like with Alex, that's not all that's bothering him.

      What is going on? He's been hiding something for three years?

      "JT," I say. "What is actually bothering you?"

      "What do you mean?" He asks. His heart is pounding.

      "You've been hiding something for three years. What is it?"

      "It's not mine to tell."

      "Whose is it?!"

      "You need to speak to Alex. She's the only one that can tell you."

      "So Alex is hiding something!"

      "Yes, Vincent. Just go talk to her."

      I feel myself breathing heavy. I also see that my claws have emerged. I've beasted out... again. They've been lying to me. Why?

      I visit Catherine in the hospital several times. I continue to see Alex. Eventually, Cat figures out who she is. She isn't too pleased even if she won't admit it. She can also tell that something is bothering me.

      I go later that week to Alex's place. We have a peaceful conversation until I bring up what's bothering her.

      "Something didn't seem right the other day," I say.

      "What do you mean?" She asks just as JT had.

      "In the car," I continue. "I feel like you were hiding something."

      She shifts uncomfortably in her chair. She's nervous. What is she hiding?

      "Alex," I start to pry. "What is it?"

      She looks down as if our of shame. She starts to sob.

      "I'm so sorry," she says through sobs and tears. "I'm so sorry."

      "Alex, woah, it's ok," I try to soothe her.

      "No," she says. "It's not."

      "Alex," I say taking her gently by her shoulders. I kneel down in front of her so that I'm at eye level with her. "What happened?"

      "After I visited you in Afghanistan, I learned when I got back that I was..." She stops mid sentence. She sobs some more. Whatever happened here destroyed her.

      "Alex, you were what?" I ask her gently.

      "Oh Vincent," she says with a breaking voice. "I was pregnant."

      It feels like my heart stops. My breath catches. The color drains from me.

      She was pregnant? How? What?

      I know exactly how this happened, but if it happened... then...

      Oh my word... the experiments.

      "If you were pregnant," I start. "Then where is the child. Oh my word... please tell me you didn't."

      "No, Vincent," she assures me. "I didn't have an abortion."

      "Then what happened?"

      "The day I learned I was pregnant, men showed up at the door telling me you were dead. I was carrying the child of the man I loved that I believed to be dead. I couldn't take it. I... gave the little girl up for adoption."

      I feel like I could pass out. My child... I have a child. There's a little girl out there who doesn't know her father. I haven't been there for her. I feel like the life is being sucked from me.

      "What is she like?" I ask her.

      "I only held her for a few minutes, but she was sweet. She has soft eyes. She has such a beautiful smile. She has curly auburn hair. The look in her eyes was the same look you have in your eyes. She was like you in so many ways."

      I feel a tear roll down my cheek. My daughter. I can't believe it. I have a daughter. I have to find her. If she was born after the experiments then she would be affected....

      Wait, hold... is she...

      "What is her name?" I ask Alex.

      "Leslie," she responds. I feel myself pretty much go into shock.

     She's... she's... Leslie is... little Leslie is my daughter...