Chapter 7

Morris and I sat in the small conference room at Valentine and Belle Law Firm, with glass walls that stretched from floor to ceiling, giving a panoramic view of downtown Saint Louis and the Gateway Arch. Modern leather chairs encircled the glass table making the room feel larger than it actually was. As we waited to meet with Rylan Montgomery, I watched the people on the ground below, going about their day.

Rylan had worked with the law firm on several cases and was a good friend to Countee, the law firm"s security officer.

"And what did he need to talk to us about?" I asked Morris, my husband.

"He said something about a case he was working on. The driver that picked him up from the airport just texted. He"s on his way up," Morris answered.

I had no idea why Rylan would want to meet with me. I understood meeting with Morris because they"d been on cases together. I hoped some of my childhood immaturity hadn"t caught up with me. I didn"t have time to be paying girls I"d beat up decades ago. Thank God I was a changed woman.

I saw Rylan through the glass walls of the office, walking confidently down the hall towards the conference room. It had been a few years since I"d seen him, but he was still just as handsome as ever.

The cropped beard was new, but the dark skin and eyes—the colors of pennies—always gave him a distinguished look. He was wearing a black collar shirt and black pants.

"Good afternoon," Rylan said when he entered the room.

"Good afternoon," Morris and I said at the same time.

"I"m going to get right to this," Rylan said as he sat across from us.

"I was called on to consult on a case for a colleague in Sable Falls. He was researching the validity of a company"s claim to a recipe. He had to do some digging into his client"s family history. He found some information and asked me to verify it. I did, and that"s why I"m here," Rylan explained.

"Okay," Morris said. "We will help however we can."

Rylan pulled a folder from his briefcase and removed some photos from it. He slid the pictures in front of us.

"This is Antonia Couture…"

"She runs Couture Enterprises," Morris said.

"Correct. Couture Enterprises is a corporation that has real estate, entertainment, and other holdings. This…" Rylan pointed to another picture "…is her daughter, Wilhelmina Couture. Billye, as everyone calls her, is the COO of Couture Enterprises and a talented businesswoman, much like her mother and grandmother. Cambria, Antonia is your biological mother, and Billye is your twin sister."

I shook my head because I"d obviously misheard Rylan.

I leaned in and said, "I"m sorry. What did you say?"

"Please know that we"ve triple-checked this information before I presented it to you. We presented it to Ms. Antonia. She confirmed that she gave birth at Hall Memorial in Saint Louis."

"That"s where I was born."

"Yes, you were one of two baby girls born to one mother. You were adopted by a young couple who passed away. That"s how you ended up with Ms. Mable. We found out she was diagnosed with dementia, and since she didn"t have any next of kin, they placed you in foster care. Ms. Mable passed in a hospice facility shortly after you were removed from her home," Rylan said.

I started laughing, a full-on belly laugh. I slapped my knee and threw my head back. This had to be a joke! I looked, and neither man was laughing.

"Oh, come on. You"ve got to be kidding me."

"I"m not," Rylan answered.

"Mo?" I looked at Morris.

Morris shook his head, "It"s not a joke, baby."

"You mean to tell me that I have a mother and a twin sister just out in the world, living and breathing?"

"Yes," Rylan answered.

I picked up the picture of the woman Rylan said was my mother.

"And you"re sure this is my biological mother?"

"Positive."

I examined the picture of the woman with soft features. Warm eyes and a gentle smile. For years, I lay in the various beds of foster homes, wondering what my mother looked like. I had created an entire story in my head about her making the best decision for both of us by giving me up for adoption. I hoped so many times that she would appear at one of the foster homes and rescue me. She never did.

"What"s her name again?"

"Antonia Couture," Rylan answered.

Antonia didn"t look anything like I imagined she would. But what did I really have to create her from except my imagination? I think the mother I envisioned was a combination of Harriet Winslow from Family Matters, Claire Huxtable from The Cosby Show and Lisa Landry from Sister, Sister.

"I"ve actually had a meeting with Ms. Antonia before," Morris said.

"You have?"

"Yes, a few years back," Morris answered.

"Here in Saint Louis?"

"Yes," Morris responded.

"Was she nice?"

"She was extremely nice and gracious," Morris said.

I picked up the other picture. I spoke while examining Billye"s picture. It was as if I was looking at myself. We shared a lot of the same facial features. Her eyes, cheekbones, her smile were all mine. While her skin was the color of dark brown sugar and mine was closer to light brown sugar, I knew she was my sister.

"I want to ask you if you"re sure again, but I know this is my sister. I think I"ve missed her my whole life. I mean, like there"s been this piece of me that felt off. I always thought it was not knowing my history, but I think it was her. Is she older or younger than me?"

"She"s five minutes older than you," Rylan answered.

Morris moved closer and put his arm around me.

"Is that why Antonia kept Billye and gave me away?" I asked.

I wasn"t sure I wanted to know the answer to the question, but I had to ask.

"No, I should"ve led with neither of these ladies knew you existed," Rylan answered.

"How is that possible if she gave birth to me?"

"She was told that you died after you were born. You were given away without her consent. Billye hired my colleague to look into another matter, and we discovered all of it. It was purely by mistake. Had Billye not started digging into her family"s past, this would"ve never come out," Rylan explained.

"Is Antonia still with my father? Or did she mention who he was?"

Rylan went back into the folder and produced another picture.

I gasped when I saw the picture of Brooks McIntyre.

"You know him?" Rylan asked.

"His brother, Azariah, was my mentor when I opened my business. I"ve had dinner at their house. I"ve met him and his wife. I"m his niece"s stylist. Does he know who I am?"

"No," Rylan answered quickly. "He didn"t know Antonia was pregnant. I will let her share that part of the story if you are willing to meet with her."

"Brooks doesn"t know he has twin daughters in the world?" Morris asked.

"No, and I"m not at liberty to inform him until Billye gives me permission. I believe while they are in town…"

"They"re in Saint Louis?" I asked.

"Actually, they came here with me. I wanted to meet with you first to make sure you wanted to meet with them," Rylan said.

I looked at Morris. He smiled.

"Are they good people? Will they like me?"

"They"re amazing people. For transparency"s sake, Billye is dating my cousin. She"s sitting on the edge of her seat waiting for me to call her and tell her how this meeting went," Rylan said.

"And they"re here in Saint Louis?" I asked again.

"Yes, at one of the hotels in the Greenwood District," Rylan answered.

"If you set up the time and place for the meeting, we will be there, right?" Morris said and looked at me.

"Yes," I responded, even though I was excited and terrified to meet them.

"I can do that for you," Rylan said.