Nico

They spent the rest of the evening tangled up in the sheets, making love and talking about their future, and Nico had to admit it was like he had his old Toni back. It was crazy she couldn't remember the last year of her life, but nothing had changed with her. She seemed to want all the same things she had before her second accident that wiped him from her memory. She still wanted three kids and to live by the beach, but Nico knew her father's letter could change Toni's mind. If his hunch was correct, she was about to inherit a large sum of money as James's heir, and he worried she wouldn't still want all the things they had just discussed. He knew they had to face what was in that letter, but a part of him wished to hide away from the real world for just a while longer. The realist in him knew that sooner or later the truth would catch up to them and he hoped their dreams wouldn't fade after it did.

Nico handed Toni the thick envelope that was delivered to his friend's house. She had been avoiding it as though it were something that could hurt her, and maybe she was right. It was as if her father was trying to reach out from beyond the grave to reach her and this letter held the power to hurt Toni. That was the last thing he wanted, to see her hurt or upset, but there was no way around it. She had to open the letter, to read her father's last words for herself. And Nico needed to be there for her when she did, offering his unwavering support.

"Open it, Toni," he whispered. She smiled at him, and he could tell just from her sassy expression, that she was going to try to stall.

"Is that an order or a request?" she asked. He couldn't hold back his smirk; she was such a little smart-ass when she wanted to be. He pulled her naked body on top of his, giving her ass a good smack. Toni gasped and shamelessly rubbed herself on him, making him rethink what it was that he wanted her to do. She tossed the envelope to the side, and he suddenly remembered his mission.

He lifted it from the rumpled bed sheets and handed it back to Toni, causing her to sigh, as if she were tired of their little game. "Open it, Toni," he said again, this time with a little more heat.

"So," she smiled down at him, "an order then?" He swatted her ass and rolled them both to their sides. She was going to have to get used to the fact that he wouldn't allow her to hide from him. Toni needed to know the truth, and from what he gathered from her conversations with James's lawyer, his letter was going to give her the information she was looking for. He just hoped like hell Toni could find some closure and let her father go, otherwise he knew she'd be opening up another can of worms they might not be ready for.

"Toni, you can't hide from your father's letter forever. Sooner or later, you're going to have to read what he wrote to you, for better or worse. Either way, honey, I'm not going anywhere." Toni clutched the envelope between their two bodies, and he swore he could hear her heart beating. "It's just a letter, baby."

They lay there like that for what felt like an eternity. Finally, he could see the resolve in Toni's eyes, and she sat up in bed and tore the envelope open. He had expected more fanfare, with all her indecision about whether or not to even open the blasted thing. His girl always jumped right in when she decided to do something, never doing it halfway.

"That's my girl," he whispered and kissed her shoulder, sitting up behind her to see what was in the envelope. She smiled and pulled a smaller, white envelope from the large parcel that had her name on it. Toni carefully opened the envelope and gasped, covering her mouth with her shaking hand.

"It's really from him," she cried. Nico wanted to take the letter from her and tell her he had changed his mind. Watching the pain this was costing her was almost too much for him. He knew it had to be even more unbearable for Toni.

"What does it say?" he whispered.

Toni held the letter up, and cleared her throat, "Antoinette," she began, "I don't even know where to begin or how to tell you what I need to tell you. I'm assuming you are reading this letter because I'm gone and that makes me sad for you. You've lost so much at such a young age. It was never my intention to leave you with yet another loss, but such is life. We cannot control how much time we have on this earth." Her voice broke and she handed the letter to Nico, shaking her head.

"Do you want me to read it for you, honey?" he asked. Toni nodded and leaned back into his body, seeming to need his comfort.

"After you disappeared," he continued James's letter out loud for her, "I was so lost. Losing you was the biggest heartache outside of losing your mother that I have ever experienced. I would have given up every last one of my worldly possessions to have you back in my life, but that would be impossible—you were gone. Or so I thought. I was on my way to a meeting about the condos that my company built on the southern end of the island, when I came across an article that Nico Andrews published, claiming that my company was at fault for the erosion issues that were destroying my buildings. I went to his office to have a word with him and that was the day that changed my life forever. You were on the beach, talking to a young lifeguard, and I thought for sure I was imagining you. All those months I thought you were lost, and there you were, laughing and carrying on as if you didn't have a care in the world." Nico paused when Toni sat up.

"Did you know I was his daughter? Did you know he had found me?" she questioned. Her accusations stung, but Nico quickly calmed himself. Toni didn't remember the last year; she wouldn't have remembered that day or any other. Nico knew exactly what day James was describing. He thought James was acting strangely, and when he left, Nico hadn't heard from him again.

"No," he whispered. "I know what day your father was referring to only because I thought his behavior strange. He came out to the house, found me in my office, and started yelling something about stalling projects and costing him money. Heather went to make us some tea and when she got back, James was leaving and ran into the tray she was using to serve it. He grumbled about having to use the bathroom, and when he came back, his whole mood changed. He hadn't cleaned up his shirt, and he grabbed his briefcase and quickly left. I never saw or heard from him again," Nico said.

Toni seemed appeased by his explanation. "Will you finish reading me the letter?" she asked, sitting back against his body again. Nico nodded.

"Um yes, here we are." Nico turned the letter over to continue. "I left Mr. Andrews's office, so angry that you would keep me in the dark about being alive and safe, living right under my nose. I went back to my office and was about to tell the world my daughter was alive, but then a chance meeting with Zac had me think better of divulging that information. Zac met with me the next day, insisting I sign a new will naming him legal heir since that was what you would have wanted. He explained that just before your accident, you had told him you wanted to marry him and have a family. You said you wanted to run both of our companies together and since you were gone, he thought I should honor your wishes and give him your part of the company. I was suspicious, to say the least, and decided to keep my news a secret until I could figure out what was truly happening."

Nico turned to the next page of the letter and Toni took it from him, seeming impatient with the whole process. She quickly read down the page and skipped ahead. "Oh God," she gasped, "he thinks Zac tried to kill me." Nico wanted to laugh, but this whole thing wasn't funny.

"Well, honey, I could have told you that. I've thought that about Zac since we left his office." Nico smiled at her, and she just shook her head.

"Listen to this part," she said. "My father said he hired a private investigator to figure out why I was hiding out from him and who I was with." Toni started reading verbatim again, from James's letter. "Imagine my surprise to find out you were living with Mr. Andrews and that you didn't remember your life or who you were. I researched your doctor's reports and after receiving all the information, I decided it would be best to leave you where you were, safe and sound, hiding in plain sight. If Zac had known you were alive, I'm afraid of what he would have done to finish the job he started." Toni gasped. "He just left me there, knowing I couldn't remember my life. How could he do that to his only daughter?"

Nico pulled her into his arms. "Because he loved you, honey. Your dad and I might not have seen eye to eye on a lot of things, but this I understand. He didn't want to tell Zac where you were. He knew your life would have been in danger, so he chose to let you go to keep you safe." Nico kissed the top of her head. He had to hand it to James, he was grateful he didn't put Toni's life in danger, trying to get to her. Maybe he wasn't such a bad guy after all.

"But we lost so much time and now—" Toni didn't finish her sentence.

"Now, you are still alive baby, here with me, and I'm so thankful to your father for that. I don't know what I would do if I lost you. Your dad gave up his time with you to keep you safe and I'm so fucking thankful to him, honey." Toni handed Nico the letter and pulled the rest of the documents from the large envelope. Legal documents and papers for Toni to fill out and instructions on where to go to have a DNA test done to prove she was who she claimed to be. Nico knew that reading James's letter and seeing that Zac had taken what was rightfully hers lit a spark in Toni he hadn't seen in a damn long time.

"Tell me what you're thinking, baby," he asked.

"I'm thinking my father left me some breadcrumbs and a path to follow to claim my birthright back from a psychopath who probably tried to kill me. I think it's about time I follow that trail and remind both myself and Zac Bierman exactly who I am. I'm James Bernston's daughter, his only living blood relative, and according to this will, the rightful heiress to his development company and all its holdings." Nico smiled at her, loving the fire that was back in her eyes. She might not remember being his Toni, but she was his and she was back.

"I'm thinking it's time to go home and take back what's mine," she barked.