[COMPLETED - book 1]
Bourne shook his head. "No, you see, you're getting it wrong. I don't want you to go as boyfriend and girlfriend, I want you two to go as husband and wife."
"Married?" They said in unison. Vanessa stopped in her tracks and put h...
She didn't even knock on the door but entered. Matthew was standing by the counter and looked at her all confused.
"Please, do come in," he said sarcastically.
Vanessa shook his comment off and quickly rushed to open her folder where she showed him the same sheet Bourne had given her.
"I don't understand," Matthew took the sheet and scanned it more closely.
"I didn't at first either, but you have got to see this."
She opened her tablet and tried searching the same name: William Warner.
"See, nothing comes up."
Matthew inched closer. Vanessa noticed he had only changed into comfier loungewear since the last time she saw him. She made a note to ask him how he was doing later.
"Wait, so, let's connect all of the dots," Matthew pulled up one of the taller chairs to sit on, "William is Kaufman."
Vanessa held her breath, nodding her head. "Warner's brother."
Matthew's eyebrows pinched together. "So, wait a minute, that's not his name."
"That's why I'm confused. His registered name is J. Kaufman. The J stands for Joshua."
"We need to figure out why he changed his name."
Vanessa sighed, she started pacing again, the thoughts and possibilities spun.
"I have an idea," she walked closer to Matthew, "what if he needed to change his name."
Matthew sat considering it, "but why?"
"Well, Walter is a dangerous man. He's been doing terrible things ever since... well, a long time. What if the whole reason Kaufman did change his name is because he feared his brother wanted to do something to him or wanted something from him?"
Matthew took a moment to soak it all in. "So, you're saying that you think Warner might have threatened Kaufman to the point where he had to run away and change his whole name?"
Vanessa went back to the paper. "Not even that, it's documented that Kaufman has no known family, but here it said that William had a wife and even a child."
Matthew shook his head. "But why would he leave his wife and child to just run away? Wouldn't he take them with him, especially if they could be in serious trouble too?"
Vanessa sighed. "If only we had more information."
Matthew bit his lip. "What if we're reading this wrong, though? What if Kaufman was actually paired up with Warner all along and this was his plan? What if everything that had happened to our systems and to Giselle and Charlie were all because Warner was getting his information from a direct source?"
Vanessa began to pace again. "See, I don't know. I don't want to believe that. Kaufman was a great man, and you saw his body yourself."
Matthew looked down. "I know. You're right. How could he have died?"
"We know he was shot. We also know it does trace back to Warner."
"Let me re-phrase that: Why did he die?"
Vanessa looked at him. "I'm guessing for the same reason why he ran away and changed his name and entire life."
Matthew looked back down at the sheet. "A wife and son, and who knows what had happened to them. "
Vanessa paused. "What if they're still alive."
Matthew looked up at her. "Why is that relevant."
Vanessa kept thinking. "What if they know something, or can lead us closer to Warner. If they know something, it can lead us that much closer to getting our friends back."
Matthew looked down. "How do you plan on finding them?"
Vanessa paced. "What's that thing you can do to find your family online?"
Matthew shook his head. "What?"
"That thing, you know, you see ads all over tv about how you can find your family's past and stuff."
"That ancestry DNA stuff?"
"YES! Exactly!"
Matthew's face dropped. "And how exactly do you plan on getting DNA from a dead man?"
Vanessa's excitement deflated. "That's the sad part."
"What?"
"We're going to have to go pay a visit at the morgue."
Matthew gave her a face as if asking if she was serious. When he realized she was serious, he could only say a few words in the most subtle tone. "Absolutely not."
"Oh please Matthew, please?"
"Never in a million years." He continuously shook his head.
"Please Matthew, I'm begging you to come with me. I can't do this alone." Vanessa was pretty sure there would be tears soon.
"Vanessa, I-" he looked at her face and sighed. "Even if I wanted to, I couldn't, remember? Doctor's orders."
Vanessa stood straight, her voice sounded small and quiet. "But what if this gets us our friends back? What if this helps us finally put an end to our mission? Please, Matthew, we have to try, and I can't do this without you."
Matthew didn't look at her, he was silent as he was taking a moment to think about it.
"Please?" She whispered, desperate for his help.
He sighed. "Fine. Alright. But I'm not going to enjoy it."
Vanessa could only smile. "I know, this isn't easy for me either."
He looked at her, his eyes only filled with sympathy.
Vanessa slightly shrugged, swallowing the lump in her throat. "It's my job. I have to take the good things and the bad things."
"Our job," he got off of the chair. "Okay, let's just go. The sooner, the better."
"That's the spirit," she tried smiling.
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