I Ran So Far Away - Complete

Chapter 42

It saddened me Christian's first thought was that his biological father was also his mother's pimp. It seemed unlikely, but hopefully, Welch could shed more light on Sergeant Major David O'Riley. I moved closer to my darling husband, stroking the side of his face before kissing him gently on the cheek. On the other side, Grace was stroking his hand, quietly reassuring Christian we all loved and supported him.

"Let's not jump to conclusions. Welch probably knows more... Do you need time, or are you ready?" I checked.

Christian's eyes were still closed, but he nodded before opening them. "Bring him back in."

Since he was still grasping my hand, as well as his mother's, Taylor stood and moments later Carrick and Welch returned to the room, all three awkwardly returning to their seats.

"Tell me everything you've learned," Christian demanded.

"Using your birthdate as our guide, we could determine the likely timing of your conception. Comparing this to the military records for Sergeant Major O'Riley, the most likely scenario is that you were conceived around the time he entered US Army basic training."

"So possibly an army initiation ritual visiting a prostitute. Could he have been my mother's pimp?" Christian demanded, his voice seething.

"No. Whether he is aware he has a son is unclear, but he was serving in Honduras for six months on either side of when your birth mother passed away."

My darling fifty let out a sigh of relief. Knowing the man who sired him was not the one who tortured him and his mother was a big thing.

"What else can you tell us, Mr. Welch?" I prompted.

"Sergeant Major O'Riley left the army after twenty-five years of distinguished service. He now works in logistics management with a federal freight firm. He married at twenty-six to Amy Hobson, a grade school teacher from Detroit. They had a daughter, Aisling, who is now nineteen and studying at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Amy O'Riley passed away three years ago from breast cancer. The preliminary searches we've conducted suggest the family is financially secure. Sergeant Major O'Riley owns the family home in Detroit outright and contributes most of Aisling's college fees and expenses."

"I have a half-sister?" Christian whispered, looking at me with wide eyes.

"It sounds like you do," I replied with a tentative smile.

"How sure are you that this man is Christian's father?" I asked, looking at Mr. Welch. I didn't want Christian to get information, only to be disappointed later to discover it was incorrect.

"As sure as I can be without DNA proof," Welch said. "We uncovered the family samples via a genealogy site. Neither David nor Aisling have submitted a genetic profile, but detailed analysis against your DNA connects you to an aunt, uncle, and numerous cousins. Once we learned it was a paternal link, we checked the family tree, and David O'Riley was the most logical conclusion."

"But it could be someone else?" I challenged.

"Technically it's possible," Welch conceded, although his voice suggested that, like me, he didn't believe it. "Mr. Grey's birth father is definitely a full sibling to the aunt and the uncle identified via DNA. The family history shows David O'Riley as their only brother. If there were an undocumented male sibling, he could potentially be Mr. Grey's birth father, but it seems unlikely given Sergeant Major O'Riley's parents started their family young, he is the middle child of three, and the siblings were born in quick succession. Time wise, nothing else fits."

I reached to the coffee table, lifting a plate and putting a few dessert bite-sized pieces onto it before passing it to Grace. I made up a second plate for Christian, then one for myself. Taking a minute or two to digest the latest information, we all sampled Gail's delicious food and sipped at our drinks.