Not just the Beta (Oriana and Slade) novel Chapter 122

Peirce

He’d looked at that photo of his Ana, when it had been handed to him by Ross, she’d been so very young in it. Likely only a teenager and though she was smiling, likely laughing in that picture next to Mr Slade Southerland; looking very happy to him, standing there next to him. He now wondered what had happened to make her change her name, and move clear across the country?

He himself had looked in to Ana Forester, out of curiosity, because she was the woman he was attracted to, and couldn’t seem to even get a date with her, not for a very long time. All he’d found out was that she had three sisters, all with the same registered father, that she owned that Café along with Maddison, the oldest of her sisters.

That she had a linguistics degree in Japanese, taught self-defence twice a week at the community center and with the teens at the high school. Though that had come about only after some random attacks on women here had happened. She’d showed up with some serious skills, and a plan on how to have the town folk defend themselves.

She’d been a single mother of one, little Ocean, a bright bubbly girl that was cute as a button, her birth was registered properly stated father unknown. But that he now knew was a lie. She’d also been living here in Maine at the time, and given birth down on some beach, where Ocean had gotten her name from. That Maddie had delivered the little girl even.

Other than that, he knew very little, only things about her from when she’d turned up here in Maine, she’d told him other than Maddie and her sisters, and a dead beat dad, she had no family at all. Her mother was dead and she had no brothers.

Not only did he recognise Ana, who he now knew, to actually likely be one Oriana Vale, she hadn’t drastically changed her name, just dropped the first three letters, and he wondered about that. What did they call her back in her old life? Not Ana, likely either her full name of Oriana, or Ori, seeing as she dropped those three letters, it was unlikely anyone had ever called her Ana, but it was easy for her to use and respond to. Because it was actually part of her real name. Smart, he thought to himself.

Walking out there to speak to that man himself, he’d gotten a good look at him, tall buffed up and blonde, very good-looking in fact, and Peirce had to admit, more so than he was. He’d recognised in that man, Ocean’s platinum blonde hair and her smile, it was all her father.

He’d also seen that this man had been strolling about with three other men, over the past week. He wondered just what kind of trouble she was actually in. She’d never stated she’d been married before, and he knew for a fact she’d arrived here in town at 18. The whole town knew that; she’d come here already pregnant to stay with her sister.

So, he highly doubted that man’s story; of her being his wife. She would likely have told him if she’d ever been married herself, seeing as he was divorced himself. She’d never once mentioned the name Slade, even in passing. It was an unusual name, and he would recall it if she had. Never once brought up who Ocean’s dad was either, that had kind of bugged him a bit. Dads had rights too.

He sat at his desk after that man left his station, and looked him up. Everything matched up with that business card and what he’d stated about himself. He was, from all appearances, a very wealthy man, of just 25 himself, the same age as Ana, or Oriana. He was set to inherit a large corporation worth nearly a billion dollars.

Slade Southerland was the oldest of three children; he had a sister who was a doctor, and a brother who was at university, it appeared studying law, but interning at the family company. Peirce dug further into that man’s company and there was a picture of his father, Roman Southerland and his three CEOS that helped him to run the company.

One of them was named Anders Vale. He now understood a little more, that Slade Southerland not only knew his Ana, she was actually from his world out there in Arizona. That she likely came from a very wealthy family herself, so dug into the Vale family and, yes, her father was very wealthy, she had a mother and a brother as well, something she’d claimed not to have right to his face.

He, however, could not find a marriage license or certificate of any kind for either Slade Southerland or Oriana Vale. There was also no missing persons file on Oriana Vale, not even in her home state of Arizona.

Were they all from the same world? Were all of them actually missing like Ana was? He sighed a little as he realised that not one of them was likely to be going by their real names either. Though they were of no threat to this town, for all intensive purposes they were just a happy family raising that little girl.

They were all liked by the towns folk, as well, they all loved little Ocean, especially the grannies. They knew everyone here and had good community bonds with the towns folk. They were not expecting trouble to come here to their town, and why would they? He realised Maddie had been here a few years before Ana had showed up, and that had been 7 and a bit years ago. They were safe or had been.

Though he was more than curious now as he sat and thought about those four women, he’d seen all of them out running. They ran every day. He’d occasionally run with them even, though they could all out run him, and were actually fitter than he was. They also had a hell of a home gym and trained in there.

They were all super fit and could all fight as well. Ana actively trained them. He knew that, he’d been put down by all them at one point or another, had tried to train with them, they were levels above him, though they had thought it was funny that he wanted to try and take them on.

Pierce sat back in his chair now, and really thought things through; where those four women were concerned. He wondered if they could possibly be Ana’s bodyguards, know where she originated from.

Maybe she was of the opinion that she couldn’t hide herself forever, and that someday, someone would come here to this town and find her, and she needed those women around her to protect her.