Don't Walk Away

Chapter Forty

(Picking up right where we left off)

Chloe let the photos fall out of her hand slowly. She stared at Jennifer Horton with complete shock written all over her face. Her blue eyes were filled with disbelief as the words that Jennifer had said still rang in her ears. Her father. It was her father in those pictures.

She finally spoke, barely stammering out her words. "Did you... Oh my God... Did you just say that this man is your father?"

Jennifer nodded confidently. "Yes, I did. Bill Horton. He's a Harvard graduate, Chloe. That's why he was there. Now, can you please explain to me what this has to do with you and your mother?"

Chloe stared at the picture again and then back towards Jennifer. "I don't even know where to begin."

"Anywhere would be fine. I'm completely lost."

"Jennifer, I don't know how much you know about me and my family, or how I came to live here in Salem."

Jennifer shrugged in confusion. "Not much. I know that you were put up for adoption when you were a baby, but then you moved here a few years ago to live with your real parents. That's about it."

Chloe shook her head and sighed. "It's close, but not quite right. Nancy Wesley is my biological mother, but Craig is not my real father. He's not biologically related to me at all. I've never even met my real father, I don't even know who he is. He doesn't even know I exist, as a matter of fact. My mother met him at the Harvard Alumni Party, because my grandfather is a Harvard graduate. She drank too much, she was really naive and innocent at the time... and this man took her to his room, and took advantage of her. She never saw him again after that night, and when she got pregnant, she tried to find him but couldn't."

"So that's what this investigation is about?"

"Yeah. But, until now we haven't found anything on him. Nothing. It's like he doesn't exist and he never did. It was my suggestion to look through pictures taken at the party that weekend. And, this is the first batch to even have my mother in the pictures."

Jennifer looked at her strangely. "But... My father is very easy to find. Bill Horton is a pretty recognizable name, especially in this town."

Chloe nodded in understanding, her brow furrowed together. "But, if it was your father, he didn't tell her his name was Bill Horton. He told her his name was Rob Hillton. We've been looking for two months for a Rob Hillton, a surgeon who graduated from Harvard. And we've found nothing at all."

"Oh... Oh my God..." Jennifer rested a hand on her forehead, she was beginning to look even more shocked than Chloe, now that the news was definitely sinking in. She paused for a moment, and Chloe thought she looked like a person trying to work out a math problem in their head. "Rob Hillton... Bill Horton. It's an anagram."

"A what?"

"An anagram. You switch the letters in 'Rob Hillton' around and you get Bill Horton. Chloe... I can't believe it... But, it must have been him. He gave your mother a fake name."

Chloe nodded and stood from the couch, the photos clutched tightly in her hand. "Well, there's only one way find out for sure."

Chloe grabbed her car keys off the counter and hurriedly stuffed herself into her winter coat. Jennifer stood and followed her to the door. "And what way is that?"

Chloe took a deep breath in and slid the door open. "We're going to see my mother. I'll drive."

Jennifer nodded and followed Chloe down to her silver SUV that she got just a week ago. They hurried to get into the car, and out of the cold. Both women were quiet as they drove towards the Black's penthouse nearby.

Chloe kept trying to process what was going on, and she assumed Jennifer was too. It seemed almost a definite that Bill Horton was Chloe's father, they just needed one more bit of confirmation. Chloe was stunned, she already had a loving family in the Wesleys and Blacks, but now it was possible that she was a part of one of Salem's largest and most well known families.

If this moment wasn't still so shocking, she would have laughed at the irony of it all. Since the day she had arrived in Salem, Chloe had felt like an outsider. Even Nancy and Craig weren't a part of the circle that seemed to connect every Salem resident to each other. She was the new girl, the one that nobody new, the girl without a past and without a family. And, now she was about to find out for sure if she was biologically connected to a very large and proud family.

Chloe sighed as the red light turned green and a new thought popped into her head. "Jennifer... I'm... I'm sorry."

Jennifer turned to her in confusion. "Sorry? Sorry for what?"

"I... I don't want whatever kind of relationship you have with your father to be sullied by this revelation. I'm sure you love him, and..."

Jennifer nodded, but interrupted Chloe with a wave of her hand. "Chloe, don't be sorry. I do love my father, but he is not perfect, and he never has been. And, that's something you will learn very quickly now that you might be a member of this family. I love him because he's my father, but there are times when I don't at all respect the things that he's done. He's behaved himself in the past few years, but there were times where he wasn’t exactly an upstanding citizen."

Chloe nodded slightly, and frowned. "So, it's not exactly a huge surprise to hear that he may have raped my mother?"

"I wish it was. I mean, it's a surprise to me that I could have a sister that I've never known anything about. But, to think that my father took advantage of a naive, drunk girl? Not exactly a breaking news bulletin. My brother Mike was the product of a rape, my father went to prison for manslaughter, he slept around on my mother, and my brother Lucas was conceived out of an affair with Kate Roberts. So, no, not really a big shocker there."

Chloe ran a hand through her hair and shook her head sadly. All this time, Chloe had thought that all of the Hortons were just as kind and good as Hope, Jennifer or Alice Horton. But, come to find out, every family had a bad seed and Bill seemed to be theirs.

They spent the rest of the ride in silence. When they reached the Blacks' building, both of them quickly got out of the car and ran towards the building, blocking themselves from the falling snow. They rode up the elevator without saying a word, and Chloe rang the doorbell.

Marlena opened the door, surprised not only to see Chloe, but that Jennifer was standing next to her. "Chloe, sweetheart... I'm glad you're here."

Chloe nodded and stepped in, with Jennifer following. "I'm actually here for a different reason that I was supposed to be here for. My mom is here, right?"

Marlena nodded and pointed over to the living room. The guys were gathered around the TV, and the women were on the other side of the room chatting with each other. All heads turned to look at Jennifer and Chloe, and Brady stood up to look at his wife.

"Chloe... What's going on?"

Chloe bit her lip nervously as she looked around at all of the staring expectant faces, yearning for an explanation to their frantic and sudden arrival. "Uhm... Brady... Hi. I need my mom. Mom, could you come to the kitchen with me and Jennifer, please?"

Nancy stood up and nodded. "Sure, no problem."

The three women headed towards the kitchen and Chloe paused before entering, turning to those assembled in the main room of the house. "Uhm... We'll be right back. We just need to straighten out something real quick. Please go back to whatever you're doing."

Chloe winked at Brady and headed into the kitchen behind Jennifer and Nancy. It wasn't as if she was hiding the news from everyone, she just wanted to wait until Nancy gave her official confirmation. Chloe closed the kitchen door and stood next to her mother.

"Mom... Jennifer brought me some pictures today. More pictures from the alumni dinner. And, I need you to take a look at them."

"Okay, anything I can to do to help."

Chloe took a deep breath in and took the pictures out of the envelope, laying them on the counter for Nancy to look at it. Nancy stepped forward to look and her hand immediately flew to her mouth as she gasped with surprise.

"Oh my God... Chloe."

"Is it him? Is this my father?"

Nancy nodded slightly, stammering out a reply. "It's him. It's Rob Hillton."

Chloe looked towards Jennifer who was standing with her arms crossed. "Mrs. Wesley... His name is not Rob Hillton. The man in that picture is named Bill Horton. My father. A Harvard educated surgeon."

Nancy had to grip the counter to save herself from faltering, she was just as stunned as the other two women in the kitchen had been a little while earlier. "You're saying..."

Jennifer nodded and continued her thoughts for her. "Chloe is my sister. She's a Horton. That is, if you're absolutely sure that the man in these pictures is the man who raped you."

"I'm... one hundred percent sure. I've seen this face in my head for over eighteen years now. This is Chloe's father."

Chloe didn't know whether to smile or to cry. She was a Horton. She didn't think it possible, but she was both happy and afraid at the same time. Happy to finally have the answers she had been seeking for years, but afraid that her new family might not accept her, especially considering the circumstances upon which she became a member of their family.

She looked at Jennifer, her brow furrowed with worry, but Jennifer just smiled at her happily. "Then I guess I should be the first to say, welcome to the family."

A few hot tears made their way down Chloe's cheeks and she sighed in disbelief. "I don't know what to say. I just... I can't believe it. I guess I've always wanted a sister..."

"Well, now you have one. And two brothers. And cousins, aunts, uncles, a niece, two nephews... And the best grandmother you could ever ask for."

Chloe had to lean against the counter for support, overwhelmed by the enormity of this moment. Nancy rubbed her daughter's arm and smiled weakly. "Are you okay, sweetie?"

Chloe nodded slightly and wiped her tears away. "I think so... I don't even know what happens next. I don't know if my new family will even want to accept me."

Jennifer walked forward and hugged her tightly. "Chloe, don't say that. Of course they will. You're a Horton, and we always stick together. Besides, you're not the only one who has always wanted a sister."

Jennifer let go and Chloe smiled in appreciation. "Thank you... It's just going to take some time for this to really sink in."

"Of course it is. It's almost unbelievable. But, trust me, you're going to get along just fine in this family."

"So... What happens next?"

Nancy gave her daughter a quick hug and then smiled at her. "I think we owe an explanation to the people in the living room. They're probably really confused about now."

Chloe nodded and quickly scooped the pictures up and back into the envelope. She headed to the kitchen and took a deep breath for courage before pushing through to the other side, her mother and newly discovered sister following close behind her.

All heads turned again and Chloe smiled uneasily at them. "Uhm... I guess I should explain why I rushed in here all frantic and why I have Jennifer with me."

John turned the TV off, so that Chloe could have everyone's full attention. Brady went to stand again but Chloe motioned for him to sit down. "It's okay, Brady... You don't have to get up. I'm fine."

Chloe paused for a moment and looked around the room. Belle, Mimi, Marlena and Hope were in one corner, while Brady, Shawn, Bo, John and Craig were gathered around the TV. But, now, all eyes were on her waiting patiently to find out what the meeting in the kitchen had been about.

"As you all know, the last couple of months have been spent looking for my biological father. Bo and Brady have been working on the case tirelessly, and thank you both for doing that. But, it wasn't until this morning that we got our first big break. The biggest break we could possibly ask for. Jennifer was doing us a favor, using her connections in the press to get photos from the party that Nancy met my father at. That way we could at least see his face, maybe find him that way. Well, Jennifer got this envelope of photos with Nancy and my father in them. And... my father's name is not Rob Hillton, it's not the name that he told my mom. His name is... his name is Bill Horton."

There was a near chorus of gasps that ran across the room, as each person seemed to have identical dropped jaws and eyes wide with amazement. Brady stood this time and walked around the couch, holding his wife in his arms. "So I'm married to a Horton? Go figure..."

Chloe nodded and smiled at her husband. "I know... I couldn't believe it when Jennifer came over. We had to rush right over here so Nancy could confirm what was in the pictures."

Hope was the next to walk over, giving Chloe a quick hug and a smile. "I don't know what to say... except, welcome to the family."

"Thank you... This is all so unbelievable. I don't even know where go from here."

Jennifer nodded and interjected. "I think I need to call my... make that, OUR father. Right now."

Hope looked at Jennifer with a raised eyebrow. "What time is it in Africa?"

"I don't know, and I don't care. I have to talk to him."

Marlena motioned up the stairs. "Jennifer, if you'd like some privacy, please use the phone in my study to call Bill."

Jennifer walked towards the stairs but Hope stopped her. "What about Gran? Shouldn't we call her?"

"We will, but I want to talk to my dad first. Chloe... Did you want to speak to him?"

Chloe shook her head immediately. "I... I can't. Not yet. I wouldn't even begin to know what to say."

Jennifer nodded in understanding, Chloe had just gotten the news and was probably feeling less than loving towards Bill Horton right now. Marlena led Jennifer up the stairs and Chloe turned to the rest of the people with an uneasy smile.

There was silence, and Chloe raised an eyebrow as she looked at the amazed faces of her friends and family. "Well... You know... You guys can speak now. Don't let us shock you into silence."

Shawn was the next to stand, running around the couch to hug Chloe. "So, Chloe... I guess we're officially family now."

"Weird, huh?"

Shawn let go of her and shrugged slightly. "No more weird than the rest of my family. I think it's pretty cool. I love you like family anyway, and now you are."

Chloe smiled happily and nodded. "Thanks Shawn... I'm glad you don't think it's weird that my cousin is dating my sister-in-law."

Belle walked over and giggled slightly, hugging her next. "Not if you don't think it's weird that my nephew Will is now your nephew Will."

Chloe laughed and her eyes widened as she realized all of the strange connections between everyone, something that she had never really been a part of before. "No more strange than sharing a half-brother with my ex-boyfriend who is the uncle of my husband."

The people surrounding her couldn't help laughing along with her. Chloe now found herself a part of the strange twisted circle of the families of Salem. She took a seat, able to breathe for the first time since Jennifer had walked into the door of the loft. The search was over, now she just had to worry about the consequences that truth always carried.

***

I know the ending is kinda choppy on this chapter, but it was getting long... the next chapter will pick up right here, and have Bill's reaction and the news of Chloe's Hortonness spreading around. (Or is that Horton-osity? LOL.)

And, I should *totally* give Diva a cookie!! Awesome girl! I was waiting for *somebody* to figure out my little Rob Hillton anagram, and you did it. Bravo! You get a gold star and an A+++ for today's lesson.

And let me tell you... finding an anagram for Bill Horton or William Horton is not as easy as it looks. At least one that makes sense as a *name*. However, if you ever need an anagrammed name for Stefano DiMera, go for Adam Firestone. LOL.

I hope I'm not being too redundant with my constant explaining of the whole Bill/Nancy situation, and the photos. If I keep repeating myself, somebody smack the hell out of me.

And yes, Greta's father will be revealed. But, not until the sequel, which I am currently mapping out in my head. I have to have *something* to keep you coming back for more.

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