Identity Unknown Chapter One

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Subject: Identity Unknown Chapter One
Posted By: OKDeanna - ezOP
Posts: 327
Posted At: (8/23/03 6:57 am)
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Identity Unknown

Author: Deanna (OKDeanna)
Email: asjfan@cox.net

Chapter One

When he woke up this morning, he had been Ethan Crane, the firstborn son of Ivy Winthrop and Julian Crane, the grandson of Multi-Billionaire Alistair Crane. But tonight… tonight in one fell swoop his whole world had come crashing down around him. He was no longer the son of Julian and Ivy. Now he was the son of Ivy and Sam Bennett, a man he hated more than anyone else in the world.

He closed his eyes to try and block out the pain of the dull knife that had once again been inserted into his chest, but it was no use. The pain was still there, as was the open wound. He hadn't had a clue of the secret that his mother kept from him. Never in his wildest nightmares could he have envisioned her as a woman that had once been involved with Sam Bennett, yet that's exactly who she was.

She had always told him he had been created out of love, and while she had never said it was the love she had for his fath… Julian, she had led him to believe that was the case. It was a lie of omission, but it was still a lie. His whole life had been a lie. His being in this very room was a lie.

He swallowed hard as his eyes landed on his reflection in the mirror above his dresser. His eyes were dull where just an hour ago they had been filled with light, the light of love, of Theresa's love. But even knowing how much she loved him wasn't helping him now. She couldn't help him now. He couldn't even help himself right now.

He was in some place that he had never been before. His mind kept replaying his fath…Julian announcing to the partygoers that he was not his son. He had thought it some sick joke at first, but then… then he had noticed the look of pure horror on his mother's face and that was when he knew... that was when everyone knew… It was true. Everything his fath… Julian had stated was true - he was not a Crane. He was a Bennett. He was Sam Bennett's son.

"Ethan?" A tentative voice called out from the other side of his bedroom door. "Are you up here?"

Theresa, he thought closing his eyes and praying her soft-spoken voice would wash away all the pain manifesting itself inside his body. He should have known she would come looking for him. She was worried about him. They were all worried about him. He took a deep breath then spoke, silently cursing the crack in his voice. "I'm in here."

The door opened slowly, almost hesitantly, and then she was there, quietly closing the door before turning around to walk toward him, her worried brown eyes focused on his. "I don't know what to say."

"Me either." He whispered as she silently took his hand and linked their fingers together. He knew it was meant to comfort him, but right now he was beyond comfort. He was beyond anything. He was completely and totally numb. "All my life I listened to what it meant to be a Crane. Listened to the endless rules, duties, and responsibilities that came with being one, and tonight I find out it was all for nothing. That I'm not who I thought I was. That I'm not a Crane at all. That I'm just a bastard."

"You are not a bastard." Theresa replied as she unlinked their fingers and placed her palm against his cheek, gently urging him to turn and face her. He did and he sucked in a breath at the love he saw shining in her eyes. "Ethan, your name is not what defines you. Your heart defines who you are."

"But what if your heart and your name were all rolled into one?" He asked searching her brown eyes for an answer he knew she couldn't give him. He turned his face away then got up and began to pace the room. "My being a Crane is as much a part of me as anything in my life. It is a large part of who I am. Being a Crane is all I know…" He stopped suddenly and turned to look at her, his heart pounding with pain and his eyes stinging with sadness. "But it was all one big lie."

Theresa got to her feet and walked toward him, her hand reaching out only to connect with air as he moved back away from her. "You can't help me with this one, Theresa. You can't help me because you don’t understand. Not really. You don't know what it was like."

He lowered his head and looked at his feet. "I don't know who I am anymore. If I'm not Ethan Crane…" He broke off suddenly and looked up at her, wishing he could erase her tears but knowing he couldn't because he had his own to deal with. "I need to be alone for awhile."

He didn't wait for her reply. He just turned on his heel and took the stairs two at a time, not stopping until he was safely outdoors. He looked around for his car, but just as he spotted it, the realization that it really wasn't his car hit him. He shook his head then pushed his hands into the pocket of his pants and began to walk. He didn't know where he would walk to, but he knew it had to be better than where he was now.

* * * * *

Theresa watched him go, the need to chase after him strong, but the knowledge that he needed this time alone even stronger. She blinked back her tears then wrapped her bare arms around her midriff and said a silent prayer that god would watch over him. She had never seen him so distraught before. It hurt that she wasn't able to help him, but she knew she had to be strong for when he returned. He was going to need her then and she would be there for him, she would always be there for him.

"Theresita?" Her mother's voice called out from behind her. "What are you doing out her all alone?"

"Watching Ethan go." She whispered as she raised a hand to wipe away her tears. "He said he needed to be alone."

Her mother placed a comforting arm around her waist and Theresa turned toward her then, her eyes filling up with new shed tears as she thought about the pain Ethan was in right now. "I should have told him, Mama. I should have told him that way he wouldn't have been blindsided tonight."

"You couldn't have known this would happen, Theresita. Neither could I." Her mother shook her head then cast a glance back at the house. "There are far too many secrets in this house, one of them was bound to escape eventually. I'm just sorry it was this one."

"Me too." She pulled away from her mother then and took a step forward only to freeze when her eyes connected with Ivy Crane's. "Why didn't you tell him?"

"I…" Ivy closed her eyes then shook her head. "I never thought it would come out."

"Secrets always have a way of coming out." Rebecca Hotchkiss' voice replied as she conveniently butted into the conversation. "You should have known yours would come out eventually. It was just too juicy not to."

"You bitch." Ivy replied as she took a step forward, her saddened blue eyes now flashing with fire. "You did this, didn't you? You set this up!"

"How would I do that?" Rebecca replied in her usual haughty voice. "I had no idea you had slept with the studly Chief Bennett. If I did I would have used it long before now."

"You never do anything without thinking it through and planning it out." Ivy shook her head. "I know you Rebecca. I've known you since we were children. I know you had something to do with what happened here tonight and when I find proof of it, I swear to god I'll make you pay for hurting Ethan this way."

Theresa raised her brows at the red-hot anger in Mrs. Crane's voice. She had never heard her speak to anyone this way. She had always assumed she and Mrs. Hotchkiss were friends, but… but now she knew differently. They hated each other!

She glanced at her mother who appeared to be staring at someone behind her. She turned and came face to face with Gwen Hotchkiss. "Did Ethan leave you already, Terrocita?"

Her eyes narrowed on the woman before her and had her mother not picked that moment to grab her around the waist, she was almost positive she would have slapped the smirk right off the her face. "You bitch! Do you even care about Ethan at all? Do you even care that his heart was broken tonight? Do you?"

"I care more about Ethan than you will ever know." Gwen replied as she took a step forward, bringing them less than a foot apart.

"Could have fooled me." Theresa spat out bitterly. "That smirk on your face tells me all I need to know. If you really cared about Ethan, you wouldn't be smiling."

"And if you really cared about Ethan, you wouldn't be here with me right now. You'd be with him."

"Ethan needs to be alone right now." Theresa replied as she finally managed to break out of her mother's hold and take a step forward, cutting the distance between her and Gwen in half. "But when he gets back, I will be with him."

"Good." Gwen responded sweetly. "And do you plan to tell him you knew all about his not being a Crane?"

Theresa arched a brow in surprise. "What makes you think I knew about this before tonight?"

"I don't just think it Theresa, I know you did, and when Ethan finds out, he isn't going to want anything to do with you."

"Or you, considering the fact that you also knew." Theresa eyed her carefully. "Tell me did you even think about his reaction at all when you decided to tell this secret to the press or were you just so intent on getting back at me that you just didn't care?"

"I'd like to know the answer to that myself."

Theresa froze as her eyes swung to the person standing a few feet behind Gwen. "Ethan."

"I didn't want you to worry about me so I thought I'd come back and...." His voice broke off as he looked at first her then Gwen. The look of betrayal in his blue eyes told her all she needed to know. He had heard every word she and Gwen had spoken, including the part about her knowing before tonight that he wasn't a Crane. When his eyes swung back to meet hers, she knew she was right. He heard. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I… I'm sorry."

"How could you not tell me?" Ethan asked his voice tight with emotion. "I thought… I thought… I trusted you. I trusted you of all people to be honest with me. But… but you haven't been. You knew. You knew."

"Yes," She replied as fresh tears slipped down her cheeks. "I knew."

To Be Continued...

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Replies

Identity Unknown Chapter One	OKDeanna	8/23/03 6:57 am
Re: Identity Unknown Chapter One	sexyangel221980	8/24/03 5:32 pm
Thanks, sexyangel!	OKDeanna	8/25/03 8:15 am
Re: Thanks, sexyangel!	sexyangel221980	8/25/03 3:55 pm

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