Chapter 302

Pearl left Sebastian with the baby back at his house while she and Jim made the trip to Aberdeen.

"We need to find the clerk's office." Pearl said.

They pulled into the courthouse there and Pearl walked in, trying to appear inconspicuous.

"Hello. What can I help you with?" A young and attractive man asked at the counter. "Oh my. Princess Pearl! Your highness." He said with a bow.

"Hello. I need a favor. I'm trying to do a genealogy thing for my family now that my son is here. I need Erik's birth certificate." She said.

"I'm sorry. Prince Erik would be the only one that could release that." The man said.

"I want to surprise him. It would mean so much if you would bend the rules a little for me. I mean, you know I am his wife." She said, leaning on the counter and giving him the most seductive look she could muster. He blushed and fidgeted a little.

"Well, I mean, I could see if we even have it." He said. She smiled and nodded.

He typed some things into the computer. "Ah yes. Here he is." He said. "Odd."

"Odd?" Pearl asked.

"Yes. It says it was entered but Someone named Anna locked it. About 4 years ago. I would need to get this approved by a manager." He said.

"No. No need. Can you just read what you are able to see?" She asked.

"Of course." He said. "It says that the hospital here in town created this but it shows he wasn't born there. It listed Frances Chamberlain as his mother and.. odd. No father is listed." He said, shrugging his shoulders.

"Yes. That is odd. Does it happen to say where he was born? Like an address or something?" She asked.

"No. But it lists Frances' address. I'll write it down for you." He said. He wrote down a few things and handed her the paper.

"I'm sorry, Princess, no genealogy tree for you now." He said, genuinely sad for her.

"It's alright." She said. "Is Erik's brother's birth certificate listed by any chance?" She asked, pushing her luck.

"No. Afraid not." He said.

"Thank you. You are amazing. Oh and please keep this between the two of us. I still want to surprise them if I can make this work." She said with a flirty smile. He smiled back, awestruck.

"You're so welcome, Princess." He said.

"Call me Pearl ." She said. He smiled proudly.

"Ok, Pearl." He said with a smile.

Pearl walked back to the car and handed Jim the address.

"What is this?" He asked.

"The place Erik was born, I believe." Pearl said. "And Jim, Anna, Sebastian's fiancée, the one that was murdered, is involved somehow."

Jim looked at Pearl. She nodded.

"Oh boy." Jim said.

Jim drove about 20 miles east and turned down a long, winding driveway that lead to a large stone house in the middle of nowhere.

"What is this?" Pearl asked Jim.

"Looks like some kind of convent." He said.

"Convent?" Pearl looked at the house and saw two women stains outside with with bonnets on. The place looked a little eerie.

Pearl got out of the car and Jim followed. They walked to the front door and a woman opened it before they had the chance to knock.

"Hello." Pearl said.

The young woman looked up and noticed who Pearl was and said "Your highness." with a curtsey.

"Yes. Hello. I am here on unofficial business. May I come in?" Pearl asked.

"Yes. Of course. Please." She said. She looked at Jim awkwardly.

"You can wait here. I'll be fine." Pearl said.

"Not a chance in hell." Jim said, following her.

They were lead down a long hall and into what looked like a kind of office.

"Mary-Elizabeth will be right in." The young woman said.

Pearl nodded.

"Your highness. I'm Mary-Elizabeth. To what do we owe this honor?" An older woman with a strong presence said. She walked around and curtsied for Pearl.

"Please. Call me Pearl. I am here on unofficial business. Discreet, unofficial business." Pearl said.

"I can assure you, your presence here will only be known to those you encounter while you are here. What may I do for you?" Mary-Elizabeth asked.

"I am trying to trace my husband's genealogy. For a family tree of sorts. But I can't seem to understand his birth certificate. I was wondering if you kept records of live births here. The clerks office had locked Erik's." Pearl explained.

"And why would you think Prince Erik was born here?" Mary asked in a way that made Pearl uneasy. "Besides. Those records are kept private. Only Erik or his mother would be able to access them." That's when Pearl's intuition kicked in.

"I know being discreet must be something you pride yourself at here. I completely understand that. This is purely innocent. For my son." She said, hoping to make some progress. "My son needs to know this when he is older. It is a matter of life or death." Pearl said, stepping closer to her and looking into her eyes.

Mary-Elizabeth knew that Pearl was aware of something more sinister and secret than she initially thought.

"I can look. We keep paper records in the basement storage cabinets." She said. "But forgive me if I am a little reluctant. The last person that came here asking about his birth certificate, from the clerk's office, didn't live long enough to come back and make a copy." She said.

"Anna." Pearl said.

"Yes. Did you know her?" She asked.

"Yes." Pearl said, which was a half lie. She felt like she knew her.

"Well if you did, I have something here that she left behind. A folder. She was going to bring a scanning machine when she came back the next time but she never came back. Our driver saw her in the local paper a few days later, shot in her home." She said. "I'll get it for you. And the birth certificate."

Pearl put her hand on her mouth and looked at Jim. Jim remained stoic but she could see his wheels spinning, like hers.

Mary-Elizabeth returned with a blue file folder and a handwritten birth record.

"No. This isn't his. His name is Friederike, not Lachlan." Pearl said.

"I assure you. It is him. That's the name he was given at birth by his biological father with the same name." Mary-Elizabeth said, looking away.

"How do you know that?" Pearl asked.

"Because I delivered him." She said.