Page 76 of Whatever Will Be

Instead of cowering with deep shame, he appears to be only vaguely nervous. He looks down at his hands as he twists his wedding ring.

Gretchen turns away from the window and confronts him with those fierce Aaronson green eyes. “You won’t get near the twins. You’ll never hurt them. And you’ll never dare to utter one more threatening word about their future. They are loved. They are treasured. They are not playthings to be used to your advantage, you fucking bastard. They are ours.”

Liam quits twisting his wedding ring. “Careful, little girl. A paternity test is easy to arrange.”

She shakes her head. “You won’t be doing that.”

He crosses his arms and appraises her more carefully. “Trent, you really ought to pipe up and inform your girl that she’s out of her depth.”

“Pay attention, Liam.” I increase the volume to make sure he can hear what’s coming. “This is a pretty important part.”

He huffs and scowls and hops off his desk. “Enough of this bullshit.”

But he’s stopped by the sound of his own words.

“Nothing sucks cock as eagerly as a sixteen-year-old cheerleader.”

His arms go limp. The color drains from his face. He makes a pointless lunge for the phone in my hands but I have no difficulty keeping it out of his reach.

“Don’t hurt yourself,” I taunt him. “You think I haven’t already copied this in six different places?”

Gretchen slips to my side. “Liam, I didn’t finish law school but I was made aware that there is a legal term for the crime you describe. It’s called statutory rape.”

“That doesn’t prove jack shit,” he says but the queasiness is all over his face.

“Are you sure? If you listen to the entirety of the recording, you admit to soliciting underage girls for sex. These days, such accusations are not taken lightly.”

The recording ends. Jules has accomplished exactly what she needed to do.

I store my phone in my back pocket and put my arm around Gretchen. “Once we turn this over to the Lake Stuart PD and they begin asking around, it’s probably only a matter of time before someone steps forward. From the way you were talking, there’s got to be more than one victim.”

“Not to mention the fact that there’s a big question mark surrounding consent when Jules admitted to being drunk,” Gretchen points out. “All your friends downstairs won’t be toasting to your good health anymore once word gets out.” She enjoys marching forward to deliver the final blow. “You’re finished. I wanted you to know that you have my sister to thank.”

The look he sends her way is lethal. But when he attacks, I’m ready for him.

Liam makes a grab for Gretchen’s throat but I’ve got him in a headlock before he even gets close. He grunts and swings his haphazard fists at my ribs while I ignore the blows and laugh at him. The balance of power has shifted since the last time he tried this tactic.

I could kill him. I could kill him so fucking easily.

My grip around his neck tightens. He struggles and chokes and the desperate hiss of his gasps make me smile.

“Trent.” Gretchen pleads from six feet away, calling me back to her. “Trent!”

I release Liam and he frantically gulps air as he kneels on the floor.

When he’s able to look up, he stares straight into his wife’s horrified face.

“Baby,” he croaks, trying to crawl to the doorway where she stands with a wine glass in her hand.

The wine glass shatters on the floor. Her red fingernails claw senselessly at the neckline of her gown and she sways inside pointy silver heels. I don’t know if she has heard everything, but she has definitely heard enough.

“You have children,” she whispers.

“No,” he says.

She drops her arms and screams. “YOU HAVE CHILDREN!”

Liam struggles to his feet. “Sweetheart, don’t…”

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