Page 38 of One Last Goodbye

I hang up and rush from the room without being caught. When I know I'm safe, my mind returns to the evidence I've just uncovered.

I’m not yet convinced that Catherine is innocent, but there’s no doubt that Veronica is at least as viable a suspect as she. After all, hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. Perhaps Frederick got cold feet again while Veronica was out here. Perhaps Veronica made good on her threat to let him live just long enough to regret the day he met her.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

The shouting gets louder as I walk into the living room. I hear a second voice join Olivia’s. Catherine’s. She sounds like she’s pleading.

The first person I see, however, is Ethan. He rushes past me, tears streaming down his face. I call after him, but he only shouts, “Go away!” and rushes upstairs to his room.

I start to follow him, but then I hear Olivia shout, “What? He would have heard about it eventually.”

Then Catherine says, “You don’t know what you’re talking about, Olivia.”

The argument is taking place in the side foyer. I don’t hear footsteps. It seems the two of them have decided to finish their argument in the foyer so as not to disturb anyone else. Too bad for Ethan that he’s not accorded the same courtesy.

Since they’ve elected to remain in the room, I draw closer to hear their conversation better.

“What do you mean? What is there to know? He cheated on you. And I guarantee Veronica’s not the only one.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Catherine insists.

“Oh, keep telling me that, Mom. What does that mean? What don’t I know? Was Dad fucking Veronica or not?”

Catherine sighs. “Marriages go through hard times, Olivia. It’s very hard to stay faithful to the same person for twenty years.”

“How? How is it hard to not fuck someone? It’s damned easy! Look at me! I’m not-fucking everyone on Earth!”

“Watch your language!”

“Orwhat, Mom? Why are you defending him?”

Catherine finally raises her voice. “I’m not defending him, Liv, but he’s your father, and your brother doesn’t need to hear you say that you’re glad he’s dead.”

I gasp, and my hand flies to my mouth. For a terrifying moment, the two of them are silent, and I’m afraid they’ve heard me. After a moment, though, Olivia says, “Well, it’s true. I’m tired of pretending it isn’t. I’m tired of pretending I miss him. He acted like he cared about us, but he spent more time inside Veronica and his other whores than he spent with us.”

“It’s not that simple,” Catherine insists again.

“Why? Why isn’t it that simple?”

“Because… it’s…”

Because she cheated on him too. Although evidence now seems to suggest that Frederick was the first to stray and for quite a while before Catherine threw caution to the wind.

That is, until Catherine drops this bombshell. “I’m not innocent either.”

There’s a moment of what I assume is shocked silence. Then Olivia cries, “You cheated on him too? Oh myGod, mom!”

“Okay, you know what? You marry the same person for twenty years and see if you can stay faithful.”

“How hard is it to not fuck everything that fucking moves?”

“Watch your language!”

“Fuck you!”

“Fuck… It’s not that we’re sex fiends, it’s just… Look, honey, in the modeling world, sex… it’s just everywhere. It just happens. I slept with a lot of people before I met your father, and your father slept with a lot of people before he met me. We loved each other, but I think… you know, you get older, and you realize you’re not going to live forever, and when you do, you realize that one day you’re going to be old, and you won’t have a chance to do anything anymore. So, you get afraid, and you start trying to do everything you can while you still can.”

“You mean do everyoneyou can.”

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