Page 81 of Pretend for Me

Sadness. Shock. Grief. Guilt. Hurt.

But most importantly, relief.

I was relieved the hardest part of my life was over.

My life was turned upside down when I was adopted. I desperately wanted to be wanted. I craved a family. This blinded me from seeing my real family had been by my side all along.

I tightened my grip on Cassie. I wasn’t letting her go.

This was my second chance. A real chance.

44

MATTHEW

“I’m sending them up, Mr. Adams.” The security at the front desk alerted me that the authorities were on their way up.

Ever since Wyatt’s suicide when Liz confession tapes were found, the authorities had been swarming me. As I was next of kin, any assets typically would have gone to me. That was if my adoptive father hadn’t defaulted on an entire company while trying to frame his brother-in-law in the process.

The circumstances were shitty, and I would evidently be left with nothing. Well, nothing that was acquired with Wyatt and Liz’s dirty money. Anything that was purchased with money from my trust fund or bought by Wyatt or Liz was about to be seized by the government. All the lengths my adoptive parents went through to have money and maintain a lifestyle that never satisfied them were for nothing.

I remembered how impressed I used to be by all the extravagance Liz and Wyatt exposed me to. Now the very same items sickened me. All I saw now was what I almost lost as a consequence to being seduced by money and materialistic bullshit.

I vowed not to be swayed anymore—never again.

I looked around the apartment and saw Cassie pouring Rocky’s food into his dish, and I couldn’t help but smile. It was all so simple, but the little things meant the most to me. My gaze wandered and I took in the mess of boxes scattered around the apartment. Cassie and I had been packing things up, setting them aside to be sorted out by the officers. The kitchen countertop had stacks of bank statements and receipts showing proof of my personal assets.

Silas had advised me to be prepared to prove I purchased whatever I wanted to keep with money rightfully earned from my employment at Adams Point. Thankfully, I was meticulous in my recordkeeping, so I had the documentation on hand for the few things I was interested in. Including the apartment. Luckily, I had purchased it with my first big raise or else the SEC would have taken that too.

Despite being able to keep the apartment, Cassie and I had decided to sell it. Being back there after the shooting made Cassie uneasy. Every time she passed by my office, despite the door being firmly shut, she said could recall finding me lying on the floor, blood coating my shirt.

I readily agreed. It never felt like a home anyway. I wasn’t sure why I hadn’t realized it never would have because my home had always been with her, just as hers was with me.

We were planning to look for a new place together, something that would be ours, but for the time being, Cassie and I were going to stay with Audrey at her apartment. Normally, we’d be concerned about it feeling crowded, but Audrey spent every possible second with Henry, so we would basically be on our own.

The elevator dinged, alerting us of our incoming company. Rocky barked loudly, announcing his discomfort.

After that, it was a blur of police officers and men in bomber jackets, assessing any valuables and collecting anything they knew was listed under Wyatt’s assets.

“Sir?” the older, balding police officer asked, tapping me on the shoulder.

I nodded in response, lifting my head to face him.

“We are going to need that painting.” The officer pointed to Cassie’s artwork that hung in the foyer.

I shook my head and wordlessly rose from the barstool where I was sitting, taking it all in. I shuffled through the bank statements, searching for the withdrawal that matched Bridget’s receipt from the restaurant. Finding the one I needed, I handed it to the policeman, and then I ran my hand through my hair in exasperation. I wanted this all to be over and done with.

Scanning the paper quickly, he acknowledged me with a dip of his head. “Okay,” the police officer commented, and then he went back to speaking to a guy in a suit, who was writing something on a clipboard.

I couldn’t have given a shit if they took any of the other items in the apartment, but I’d be damned if they took Cassie’s painting. Well, there was one other thing I’d fight them tooth and nail for, that was if I could ever find it. I hadn’t seen the locket since the shooting, but it wasn’t for lack of trying. I had resigned myself to the fact that Derek probably took it and hawked it prior to his arrest.

I was planning to call a few pawn shops both in New York and New Jersey to see if I could track it down.

Speaking of Derek, he and Charlie had their days in court. Not surprising to anyone, Derek already had a track record of run-ins with the police. Possession, robbery, petty theft were all charges he acquired way before he attacked me.

The district attorney went harder on him than Charlotte because of his priors and cocky attitude. He showed absolutelyno remorse for his actions, or the fact that I had almost died. It didn’t help matters that his public defender did the bare minimum in court.

Charlie worked with the police to find Derek and obtain a confession. Charlotte came clean and was repentant for her role in my attack. After Charlotte tearfully recounted her involvement, she recounted the abuse she endured during childhood and the manipulative behavior inflicted on her during their “relationship”. Derek sat back, a smug smile on his face, even going so far as chuckling when she spoke about finding her brother unconscious and hanging on by a thread. The judge did not look on the bastard’s behavior kindly at all, and Derek had been given more than one warning about how inappropriate he was being.

---