Page 102 of What the Wife Knew

Wyatt looked confused now. “How can you forgive and forget something so shitty?”

Because his shitty acts didn’t touch my mom’s. At least he could apologize and when he did it was genuine. “Practice. And the forgiveness is real. We’ll put everything behind us.”

“There are a lot of arrangements to be worked out, but they’re comfortable with the Rothmans for now. I know you have questions about them, but the Rothmans are good people. I think you’ll find more people in this town are than are not.” Elias used his usual careful wording to avoid saying harsh things in front of the kids.

Byarrangementshe meant all the questions surrounding the charges against Kathryn and if she would get bail. She was recovering but she’d be running through money and spending time saving her own ass soon enough.

Good luck with that.

“You two are welcome here. You both have my cell number. You can call or come over at any time.” I wanted to give them new security codes for the alarm system, ones just for them, but I needed a bit more time to work up to that. Trust didn’t come easy for me.

“We should go.” Wyatt looked at his sister and nodded toward the back door.

Making empty promises wasn’t my thing but I felt compelled to try. “You’re going to be okay. It will take time, but...”

Wyatt frowned. “Maybe.”

They left to walk across the street to their temporary home.Elias stayed behind. He helped himself to coffee. Seemed fair since he basically lived here now.

“I never thanked you for running into the house when you did. You protected me and I appreciate it.” I didn’t understand why he did it, but I owed him.

“It’s all part of the legal representation package.”

“Really?”

He laughed. “Of course not.”

“Look at you being funny.” But he kept staring at me. Not in a weird way. More like studying me. All those things that were said during the blowout with Kathryn came rushing back. The admissions. The questions. I didn’t know how much he’d heard or how much Portia had recorded while standing in that hallway, or if Kathryn’s statements had planted a seed, but I could clarify one thing. “Kathryn was wrong. Richmond wasn’t my father.”

Elias slowly set his coffee mug down. “I know.”

That was easier than I expected.

“He was your uncle.”

Chapter Sixty-Seven

Her

Married, Day Four

The diner operated as my safe space. It was far enough from town and from Richmond that it offered a peaceful retreat from the new marriage nonsense. It was also cheap. Big fan of cheap food.

Only a visit from my mother could ruin the sanctity of this place. She sat across from me in the booth, sipping her coffee and frowning at my french fries as if they’d offended her.

“What was so important that you needed to see me right away?” Up until now she’d been satisfied with status reports via my burner phone aboutThe Richmond Situation. Her phrase, not mine. Today she demanded a face-to-face.

Lucky me.

The meeting came with a lot of risk. Mom needed to stay invisible. And not just for this plan to work. I’d be fine if she did so permanently.

Richmond watched every move I made, likely because he thought I’d steal the silverware. The alarm system he’d installed with the cameras and the motion sensors and who knew what else had turned the house into an expensive prison. He vowed to find the evidence I’d stockpiled against him so itwouldn’t be a surprise if he hired a private investigator to follow me around.

“You were supposed to tell me before you got married. Before the ceremony happened.”

It had been four days. Four long days as the newest Mrs. Dougherty.

“I didn’t have much of a choice. Richmond sprang the whole wedding setup on me. I barely had time to fix the mess he tried to make.” I’d called her twice to clue her in but she didn’t answer. Pointing that out would only piss her off, so I didn’t bother.

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