Page 103 of Spilling the Tea

“When Waylon left town to visit Arabella in Virginia to give her the necklace, Penny Satterfield caught a train to Denver without letting him know she was doing so.” Felicia Laverne took a sip of her tea, then added, “She confronted Charlotte about what her son had done and broke the news to her that he’d died by suicide in jail. It seems that particular son had been Charlotte’s favorite, and she took the news of his death hard. I’m told she lashed out at her mother, slapped her, and blamedher for letting Kurt banish her. She further stated she was glad Waylon was hurting because of Victoria’s death.”

She shook her head. “Penny finally saw what a spoiled, selfish, and hateful ingrate her daughter was, unlike Waylon, who’d been a kind and loving son. Before leaving Denver, Penny took her daughter’s life.”

Sharp gasps sounded around the room. “She killed her daughter?” Nolan the third asked, incredulously. Like the shocked faces of the others, he found such a thing unbelievable.

“Yes. Penny confessed to putting a poisonous drug in the glass of whiskey Charlotte was drinking.”

“The police didn’t detect foul play?” Emerson asked.

Felicia Laverne turned to her great-grandson, a state prosecutor. Of course, he would find that question of significant importance since he firmly believed in law and order. “No. Penny returned home and told no one what she’d done or that she’d even left Houston. Charlotte’s death was ruled as an overdose of liquor. When she was found, it was discovered she’d drunk not only that glass, but several bottles. She had a history of heart problems and had been warned to stop drinking, so it was ruled an overdose. Like I said, Penny didn’t tell Waylon what she’d done until she was on her deathbed and apologized for being the cause of his unhappiness for so many years.”

“I guess Ms. Penny took the phrase, ‘I brought you into this world, and I’ll take you out,’ literally,” Blade said, shaking his head.

“Waylon was shaken by his mother’s confession and told me and Milton about it. Since Penny was gone, there was no reason to go to the police with anything. The case was already closed.”

“So, how is Ravena Boyle involved in this?” Reese asked.

After releasing a deep breath, Felicia Laverne said, “Ravena is Charlotte’s great-granddaughter. All you need to know right now is that Charlotte’s hatred for the Madaris family was passed down from generation to generation. Ravena tried killing mefor revenge since Milton married me instead of Charlotte. It was only recently Ravena discovered Zoey was also a Satterfield.”

Felicia Laverne leaned back in her chair. “So, there you have it. Secrets never told. Hopefully, now we can get on with our lives and finally move on.”

***

An hour later, Felicia Laverne called a private meeting at Jake’s study with Alex and Zoey. She wasn’t surprised when Chance attended as well.

“Before I let Alexander speak, dear,” she told Zoey. “I want to say the reason I asked him to investigate a few things had nothing to do with me suspecting you of anything. It had to do with your aunt. Even if Paulina Pritchard disliked your mother, I found it hard to believe she would go to the extent that she did to try to keep your memory from returning. I wanted Alexander to find out all he could. In investigating her, he discovered a connection to Ravena. I’ll let him take over from here and explain.”

Alex leaned forward, holding everyone’s attention. “According to my investigation, ten years after leaving Houston, Charlotte gave birth to a daughter who she named Wanda. By then, she’d been divorced twice, was unmarried and had fallen on hard times. When she saw she wasn’t able to care for both Wanda and her two sons, she gave her two-year-old daughter to a childless older couple she’d met.

“When Wanda Hagans discovered she was adopted, at sixteen, she dropped out of school, abandoned the parents who’d raised her and set off to locate her biological mother. She found her.” Alex paused before continuing. “Charlotte made it her life’s mission to poison her offspring’s minds against her parents, brother, and the Madaris family. When Charlotte died of what everyone assumed was an overdose of alcohol, Wanda was living in Tennessee with her boyfriend and newborn child. A daughter. Upon hearing about her mother’s death, Wandavowed to get revenge against those she felt were responsible for her mother’s banishment from Houston, Texas.

“Wanda’s daughter, Samantha, got pregnant at eighteen. A few years later, Samantha died of a drug overdose. Wanda raised Samantha’s child, and it wasn’t long before she began corrupting Samantha’s daughter’s mind against the Satterfields and Madarises. Samantha’s daughter is Ravena Boyle.”

Chance shook his head. “When we met, Ravena told me all her relatives were deceased.”

“When she told you that, Wanda was very much alive and helping Ravena plan Mama Laverne’s death. She only died a year ago.”

He then turned to Zoey. “From my report, I discovered Wanda found out about the death of your parents, which made you the heir to the Satterfield estate. After the courts awarded custody of you to Paulina Pritchard, Wanda and her boyfriend showed up in San Francisco and threatened to petition the courts for custody of you, Zoey. Wanda told Paulina that the only way she would agree to leave you alone was if Paulina sold the Satterfield ranch and gave her the proceeds. She also told your aunt to make sure you didn’t regain your memory and one day demand the money be repaid.”

“That’s why the deed indicated the Satterfield Ranch had been sold to a bank,” Zoey said.

“Yes, that’s why. So, Zoey, it seemed that the reason your aunt never shared anything about your mother’s past with you and tried to keep you from regaining your memory was because she was trying to protect you. I don’t want to imagine how your life might have turned out if custody had been given to Wanda.”

Zoey didn’t want to imagine that either. “How did you find out about Ravena and her sinister plan?”

Alex leaned back in his chair. “Ravena’s ex-husband. She married him a couple of years after ending her engagementwith Chance. The man provided the names of some of Ravena’s closest friends he felt I should talk to. One such friend was a woman living in Atlanta named Tanya Goodman. Fearful of becoming an accessory to anything Ravena might do, she spilled her guts. She had just spoken to Ravena a few days ago, and Ravena had outlined her plans on how she intended to get rid of Mama Laverne and later get rid of you, Zoey. Catching the two of you together today gave her the perfect opportunity. She’d only discovered a couple of weeks ago that you were Waylon Satterfield’s great-granddaughter.”

The room got quiet, and then Felicia Laverne spoke. “As you can see, dear, although I still think your aunt could have done a better job in giving you the love you needed, at least now you know her reasons for doing some of the things she did. She might not have liked your mother very much, but I want to believe she did love you and did what she could to protect you from Wanda Hagans. For that, I’m grateful to her.”

Zoey wiped the tears from her eyes. “I am grateful to her, too. I am also grateful to you, Ms. Felicia, for caring enough to want me to know the truth.” She loved Ms. Felicia and felt she was everything she believed her great-grandmother Deedra would have been.

***

Later that night, after making love, Chance held Zoey in his arms. His great-grandmother had unloaded a lot of family secrets on them. He wouldn’t lie and say finding out about the depth of Ravena’s duplicity hadn’t bothered him because it had.

He was about to shift in bed when Zoey suddenly jerked up and began screaming, breaking free of his hold and tossing around in bed. “Zoey, baby, it’s okay. You’re having a nightmare. Wake up, baby. You’re with me. Wake up,” he whispered soothingly. He assumed she was having nightmares of the barn burning that day, and thoughts of what could have happened if help hadn’t arrived in time.

Her eyes flew open, and she threw herself into his arms and began crying in earnest. He gently stroked her back while continuing to speak soothingly to her. Moments later, when her crying had subsided, she pulled back while wiping away her tears. “I remember, Chance. I remember everything about my childhood. My mom, dad, and grandparents. I remember Sharon. I was to stay with her that day but begged Daddy to take me with him when he went to the hospital to get Mommy and my baby brother. I remember the day I saw him.”

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