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His mom wanted clarifications. “Larson, what are you talking about?”

“Somehow, Connie didn’t realise I was married.” The admission left a stain of embarrassment on his cheek. As well as it should have. If Concetta didn’t know, it was because he didn’t tell her. Even as a child, Emmanuel hadn’t understood his father’s habit of not wearing his wedding ring.

Larson continued, “She wanted me to meet her parents. Once I cleared up not only my marital status but also let her know I would never leave you. Connie felt deceived. We didn’t speak again until she told me about the pregnancy.”

Emmanuel knew Larson wasn’t being completely forthcoming. Something about his tone made it sound like it was in fact Concetta who put an end to things. He needed to take another look at the diaries. His brother wore a ‘can you believe this shit?’ expression. Emmanuel's internal response was no, he couldn’t believe this shit either.

“How did she get a hold of you then?” Emmanuel’s mom inquired.

“She called my office and asked to speak to me.”

“I thought she didn’t know you were a Scott?” It was like she was voicing his own thoughts.

“I had eventually told her by that point. When she told me about her condition, I offered to pay to take care of it.”

This was a new piece of information. Emmanuel would be lying if he said it wasn’t a bit of a gut punch. Ivy must have sensed it too, because she gave him a reassuring pat to his thigh.

“Connie immediately refused. She said she was Catholic. Although she had sinned by having premarital sex, she would not make it worse by murdering her child. She wanted nothing from me. I was so relieved because you had just told me you were pregnant again. Then I was surprised to hear from her a couple of weeks later. Her father kicked her out. By then, my father had caught wind of what I had done.”

“Your father knew?” Both Emmanuel and his mother asked at the same time.

This was yet another strike against Larson. Another deceit. Although thinking about it, Emmanuel wasn’t surprised Larson Sr was made aware of the situation.

“Yes. He called Philip Ellis, and he put his son Chester in charge of handling everything. From there, Chester handled all the arrangements with Connie. The plan was for Connie to keep both babies. Then when Grace miscarried. We came to an arrangement which would work for everyone.”

“You thought it worked out for everyone?” Leonardo asked.

“It should have. If Connie had just kept it together. Chester was there to save her and keep her out of trouble. If it wasn’t for him, she would have been in a world of trouble. She still couldn’t keep it together.”

“Maybe it was because she was barely an adult when you met her,” Leonardo countered.

“Well, I didn’t know that at the time. I only found out later.” Larson dismissed with a scoff.

“Alright. I’ve heard as much as I can stomach.” Emmanuel’s mom stood.

“Wait!” Larson cried out in panic. “Where are you going?”

“Back to Emmanuel’s house. I am going to be fairer to you than you ever were to me, Larson. This marriage is over. My lawyer will be in touch.”

“No, please, you can’t.” But she was already moving from the room.

Emmanuel, Ivy, and Larson were following her.

Larson turned on them. “You two! This is your fault.”

“Our fault? No, but what happens next? We will happily take responsibility for,” Emmanuel answered.

Wait until everyone gets introduced to Larson’s other son. Life was about to get uncomfortable for him.

Chapter Thirty-One

THE PAIR

Watching Larson Scott unravel so publicly didn’t bring Ivy a sense of glee, but she wasn’t experiencing any sleepless nights. Over the last few months, he had seen his social standing disintegrate. In part, it was because of introducing Leonardo Baldi to the prominent society that once allowed Larson to Lord himself above them. Grace and Manny set the narrative of how the twins had come to be separated. Laying the blame at Larson’s feet. There was no way to refute it without calling Grace a liar. Which was a line Larson was not willing to cross. He doggedly held onto the hope he would be forgiven and reunite with his wife.

Ivy wasn’t sure how Larson allowed his delusion to fester, when Manny and Leonardo made it a point to launch a campaign of visibility. After they released a joint statement detailing their parentage, the pair followed up the media release with a public appearance at a Charity Event attended by the upper echelon of Toronto.

Ivy had listened as his father berated an amused Manny. The call had come at five o’clock in the morning. Larson had been three sheets to the wind.

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