Page 76 of Single Mom's Undoing
“Matty is my son.”
“And Carter’s son, which makes him my blood.Myfamily.”
“It doesn’t cancel out my blood!” I counter, raising my voice in sheer anger as I sit up. “I carried him, I gave birth to him, I raised him, and I will keep raising him because he ismyson!”
Bill’s lips curl into a cruel smirk. “We’ll see about that.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“Can you not see how easy it was for me to find you and get to you if I tried hard enough? I didn’t try as hard five years ago because I was sure you’d stay gone. At least, I’d hoped you’d stay gone; my mistake.” He sighs deeply.
“I only came back for the trust fund.”
“Which felt like a disaster for me at first, until I heard about Matty. Then your return became a blessing in disguise. My company, my fortune, it needs an heir. Margot isn’t going to bear children anytime soon, or ever, according to her last drunken, pill-induced tantrum. Given her current condition,I’m not sure she’d be able to carry to term, anyway. Carter wants nothing to do with my business, so I have to hold on to the reins until my heir comes of age.”
“Your heir.”
“Matthew, of course.”
I am trying to wrap my head around what Bill is saying, wondering if he actually thinks he’s making sense, because from where I’m sitting, it sounds like he’s lost his mind. This is the man who killed my brother in a fit of rage, yet the only thing I can do is listen to him, let him talk, and get as much of the truth out of him as I can, regardless of how insane it might sound.
“I thought you wanted me to leave Blackthorn Falls with Matty. You offered me money, all medical expenses covered,” I calmly say after a long moment of silence.
“I changed my mind about you taking my grandson away, but I still want youto leave. The offer stands. Hell, I will triple the payout, provided you leave Matty with us,” he says.
“Never,” I hiss.
“You can’t give him a stable environment, Clara. He needs a family, safety, structure, a home, the best possible medical care; you’re a drifter.”
“I had a home here until you drove me out,” I snap, “not once, but twice. Let’s not forget, you also murdered Stephan and threatened my life. What kind of safety and structure is that for my son?”
Bill bites the inside of his cheek. I can tell it’s becoming a challenge for him to remain calm. I should be more pliable in this conversation, but what he’s saying is ridiculous. He’sskewing reality in order to make me out to be an unfit mother.
“What happened with Stephan was an unfortunate accident,” he says. “I didn’t mean for it to go down like that.”
“And Emmanuel?”
He gives me a startled look. “What about him?”
His reaction tells me everything I need to know.
“Stephan isn’t the only man you killed in order to, what was it again? Oh, right, protect your family,” I say.
“What are you talking about? Emmanuel left.”
“Left where? He fell off the face of the earth, Bill. We both know that nobody wrongs Bill Lockwood and lives to tell the tale. What did Emmanuel do? Did he turn on you after what happened with my brother? He’s been missing for two years.”
He shrugs casually. “Damned if I know where he is. As far as I’m concerned, he did Margot a favor by leaving. That spineless sack of shit wasn’t worthy of my daughter.”
“Spineless? Why? Because he didn’t have the balls to kill Stephan himself? Is that it?”
“You’re damn right it is!” Bill snarls and throws the glass across the room in a fit of rage. The tumbler shatters into a million little pieces as whiskey splatters across the wall. “A man protects his family, his blood. Always!”
Moments pass in heavy silence as I let him cool down a little while I process everything I’ve just learned. The truth is starting to come out, though, and I fear that by the time he’s done revealing everything, I will know too much for him to let me live.
But if I play my cards right, if I wait for the perfect opportunity, I might be able to get myself and Matty out of here. I may just have enough information for the police to follow up on, enough leads to warrant his arrest. This man belongs in prison. He needs to rot in a cell for what he’s done, for what he’s still trying to do.
“So, you expect me to just take your money and leave my son behind, is that it?” I ask as I carefully eye him.
