Page 101 of Single Mom's Undoing
“It won’t,” Carter cuts me off, holding me close. “Matty is a fighter. He is the toughest little boy I’ve ever met, Clara. His vitals were good, his blood work pristine. Dr. Radner is confident that it’s going to work. Have some faith.”
“I have faith.”
“You also have fear.” Jace smiles. “Which is a natural response. That’s your baby they’re operating on. It’s okay tofeel this way. Just remember that it’ll be over in a few hours, and come Monday, Matty’s going to be moaning about getting to the water park while the weather is still hot.”
“He did love the water park in Eden, didn’t he?” I giggle, remembering last Sunday as my boy’s laughter still echoes in my mind.
He is so happy.
Safe.
Eager to be a part of this weird new family of ours.
“Sorry it took us a while,” Margot says as she and Jodie barge into the waiting room, carrying bags of takeout food and ginger ale. “I figured you’d want to eat something other than whatever is in the minibar here.”
“That smells incredible,” I reply as she sets the bags on a nearby table. “I just don’t think I can eat anything right now.”
“Nervous?” Jodie asks.
I nod once. “He just went in.”
“Eh, he’ll be fine. Matty’s a miniature warrior. Wait until he grows up. The girls are going to be all over him. The guys will want to be him.”
“That actually sounds pretty cool,” I chuckle.
“The second-best looking Lockwood, for sure,” Carter says.
Margot raises an eyebrow at him. “You mean, after me, right?”
“If it stops this from turning into another family feud, sure,” Carter concedes with a cool grin. “How are you holding up, sis?”
“Oh, it’s been a roller coaster over these past few weeks,” she says as she takes a seat across the room. Clad in a dark blue pantsuit, Margot looks as though she’s been carrying the weight of the whole world on her shoulders. In a way, she has. “Taking over for our father at Lockwood Industries hasn’t been easy,” she says. “There are a lot of issues to handle. A lot of disgruntled managers and employees, many of whom were worried that they might be left without a job because of what happened.”
“Are the Feds shutting anything down?” Carter asks.
She shrugs. “Two of the logistics companies have been flagged and will be subject to a forensic audit, but they weren’t under my management, so I don’t know. Other than that, they left us alone. They’re focusing solely on him and his personal dealings. The ledger, to be specific.”
“I’m still impressed by how you pulled that off,” Jace says.
“I have always known that he kept one somewhere,” Margot replies. “He’s old school like that. Maybe he watched too many mobster movies in the eighties, I don’t know. But he mentioned it more than once when we were kids. He thought I wasn’t paying attention.”
“But you were paying attention,” Carter smiles.
“I always pay attention. By the way, Carter, thanks for facilitating my appointment as interim CEO. Glad to have your vote before the board next month, too.”
“It’s my pleasure, Margot. I know you’re trying your best to get clean, and I don’t see anyone anywhere nearly as skilled as you to run Lockwood Industries. Maybe you’ll manage to wash the dirt off its reputation.”
“Easier said than done. He’s going to trial next week. Standby for the circus.”
“How are you in that sense?” I ask her. “How do you feel about everything that happened?”
Margot thinks about it for a moment, her brow slightly furrowed. “Well, for starters, I’m pretty sure he did something to Emmanuel. I can’t prove it, but I’ve always had an inkling, a nagging feeling. I don’t know about the rest yet, Clara. I’ll figure it out, eventually. But what I do know is that I’m relieved. The truth is out. And he’s going to pay for what he did. We all need this closure more than anything.”
“They’re exhuming Stephan’s body next week,” Carter says. “The Feds brought in their independent medical examiner, too. So that’s moving ahead.”
“Come September, I think Bill Lockwood will be looking at life in prison,” Jodie chimes in. “It’ll rock the entire community, for sure, but you know what? Life goes on. People move on. They’ll be fine, especially with Lockwood Industries still up and running.”
“The people of Blackthorn Falls will eventually understand that Bill Lockwood didn’t hold their lives in his hands,” I conclude. “And speaking of September, Matty will be halfway through his recovery by then, and we will be getting ready for kindergarten and all that fun stuff.”
