Page 46 of Single Mom's Undoing
“Hiding behind a sycamore tree, less than fifty yards away. I could hear them, Jace. I heard every damn word. Stephan kept apologizing, saying he’d ended it, that it was over. Emmanuel kept cussing and threatening him, and then he said something about hurting me, and that pissed Stephan off.”
“What did Stephan do?”
“He brought up Manning Industries. I don’t know what that’s about, but whatever it is caused Bill to walk up to my brother, and they both jumped him.”
A lump forms in my throat. “What?”
“They hit him, Jace. Over and over. Stephan tried to fight back, but Bill had a wrench. He whacked Stephan across the face, and he fell. He wasn’t moving.” Clara starts to cry. “They killed him, Jace. Bill Lockwood killed my brother, then they shoved him back in his car and helped steer it off the bridge. The railings were weak on the right side. With the rain, it could easily have been ruled an accident, but no one suspected murder. They were just quick to assume Stephan killed himself.”
“Oh, God, Clara.”
“I saw it. All of it. And I couldn’t do a damn thing about it. I couldn’t stop them.”
She’s trembling. I wrap my arms around her and hold her tight. “You couldn’t have done anything, Clara. You were alone and scared. Bill would’ve killed you, too.”
“I froze. I didn’t know what to do next, but he saw me.”
As if burnt by fire, I jump back to look at her. “Who saw you?”
“Bill. He saw me. I guess I wasn’t hiding as well as I intended. He didn’t say a word, but he looked right into my eyes. I ran off. I went back to my car and drove out of there as fast as I could.”
The more she talks about what happened that night, the angrier I become. I am now determined to inflict all the pain in the world on Bill Lockwood. I doubt we’ll ever find Emmanuel to do the same to him, but Bill…that son of a bitch is right here in this building.
He’s still Carter’s father. My stomach burns with rage.
“Where did you go?” I ask.
“I went back to the cabin. Started packing a bag. I figured I’d get the hell out of town first, then call the cops and tell them what happened. Not twenty minutes later, Bill Lockwood knocked on the door. I had nowhere to run. I froze. Bill offered me some terms.”
“Terms?”
“I could die right then and there, or I could take the wad of cash he offered and get the hell out of town. Never breathe aword of what I witnessed to anyone. If I did, he’d find me and make sure I ended up like my brother.”
“That bastard.”
“I had no choice, Jace,” she sobs, shuddering in my arms. “I was so sure he’d kill me like he killed Stephan.”
I tighten my hold, desperate to calm her. “You’re right; you didn’t have a choice. You have nothing to apologize for, Clara.”
“Matty and I need the money that Stephan left us; that’s the only reason I came back. The cash that Bill gave me got me settled in Portland for a while, but that was all.”
“You came back, even though you knew what it could mean for you,” I tell her. “You got lucky that Bill wasn’t in town when you first arrived, Clara.”
“It’s why I kept such a low profile. When I heard he was away in Paris, and the four of us got together, for a brief moment, I actually thought we could make it work,” she says, looking up at me through streaming tears. “I am so sorry, Jace. I never should’ve?—”
I kiss her to stop her from saying something she might regret later. I know it’s the fear talking, the despair. Clara survived all on her own while struggling with a sick kid. I cannot, for the life of me, let anything happen to her now.
“It’s going to be okay,” I tell her when I break the kiss. “We’ll figure it out.”
“There’s nothing to figure out, Jace. Bill is back, which means it’s time for me to go.”
“Don’t even think about it.”
I shake my head and pull her close, feeling her heart thud furiously against my chest. I need to buy some time to figure out a way to keep her safe and to punish Bill for what he did. Carter will find out eventually. It’ll be better if it comes from one of us.
“Listen to me,” I say to her with a soft voice. “Clara, listen to me very carefully. I’m going to take you back to the cabin, and you’re going to stay there with Matty and Jodie. You’re going to eat something, have some tea, kick back, and spend quality time with your son. In the meantime, I’m going to talk to Carter and Damon about Bill and get a feel for how long he’s in town and what exactly he’s up to.”
“He’s going to find out I’m here.”
