Page 76 of Stepson

“Who is Bobby James?” I ask out loud as my eyes scan over the rest of the certificate.

“What did you just say?” My mom asks as she marches out of the bathroom on a mission before she tears the paper from my hands. Her hand covers her mouth as she stares down at it, tears blurring her gaze.

“Mom? Who is he?”

She sits down on the end of the bed next to Bentley and nearly breaks down. A sob tears from her chest as her shoulder shakes. It’s hard seeing her like this when there clearly isn’t a thing I can do to soothe her. I’m still confused about who this guy is.

Maggie comes out of the bathroom and walks straight for my mother, grabbing the paper from her hands before she breaks into sobs as well. My eyes land on Bentley’s as we stare at each other in confusion. These two obviously know who this man was personally and his death is affecting them hardcore.

“Mom?” I urge again.

“Bobby was my brother,” Maggie states while she looks up at me. “He went missing in the mid-nineties. Nobody knew what happened to him, but it’s obvious that he…” she trails off, clearly not able to finish that sentence.

Bobby James was Maggie’s brother. What else don’t I know? Why is my mother crying?

Then her eyes connect with mine, and I know. He’s the man she was having an affair with while she was married to my father. Holy fuck.

“There’s more,” Kurt cuts in.

We all turn our attention to him as he pulls out several more papers, sprawling them out on the table for easy access.

“Looks like your father hired a hitman to take Bobby out. There’s a transaction record here of a large sum of money paid to a Mr. Kalen Antonov.” Kurt looks up at me with sharp eyes. “Kalen Antonov is a known Russian mafia guy in these parts.”

I blow out a breath, shaking my head. Of course my father would hire a fucking Russian hitman to kill a man. What else is this monster capable of? I want to know everything. I dig through the papers laid out on the table and find Bobby’s autopsy report; a bullet wound to the back of the head. Jesus Christ. He was murdered without a warning. Who the hell shoots someone when their back is turned? Coward!

“That’s not all,” Kurt adds, “Here’s the other transactions between Marcus and the police station. Looks like he’s paid off several officers personally as well as several county and state judges.” He blows out a whistle and sits back. “If this isn’t enough to arrest him, I don’t know what is.”

“We can take him down with the murder alone!” My mom states.

“We can, but this other stuff—” Kurt stops to grab the contents from each box. “Is enough to keep him behind bars for a very long time.”

It’s the first time in a long time I actually feel hope. There is finally a light at the end of the tunnel, and I can’t stop the grin from spreading on my lips. This bastard is finally going to go down. Serves him right, the murdering scumbag!

"So, what do we do next?" Bentley asks, speaking for the first time.

"I make a call to my trusted contact in law enforcement and get a warrant for his arrest. Not even his paid cop buddies will be able to get him out of this mess," Kurt says.

Bentley nibbles on her bottom lip, and I know that means something is bothering her. There is something she isn't telling us, and I need her not to be shy right now.

"What's up, babe?" I ask her.

Her eyes find mine before she slowly shakes her head. I don't like that she’s afraid to speak up. We can all be trusted here.

"Do you have something else on Mr. Price?" Kurt asks.

She slowly nods before she pulls my phone from her back pocket. After she hands it to me, she exchanges a knowing glance with Maggie and the pit of my stomach falls.

"Look at the pictures," she whispers.

I do as she instructs and nearly punch the wall in rage as I see what she’s captured. Not only is my father a lying, manipulative, murdering bastard, but now he’s a cheater too?

I turn the phone to Kurt. "Looks like Bentley has her out."

As much as I'm sure it hurt her to see Marcus in bed with another woman, I’m fucking thrilled. My girl can walk away from this marriage without a scratch, and I'll be right here by her side to help her through it.

“Yes, I will help you with that if you’d like, Bentley,” Kurt offers.

My head whips in her direction just as she nods. I don’t know why I doubted that she would, but I let out a breath of relief when she agrees. My insecurities are going to be the death of me.

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