Page 116 of The Tangle of Awful

“Neena.” I grit my teeth and look away from her. “There’s something you should know.”

The room goes quiet except for the suckling sounds of my son as he tries to suck on his fist.

“What?” she whispers, voice cracking with emotion. Then she starts to cry. “No. No, no, no. No!”

Her outburst causes the baby to start to cry. I gently bounce him, trying to comfort him. My eyes find hers that have filled with fat tears.

“Drew is dead, Neena. He was killed after the kidnapping and attempted rape of your fucking daughter.”

A strangled howl—one mixed with pain and betrayal—belts out of her. Our entire marriage she was an icy bitch and yet she breaks over the birth of her son and then again at the knowledge of the death of her lover.

“He hurt her,” I croak out, hating the memories that assault me from that day. “He hurt her so fucking bad.”

The baby continues to cry and I try to calm him. “It’s okay, little guy. Daddy’s got you.”

Her wails stop abruptly, and her features transform into something monstrous and cruel. She points a manicured finger at me and flashes me a vicious smile. “Stop calling that baby your son. He’s your grandson, Hugo. That abomination is the seed of the devil himself—your son.”

Spencer

She had the baby.

I knew this day would come and that it’d blow the fuck up in my face.

It did.

The explosion was spectacular, far more impressive than I could have imagined.

“You okay?” Pops asks as we pull into his driveway. “You’ve been awfully quiet.”

I rub at the achy muscles in my neck at having spent a night in a concrete cell. Knowing Sloane didn’t get me any special treatment either. I was left to stew over the realization of what my life has become.

A disaster.

A fucking disaster.

But I’m still a Park, which is why I’m home and not left to rot in that cell. Pops has been hard at work, ensuring the fallout of this mess is dealt with.

“Come on,” he grunts. “Let’s get you inside.”

I climb out of his vehicle and together we walk from his driveway over into our yard. The lights are on inside. Knowing Aubrey is probably crushed at discovering I’d kept her mother captive and also at her mother having a baby, has my heart sinking.

We push inside. Callum and Willa are seated on the sofa. Aubrey is nowhere to be found.

“Where’s Aubrey?” I demand, shooting a glare at Callum.

“Sick. I think the emotions of all this caught up to her.”

All this being the shit storm I created.

“I’ve got calls in to several people who can make this go away,” Pops assures me. “Neena can be bought, that much I do know. I’ve got plenty of money to do that with. All you need to worry about, Spence, is resting.”

A car door slams outside and then Dad bursts through the door. At first, I think he’s happy to see me, but then I take in the absolute fury twisting his features.

“You raped my wife!”

Dad lunges at me, tackling me to the living room floor. He grabs my shirt and shakes me hard.

“Why, Spencer?!” Dad roars, spittle landing on my face. “How could you do this to me?!”

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