Everything felt sticky, the smell of the red wine giving me a headache as it seeped through my clothing and into my skin.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about, Helen,” she replied calmly, standing up to face me head-on.
“I see you’ve grown a backbone, or is that because you think your boyfriend’s family can help you?” I growled, rage boiling.
“I don’t need anyone’s help to handle you. That’s the difference between us, Helen. Remember, this was a waryoustarted. I never asked for it, but now I’m finishing it.
“You’ve spent the last three decades lying and manipulating everyone around you just to make yourself feel important. Now, you’ll find out exactly how little you matter to anyone… How little you ever did.” I staggered back, the vicious words taking me by surprise. Even worse were the nods and murmurs of agreement rippling throughout the room.
“You have no idea what you’re talking about. You’re spreading lies about my son and me. You’re doing whatever you can to tear us down so you can convince poor Walter to leave all of his money to you and that child you forced upon Maxwell,” I spit out, my control fraying. I was wholly unprepared for the slap that came from Judge Lennox.
“How dare you. You and your son have done nothing but put this woman and her daughter through hell.”
“I’ve got this, Abigail. It’s alright,” Sophie told the woman, her voice deceptively calm. She turned those green eyes on me, all traces of friendliness gone.
“Let’s not pretend anyone here ever truly respected you. You were tolerated—barely—and only because of Walter and Thomas. They were your shield, the only reason anyone allowed you into rooms you had no right to stand in. And what did you do with that? You shamed them. You hid behind their names while giving them nothing in return.” My face flushed, and it felt like the walls were closing in on me.
Disappointed and angry faces surrounded me, pictures of my most private moments flashing behind me, cameras recording my fall from grace at every unflattering angle. But Sophie wasn’tfinished.
“So tell me, who exactly do you think will stand beside you? When you’re rotting away in a prison cell. When shopping trips and charity galas are nothing but a faded memory. Only then will you hear from me. You’ll beg me to speak to you because no one else will.” I swallowed, the movement painful as a lump developed in my throat. I was unraveling. Everything I had ever worked for was falling down around me.How will I ever come back from this?
“It doesn’t matter where you wind up. The real punishment is that you understand this: you are nothing. You do not matter, and the world will keep moving. The people here will keep living, and we’ll all bebetterbecause you’ll be gone.” Sophie delivered her final blow, the people around us—the ones I called friends and had spent years interacting with—raised their glasses in agreement.
I scanned the room for an exit.How do I get the fuck out of here?I couldn’t breathe. I was afraid I was going to pass out, and I didn’t want to give them the satisfaction of knowing how much they had gotten to me.
A disturbance near the entrance caught everyone’s attention, and I was grateful for the reprieve. I took a step to head to my table, thinking I could grab my things and sneak out, when a man’s loud voice rang out.
“Helen Townsend?” I turned, my mouth dropping open as two uniformed officers entered. Murmurs rose as everyone stepped back, creating a pathway between me and the police. Once they were close enough, they stopped in front of me.
“Are you Helen Townsend?” they asked. I nodded, my mouth too dry to respond.
“You’re under arrest. You have the right to remain silent…” As they read the Miranda rights, my arms were pulled behind my back as the cold metal of handcuffs slipped around my wrists.
The officer led me out of the room, hands cuffed, red wine stains down my front. The silence was deafening at first, but then sound started filling the space—behind me, slowly increasing,was the sound of applause.
Everyone was cheering my demise, witnessing my fall from grace in real time, and rejoicing. The door of the squad car slammed shut behind me, the reality of my situation overwhelming me.
My breathing became out of control. It was impossible to get enough air in my lungs. Before we had even left the parking lot, I blacked out, welcoming the darkness—anything but the reality that faced me when I was awake.
Chapter 31
Lincoln
Almost two months had passed since everything went down with Max and his family. Things were chaotic for a while, keeping Lou sheltered from the gossip being the main priority. Both Mom and Sophie were on a high after they crashed Helen’s charity event.
Videos of the confrontation had gone viral, forcing Helen’s reputation even further into the trash. She was facing several charges now. Out on bail, she was forced to stay in town until her court dates were over.
Walt worked with the board to find a way to exile both Helen and Max from the company. With all the bad press, plus both of the Townsends implicated in misappropriating funds, the board was unanimous in its decision to cut ties with both of them.
“Revoking Helen’s shares is the tricky part,” Walt explained over dinner at my parents’ house one night.
“There’s no way to strip her of them, but with the board’s backing, we’ve been able to come to an agreement. I’ve bought back all of Helen and Max’s shares, and they no longer have any involvement or access to anything having to do with the company. I made sure they both understood, though, that this was the last cent she would ever see from the Townsends.” A small smile echoed over Walt’s face before he continued.
“Seems Helen forgot that the deed to her house was still in my name. It was a wedding gift. Thomas forgot to follow through with the official steps to make it theirs. I heard her reaction tothe eviction notice was… loud.”
“I may or may not have gotten a copy of the footage from a nearby ring camera,” Dad replied into his cup, peeking up to gauge Walt’s reaction.
“You’re a good man. I might just let you win next tee time.” Seeing that Walt was able to find some amusement in all of it was refreshing. We were all worried about him and wanted to make sure he knew how important he was, that we were now his family.
