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It wasn’t like the signs were never there, showing up as painfully obvious foreshadowing and making this moment in time inevitable.
An ending that reeked of poetic justice and what others would call karma.
A hard pill for Birdie Wellborn Shepherd to swallow, but in hindsight, time had never been on her side, and she was a fool for believing she could outwit or outrun it.
She followed Errol Shepherd, her middle-aged stepson and nemesis, through the hospital, her mind in a daze, coming to terms with what she had lost andwhoshe had nearly lost. She silently entered the elevator with the man who had managed to take her livelihood and then threatened the lives of the people who mattered most— Angus, her faithful Scottish friend, and Mia, for all intent and purposes her daughter.
Mia, who attended the gifted program at her school and had just surmised through the hospitals blood test results that there was a zero percent chance of Birdie being her mother, forcing her to admit the truth. That her true biological mother was Birdie’s sister, Maisie.
They approached the main doors of the hospital swooshing open like a hiss, the humid coastal heat engulfing her as a lifetime of dreams slowly seeped into the cracks of the concrete below her feet.
“The wedding is in two weeks,” Errol informed her, donning his sunglasses. “Everything’s been arranged. You will be staying with me at the Cambridge estate. Mother and Flynn have been made aware of our impending nuptials and will be moving to the brownstone at Beacon Hill.”
“I’m sure they were thrilled to hear the news.”
“Flynn refuses to speak to me, and Mother has taken to bed and called Dr. Hillsboro for emotional support to get her through the crisis.”
“When you say emotional support, I assume you’re referring to antidepressants strong enough to calm a raging wildebeest.”
He stopped as they neared the Maybach and turned to her. “Do not mistake my father’s weak temperament when it comes to you and the way you choose to express yourself with mine.”
“I said I was ready to leave with you. I never agreed to marriage.” She knew she didn’t have a choice, but that didn’t mean she was going to make it easy for him. Or for his repulsive brother and certifiable mother.
And then a more pressing concern came to mind. “Where is Pearl?”
He turned toward the sleek car, looking for the keys in his pants pocket and avoiding eye contact. “Pearl is fine. In a facility that is far less expensive and keeps her adequately medicated.”
Oh, God. That couldn’t be good. “What meds is she on? Are they aware of her pharmaceutical history and her allergies to certain drugs?”
“Dr. Hillsboro is overseeing her care.”
“Oh, that’s comforting. The same doctor you bribed? Who claimed I was an addict who propositioned and threatened him?”
This time, he met her eyes head on. “Yes. That one.”
“Dr. Hillsboro isn’t a neurologist nor does he specialize in neuropsychology.”
“She’s heavily sedated and unable to cause harm to herself and others. In my mind, that is perfectly adequate care.”
Rage made a circuitous path through her veins. “I see. Your idea of medical attention is to allow her to waste away in a medicated stupor. I want to see her. Right away. And, I want one hundred percent control of her care.”
She couldn’t quite read his expression with the tinted glasses, but more importantly, he could read the uncompromising composure in hers.
“I know you’re eager to become my wife and make me happy in every possible way. Make no mistake, we will define the terms of our newfound relationship so we are both clear as to what there is to gain and what there is to lose. Before you start making demands, you may want to consider I will be making some of my own.”
“If you think for one moment I will allow you to touch me, you are sadly mistaken.”
“You’ll deny me my husbandly rights?”
“Try it and lose a limb.”
He lifted the key fob. “Heavy sedation and restraints for Pearl, it is, then,” he said, unlocking the door. “I wouldn’t discount them for you, as well.”
Her eyes were spitting green venom, and that she could see all too well in the reflection of his exorbitantly expensive sunglasses.
What was she doing? She knew better than this.
