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Nanette stifles a sob. We knew this was not going to be easy, reuniting these two. Talk about dredging up painful shit.
“Abby, I didn’t leave voluntarily. Your father sent me away, like I said.”
Abby shook her head vehemently. “No. No he didn’t. Youleftus,” she says, inching away from her mother.
Nanette reaches for her. “Abby, that’s not true. That’s what he told you. He wanted to get rid of me because I knew too much about his business. Told me if I didn’t take off, he’d have me committed and would send you away somewhere. He gave me a large sum of money and sent me on my way. But I put that money aside for you.”
“Wh… why?” Abby asks.
Nanette’s face is soaked with tears as she appeals to her daughter. “Oh, honey, I knew the time would come when you’d need to get away from him yourself. The money is to help you do that. I had to wait until you were twenty-one for you to access it. Otherwise, I was afraid your father would get his hands on it.”
Abby stares at her mom, years of lies and deceptions working to untangle themselves in her mind. It’s bad enough she found out her dad’s a murderous scumbag who doesn’t give a shit about her, but now she finds out he also robbed her of her mother. If she doesn’t turn bitter and hard after this, it will be miraculous.
Fuck all. It’s early in the day and all I can think is I’d like a scotch.
I want to go to Abby and comfort her, or at least try to. Take away her pain if it’s at all possible. Make her forget the shitiness that has been her life in recent days, and give her something to smile about, driven as I am to keep the people close to me safe. And, for better or worse, Abby is close to me. To us. All of us.
Whether she likes it or not.
Her mother makes one last appeal. “I knew you would eventually want to get away from him. That you would learn, in time, what kind of person he really is.”
Abby frowns. “But why didn’t you just tell me? Why didn’t you try to contact me all these years?”
Nanette shakes her head. “I couldn’t. Your father always knew where I was, even when I went to France to escape his reach. He still managed to keep tabs on me. I couldn’t risk letting him alienate you before you were old enough to leave. I was afraid for you. And for myself.”
Abby looks over at us guys. She’s suspicious, still weighing her mother’s story. “How… how did you find her?” she asks us, like she needs proof.
Fedor approaches the bed. “It was easy, Abby. We… know a lot of people, and they’re quite helpful when we need them. After we found out that your dad was… not the person you thought he was, we tracked your mom down in France to see if she might want to come back into your life.”
Nanette nods. “That’s right, honey. I jumped at the chance to reconnect with you, for one, but also to protect you. I couldn’t help you all these years. He wouldn’t let me. But I can now. If you’ll let me.”
Abby looks down at her hands, and her shoulders start to shake. “I… I don’t know how this could happen. Who does shit like this?” she cries. “My… my dad did all this? What’s wrong with him? What’s wrong withme?”
Aw, hell. I hate to see my girl in pain. If only I could carry that for her. I can’t see her face, but the tears dropping onto her folded hands tell me all I need to know.
Goddammit.
“Abby, this is what I think we should do,” Ilya says, grabbing a seat on the bed and taking her hand. “If you’re well enough, let’s do a video call with your father. I think that will clear things up for you.”
Shit. I don’t know if that’s a good idea. But maybe cutting to the chase is the best policy. Rip off the bandage, as they say.
She stares back at Ilya and slowly nods. He pulls his phone out of his back pocket and dials Abby’s father, then hands her the phone.
While it’s ringing, she wipes her tears with the corner of the bed sheet and holds a finger to her lips to silence the four of us. I help Nanette to her feet. She’s been kneeling next to Abby’s bed for so long her legs must be numb.
“Dad. Hi,” she says with a firm voice.
“Abby? Oh my god, it’s you,” he says, all concerned like the fake-ass bastard he is. “Stacey told me you called. Whose phone is this? Where are you?”
Abby falters, probably trying to figure out where to start. Perhaps it was too soon to shove a phone in her face. Maybe we should have given her time to collect her thoughts.
But she handles herself like a champ. “Dad, I think you know where I am and who I am with.”
Silence.
“How are you?” he asks nervously.
How the fuck does he think she is? He’s well aware she was kidnapped because of his actions. And he’s acting like nothing is going on?
