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“What?” Caroline and Joan gaped.
“Just over three months, which she knows and she’s just trying to make things better,” she answered.
“Gabby, stop please,” Haley said to her. “I can’t live like this anymore. I can’t let you throw yourself down in front of me anymore. Gabby didn’t take the money…I did.”
“What?” Wyatt said looking between the two.
“She didn’t know until she ran a check on the system and found what I’d done,” Haley admitted.
“Oh come on who are you going to believe? Haley wouldn’t be able to figure out how to transfer funds let alone how to cover it up,” Gabby laughed.
“Which is why you did it for me after you saw Donald that day…”
“No…she’s just feeling guilty because she learned the truth, and that I used her access to get into the financials where the money came from,” Gabby said shaking her head.
“Gabrielle Elizabeth,” Maggie said. “Stop it…we’ve heard your explanation I think it’s only fair to hear Haley’s version.”
Gabby looked between her mother and her sister and sighed, “Fine…”
“Gabby,” Haley said hugging her to her side. “I love you so much and I know you’re still trying to protect me and Jess but you can’t, not anymore. I can’t let you tear yourself apart anymore.”
“I’m fine Hales, really…”
“No you’re not,” she stated. “I heard it in your voice yesterday loud and clear and I’m so sorry for putting you here in the first place.”
“Gabby told us she took the money for a surgery for Jess, that she’d been having seizures daily,” Wyatt said.
“That’s half true, Jess was getting worse every day, it was to the point where medication wouldn’t help, she was having seizures daily, some big, others thankfully small, and I was desperate. I’d just gotten the answer that only one doctor would even contemplate doing the procedure and the price for it was more than I ever imagined. I took the money. Gabby, found out…she brought the information to me and I saw the disappointment in her eyes. I begged her not to tell and she said I should come clean to you myself, that she’d help me find a way to pay for the surgery herself, but I wouldn’t do it. When she left my office, I thought I’d lost my sister forever,” Haley told them as tears formed in the corner of her eyes. “She told me she’d give me three days but after that she’d have to bring the information to light. I wasn’t paying attention as I left the building that night and ran into Donald. If someone hadn’t come out when they did he probably would have killed me, right there, but he was distracted long enough for me to get lost in the crowd and get home. I was shaking so much afraid to move in case he had followed me.”
Haley wiped at her cheek as she pulled Gabby closer to her, “I was at home, it was the last night before the deadline Gabby had given me, and the door opened and there was Gabby. I couldn’t bring myself to look her in the eyes. She was right, I’d messed up more than I ever thought possible, but she handed me a packet of papers and told me she’d taken care of it. I could see she was upset with me but she’d still helped. There were train tickets, new ids, the apartment lease and keys already furnished. When she hugged me I knew that she may not have forgiven me but she understood.”
“Why did you change your mind?” Wyatt asked.
“Because Donald had his hand on a gun in his pocket,” Gabby admitted. “I saw it and no matter what she’d done, she was still my sister and I wasn’t going to let that monster hurt her any more. I had already rented the apartment, it’s where some of my investment portfolio went to, and I’d inquired with the bureau about going to work for them, trying to see what sort of bonus I could get.”
“Why didn’t you say anything Gabby?” Haley asked.
“Because I was sure Donald had seen me, and I knew I had to move fast to get you out safely. I knew that no matter what I wouldn’t have enough to cover the surgery outright and Jess needed it quickly. I almost had my trail covered, I just wanted to make sure you and Jess were protected first, so I put everything onto me and that’s when Wyatt came into the picture.”
“So this entire time you’ve been lying to me,” Wyatt said staring at her. “Younever took the money. You just didn’t trust me enough; didn’t think I would help you? Even after he beat the hell out of you, after we’d gotten close, after you found out you were having my child, after I’d agreed to make a fresh start, you still didn’t trust me enough to tell me the truth?”
“I wasn’t going to let Haley go to jail, not with Donald on the loose, even now, it’s her word against my trail. If you go to thepolice, they’ll look over it and believe me, they won’t find out the truth,” she stated.
“Someone out there could uncover it,” Wyatt said.
“Yeah, me,” she laughed. “Why do you think the FBI wanted me?”
“Gabby stop,” Haley said gently. “Tell him…”
“Why? If he wants to take it out on someone he can use me, he has for over a year now.”
“So everything between us, was a lie?” Wyatt asked. “You never once thought what we had was real?”
“Why should I? All you wanted was your money, even after I gave you part of it back, it just made you want the rest more. A year ago, you promised to make my life miserable, well guess what Wyatt, you did it.”
“I see,” he said. “I’m sorry.”
“You’re sorry?” Joan asked. “What do you have to be sorry for? They’re the ones who stole money from you and covered it up.”
