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She nods her head. “I threatened Gregory Anderson. I was tired of what he was doing to my family. I thought I could put a stop to it.” Her chest caves as her shoulders lower. Her voice is flat when she speaks. “Never underestimate that family, Irelynn. No matter what.” Emma slides her feet from the ottoman and gestures in front of her.
I take a seat, swallowing hard, my hands knotting together in my lap. “Emma, please tell me what happened. The entire story.”
She nods and begins. “My sister, Elizabeth, was widowed at a young age. Her husband died in a car accident and since they were young and recently married, he had no life insurance or savings account, so she desperately needed a job. I was working for the Andersons as a cook, but Isabella, William’s mother, liked me so much she asked me to be her personal assistant.” Emma releases a long sigh, her face full of regret. “I begged Isabella to hire Elizabeth, which she did. She was hired to clean for them, including Gregory’s study.” She pauses, swallowing hard. “That’s how she met him.”
William’s earlier words to me about his father having an affair with a servant crash through my mind, the pieces of the puzzle fitting together. “Elizabeth had an affair with Gregory, right?”
Emma nods. “I begged her not to do it after she told me what happened the first time with him. But she was grieving and smitten with him, refusing to listen to me. Isabella soon became aware and was quite furious. I was afraid she was going to fire me because I was the reason Elizabeth was hired.”
I release a breath. “I assume she didn’t, since you work for William?”
She shakes her head. “Thankfully, she didn’t. The Andersons paid well and provided me a place to live with my two children and husband, Robert. My husband was a driver and butler for the family.” She shifts in her chair, biting at her lip, not making eye contact with me. “One year after Isabella gave birth to William, Elizabeth became pregnant with Damian.”
My shoulders tense, a sense of foreboding heavy in the room.
“When Isabella found out that Gregory was Damian’s father, she was humiliated and furious. She threatened to take William and disappear, but Gregory was a powerful man and threatened to have Isabella deemed an unfit mother, so she’d lose custody of William. Isabella doted on him and she couldn’t bear to lose him, so she stayed.” Emma shakes her head. “Gregory was—and still is—a cold, callous bastard.”
I stand, head to the mini refrigerator, and grab two bottles of water. When I return to the ottoman, I hand Emma one of them, then twist the cap off mine, taking a long drink. Wiping a hand over my mouth, I study her. “So Isabella stayed… and so did Elizabeth?”
Emma’s hand shakes as she opens her water bottle. “Elizabeth kept pushing for Gregory to leave Isabella and marry her, saying she’d be a mother to William, too. But Gregory refused to divorce Isabella. The best he would do is keep her on as an employee and provide her with her own quarters to live in with her son.”
“William and Damian were best friends until he was eight years old. But William overheard his parents arguing, and that’s how he learned Damian was his half-brother. Overnight, William turned on Damian and cut him from his life, no matter how hard Damian tried to be friends with him.”
Emma heaves out a long sigh. “William was lonely in that huge mansion now that he didn’t have a friend, and turned to my son, Bryan. At first, I thought William was only being friendly with Bryan because he was trying to get back at Damian. Instead, the two of them ended up becoming best friends.”
My eyebrows fly up on my face as I stare at Emma, wondering about the guy named Bryan who stayed outside my room when William drove Emma to her doctor’s appointment.
As if she knows what I’m thinking, she nods. “Yes, the Bryan who watched over you is my son. The right-hand man to William.”
A gasp escapes me and my hand covers my mouth. “But how… and why?”
Emma shifts in the chair, pulling at the hem of her shirt around her neck. Her voice is shaky when she speaks. “Isabella was so frustrated by Gregory’s cheating that she couldn’t keep it inside. It was putting her in the spotlight. Whenever she left the house and went anywhere, people were rude to her. Gregory destroyed multiple marriages because he didn’t care about anyone but himself. As you can imagine, there were a lot of people pissed at her, even though none of it was her fault. She couldn’t control Gregory. No one could.” Emma shakes her head, looking down. “Isabella wanted to have another child, but Gregory kept telling her no. She stopped taking her birth control without telling him, hoping she would wind up pregnant. But she didn’t and became really depressed.” Emma licks her lips, grabbing her necklace and twisting it again. “Gregory had a vasectomy after he got Elizabeth pregnant.”
My leg bounces as I sit across from her. All this history is wonderful, but I’m becoming frustrated by it. I still don’t know how or why Bryan is William’s main man.
Emma sees my frustration and squeezes my hand. “I know this seems like information you don’t need, Miss Irelynn. But trust me, you need to know everything you can about him and his family so you know what you are dealing with and why he is the way he is.”
I straighten my posture, my hands between my knees. “I’m sorry if I’m frustrated, Emma. I’m really trying hard to take this in. It’s just… a lot.”
Emma nods, patting my leg. “I know, sweet girl. But who knows how often we will get this chance to talk?” She gives me a look, full of meaning.
Instantly contrite, I sit taller, giving her my full attention. “Sorry, Emma. Please, continue.”
She takes a deep breath. “Isabella was so disappointed that Gregory couldn’t give her any more children. Even though it seemed like a loveless marriage, she adored William and always wanted more kids. And since she was married, she couldn’t fathom having an affair and getting pregnant by another man, especially since she knew Gregory would punish the hell out of her if she did. Instead, she turned bitter, complaining about everything. She was always pleasant to me and William, but to Gregory and the other servants, particularly Elizabeth, she was very harsh. One could say she became a bitch.”
I nearly spit out the water I’m drinking. “You just said bitch.”
Emma chuckles, holding her hands up. “It’s just you and I talking, so I can say things I wouldn’t normally say.” She winks at me. “One of the servants became obsessed with Isabella. He wanted her to leave Gregory. He even agreed to be a father to William, whom he adored. But Isabella wasn’t interested in him. His obsession grew, especially when he knew how unhappy she was that Gregory couldn’t, nor wouldn’t, give her any more children.” Her hands twist in her lap, a wince on her face. “What I’m going to tell you is… difficult. But it’s a huge part of the story of how William became the man he is today.”
I lean forward, my hand squeezing her knee gently. “Go on.”
Before she speaks, she drops her water bottle. Leaning forward, I pick it up and hand it to her. Emma gives me a weak smile of thanks, then swallows hard. “The servant tried to rape Isabella. Likely would have succeeded if William and Bryan hadn’t shown up and stopped it.”
Gasping, my hands cover my mouth, my eyes wide with horror. “What do you mean, they stopped it?”
“William and Bryan heard Isabella screaming. Most of the servants had the day off. Isabella had the boys outside at the pool and had gone inside to make them some lunch. She liked to make them sandwiches occasionally, despite having staff to do it. She had gone upstairs to use the bathroom and when she came out, he was there.”
Tears fill my eyes. “Poor Isabella.”
