AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“No, don’t you dare do that,” I pointed at her mouth. “You’ve put us through hell with this whole shit show, so you explain what you meant by what you just said.”
Her bottom lip disappeared inwards as she chewed on it, and just when I was about to repeat what I’d said, she exhaled loudly and pinched the bridge of her nose, a move that brought back memories of her doing it when we were little.
“Okay. After Laura was born, I was struggling to make ends meet. You know I worked as a secretary for J.B. Browns law firm when I got pregnant with her, well, Roy was a friend of one of the partners, and that’s how we met.
“After I had Laura and went back to work, he came in one day and invited me out to dinner. I thought he was a nice guy and was charming, so I got excited and went.”
I hardly moved, keeping my breathing shallow, scared of missing one word that came out of her.
“After that first one, he asked me out again and again, and I thought we had a connection.” She huffed out a laugh, shaking her head. “How stupid was I. On the third date, Roy took me out to a restaurant with a private dining room. He told me he knew who your biological father was and that he’d sell the information to reporters if I didn’t do what he wanted.”
Dropping my eyes down to where her hands were tightly clenched together, I asked my first question. “Who’s my father? You said you didn’t know who it was.”
“Christian Kent.”
The name was familiar, but I wasn’t sure why. “Why do I know that name?”
“As in, Doctor Christian Kent, the man who was in the news and on the cover of magazines all around the world for going deeper than anyone ever has in the ocean and bringing back samples for scientists to analyze. You insisted I buy you copies and let you watch the interviews and programs on him.”
If I had been standing, I’d have likely fallen over.
“I-I- how?”
“All of his legal affairs were handled by the law firm I worked for at the time, the one I had to leave after I had you. We met when he came in to sign some contracts, and it all just grew from there.” She shrugged but had the good grace to look embarrassed. “I knew he was married, but he told me it was over.”
“Does he know about me?”
“I don’t know,” she admitted. “My boss correctly guessed that we were having an affair, and when I went on maternity leave to have you, they suggested that it’d be better for both of us if I didn’t return. I was told to think about what would happen to you if the story broke in the news that the man being praised and rewarded for what he’d done had an illegitimate child with a secretary who worked for his lawyer. When they phrased it that way, it made sense, so I quit.”
I could see Christian Kent clearly in my mind. I had the same color hair as him, and maybe even the same nose and jawline. Other than that, I just couldn’t put two and two together to give me the biological answers of sharing his DNA.
“And Roy blackmailed you?”
Mom blinked back the tears that’d been threatening to spill as she answered the question. “Yes. Somehow, he found out about it and said if I didn’t help him, he’d take the DNA test results he had proving it to the news. I didn’t want that for you, so I said okay. You were still little at the time, and I could only imagine what that’d do to you. What if you got bullied at school? What if he tried to take you away from me?”
“What if little green men dropped out of the skies right now,” I spat. “You could have explained to us, so we were all prepared, instead of letting yourself get blackmailed and ending up in prison—which, FYI, we did get bullied and hauled through the news for.”
“It was a no-win situation. At the time, the solution I was offered made it possible for that not to happen to you, being hated and bullied for being the illegitimate child of a national icon. Instead, I got blackmailed a second time when Roy discovered that the people he’d stolen from were after him, and you ended up being bullied and featured on the news for daring to support your mom for crimes she didn’t commit.”
For a second time today, I was speechless. “What?”
“Yeah.” Her upper lip curled up in a sneer, but it wasn’t directed at me—more like she was doing it to herself. “You went through hell, and almost thirteen years of my life has been spent in here, away from the four people who are my whole life. Hell, two of them won’t even speak to me or answer my letters and calls, so I’ve lost something priceless while Roy fucking Green sits at home, eating what and when he wants, going wherever he wants and continues to fuck my life up.”
I couldn’t argue with her on those points. They were all valid. “What do you mean you didn’t commit those crimes, Mom?”
“I was a scapegoat. All I had to do was put my name on the paperwork for his investment firm so that it looked like it was mine. I gave him alibies, created distractions, and covered for his ass with everyone while pretending like we were together. Then, when shit got heated, he offered me enough money if I took the fall that I knew my kids would be able to buy themselves a house and have stability without pressure. All I had to do was do my sentencing like a good girl, and the money’s mine when I get out of here.”
“Jesus Christ,” I hissed, “don’t you think we’d rather have our mother? People get things called mortgages every day, Mom. It’s how most buy their properties. What you can’t put a value on is having your parent there, watching the biggest moments of your life, celebrating when it’s warranted, and holding your hand while you cry. You being in here stole way more from us—and you—than whatever amount of money would ever have given us.”
When she didn’t say anything, I began tapping my nails agitatedly on the table. “What about the other money? What’s that for?”
“I don’t have any other money. If I did, I’d have split it between you guys before I came in here.”
“I saw it with my own eyes, Mom. The bank account is in your name, and the transfer was on the paper.”
Glancing around us, Mom leaned in closer, getting the attention of one of the other guards and making her narrow her eyes as she watched what was happening.
“I’m telling you I have one bank account, the one you’ve got access to. I’ve never opened another one, not even a savings account.”
