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“Sorry, K. I’m not sure why you weren’t notified. I’m looking into this immediately. There’s been charges at Riggs. Jenni’s Purple and Lace. Blooming Deals. There were more purchases at several clothing shops and even a purchase at the Coach and Prada stores…” he trails off, clicking more. “It looks like the last purchase was made about an hour ago at Florence’s, a department store downtown. They tried to spend—” he chokes off, coughing into the phone. “Twenty grand there.” Jesus. Fucking. Christ. Twenty grand? At a damn clothing shop? Who the hell has enough balls to not only spend my money but do it in the same town I reside in? Maybe that’s why they didn’t fucking call?
Either way, I’m fuming. That’s my hard-earned money someone is blowing through. They have no right. I stood on stage for hours on end, singing my heart out. Sweating. Fucking losing my personal time. All for my career to pay for the things I need.
“It was just used?” My teeth clench together. “How is that fucking possible? I didn’t give anyone access to it.”
I had an extra card in my wallet for emergencies. A duplicate card to hand to my fucking mother so she could buy a few groceries. But I always made her give it back to me. Shit… Pulling my wallet out, I check through my cards, and my heart drops. It’s gone. Someone used it in town. Someone took my card. Either Gloria stole it from right under my nose, or someone took off with it.
My stomach turns several times when my phone beeps, alerting me to a new call straight from Florence’s Department Store.
“Hey, Teddy. I gotta go. Thanks for the information. The store is calling right now. I’m going to head there.” We quickly say our goodbyes and hang up in time for me to answer the call from the store.
“Hello?” I ask, still watching Lyric happily eat the rest of her ice cream, oblivious to the murderous feeling churning inside me. She hasn’t moved an inch since this whole shit show came to my attention.
“Hi, this is Angie, the store manager down here at Florence’s. Am I speaking to a Mister Kieran Knight?”
“Yeah, that’s me,” I say, stiffening my spine as a wailing echoes through the damn phone.
“I’m calling to inform you that we've detained a Gloria Montgomery for theft of merchandise. She’s asked us to call you before the police get here. We were also concerned after confiscating a credit card with your name on it after it came up as stolen. The police have been called.”
I swallow hard. My rage swells like a violent storm pounding through me. I curl my fingers into a fist, ready to pummel my hanging bag to let out some of my aggression. But first, I’ll have a few words with Gloria before I let them haul her conniving ass away.
Now, I need to focus on keeping this aggression locked inside so Lyric never sees this side of me.
Not only did Gloria steal merchandise from an upscale department store, but she also stole from me. Not only my money but she also robbed me of fatherhood. It’s time to let her manipulative ass rot in jail. Because after today? She won’t have anyone on her side to bail her out.
“Do you want to stop this? Or—” she trails off over the phone, knowing full well who I am.
Fuck that.
“Keep her there. Tell the cops I want to speak with her before I press charges against her.”
“Okay, Sir.”
And we hang up.
I heave a breath, running a hand down my face. My mother. Fucking Gloria. She must have done it at some point when she was desperate for my money. It’s been like this since we moved her here with us. Constantly texting and calling us, begging for it. The only reason we’ve put up with her for this long is for our little sister, Cami. We’ve tried to protect her every step of the way. Including sending her to a private boarding school on the edge of town to get her away from Gloria’s shitty parenting. After Asher’s father went to prison, everything fell apart for them. We were the only people who picked Gloria up by her arms and coddled her ungrateful ass. It’s not like she deserved a penthouse apartment or money from us. She’s never been thankful. Always so damn greedy when it comes to what we earned.
She only saw us as dollar signs. Never humans. Never her fucking sons. So once and for all, the time has come to sever ties with the woman who gave me life.
“Lyric,” I sigh, reaching across to clutch her little hand as she sets her spoon down. “I need to run an errand. It’s right next door…” I hesitate a moment, not really wanting to take Lyric into this hostile situation. I want to protect her from Gloria’s manipulating ways. But a part of me wants to show Gloria what she missed out on by sending River away. Not that she would have been a good grandma, anyway.
“Okay,” Lyric says with a shrug. “But you didn’t eat your ice cream, Daddy.” She points to my melted ice cream glittering in the sun shining through the windows.
“We’ll come back, and I’ll try it again. I liked it, but Daddy has to take care of something important.”
She nods, jumps down from the chair, and takes my hand as we walk to the last meeting I’ll ever have with my piss-poor excuse for a mother. No… Gloria. She’s no one's mother. She’s a user. Manipulator. And her reign of terror ends now, including her hold over Camilla, our teenage sister who luckily lives in her own dorm at the local prep school. Our mother has never been there for her. Never protected her from Nigel’s fists, like she should have. So, we did the only thing we could do on our end to keep her safe from Gloria’s clutches. Since Asher’s father went to prison and now, I’m sending my mother’s ass there, Camilla will fall into our hands.
Me
We’re going to have to enact plan ‘Save Camilla’.
AKA beg our lawyers to give us custody of Cami and prove our mother unfit. It shouldn’t be too hard, but it’ll be a huge leap for us. Another reason going on tour would prove harmful.
Asher
What? What happened?
Me
