“THAT’S DEFINITELY HER. There’s no mistaking her eyes,” I say after inspecting the photos on the screen.
“You mean those empty pools of black? Yeah, it figures. They look about as dark as her soul,” Ren adds bitterly. There’s no question as to how he feels about the woman who intentionally ran into Bella’s car three years ago. Hate would be putting it mildly.
I blink multiple times, trying to clear my mind from the shock this new information has added to the ever-growing pile of shit I’m going to have to tell Bella.
It just had to be my mother.
I run a hand over my face, unable to repress the hysterical laughter bubbling out of me.
“I’m the perfect catch, aren’t I?” I roll my neck, trying to release the tension this new piece of information has brought on. “Let’s look at the facts, shall we? My father had an affair with my secret girlfriend’s mother; a girlfriend I have to keep secret because of my psycho ex who happens to be in cahoots with my mother; my mother who tried to kill my secret girlfriend and her mother by running into them with her car. Oh, and did I mention that my mother has a new identity? An identity she’s using to sabotage my relationships and make it impossible for me to divorce my psycho ex.”
Another bout of hysterical laughter rips from my throat, giving the rest of the team pause. No doubt they think I’m in the middle of some sort of mental crisis.
“I’m fine. Really,” I try to assure the men as I wipe away the tears of laughter. “Seriously. We have a lot of work to do. I need to find a link to the second judge and present it to my attorney as soon as possible. The faster I get this done, the faster I can move Bella in.”
“You still have to worry about Aiden.” Ren arches a brow. “And don’t think we’re done with our conversation about that. Remember… bodily harm.” Ren pounds his fist into his palm.
“Yeah, yeah. I get it. Now get back to work. I need that information.”
Titus cuts into our banter with a loud clap ringing through the air. “Shit, I’ve got it!” Titus calls out. “I can’t believe it. Your mom outright promised Heather she’d win, twice. That woman is not cut out to be a felon. That’s like criminal activity 101, don’t put anything down in writing.”
“What can I say, the woman is a piece of work. At least her ineptitude as a criminal is working in our favor.” I close my eyes and rub at my temples, needing this all to be done. “Send me what you’ve gathered thus far and I’ll start preparing it for my attorney. The next step would be to try to access my mother’s email and see if we can catch the judge responding to her. I think what we have should be sufficient to reverse any of the prior rulings, but I want to make sure those dirty judges pay for the bullshit they’ve put Bella and me through.”
“Hear, hear,” the men speak in unison.
“William, what can I do for you at this fine hour?” Daniel answers the phone sarcastically.
“I know it’s the ass-crack of dawn but my team found the information we were looking for and I wanted to get it to you as soon as possible. Heather has been in communication with someone who is dating one of the judges who presided over our case. This person, who happens to be my mother—a story for another time—confirmed in writing that she was guaranteed a win in both cases. When my team dug a little deeper they were able to locate communications between my mother and the other judge as well as her current beau, substantiating our claims of collusion.”
“It looks like your team has been very busy. Very busy indeed.” Daniel slurps something loudly before emitting a noise of satisfaction. “Now that I’ve had my first sip of coffee, we can continue.”
“I’d apologize but it wouldn’t be sincere.” I chuckle, knowing it was brazen of me to call this early but not really caring. “So where do we go from here?”
“Send me everything you’ve been able to acquire and I will channel the pertinent pieces to the appropriate authorities. We won’t be able to utilize it as legal evidence because of how it was obtained but it will enable us to get warrants on electronics and such. These will undoubtedly lead us to the same or similar information, though this time through a legal venue.”
“How fast can we get this done?” I ask, already thinking of how I’m going to get Bella home.
“Pretty quickly. I have a great team that handles this sort of thing.”
“What, psycho exes and criminal mothers?” I ask in jest.
“I’m glad to see your sense of humor is back. But no, I’m talking about taking fruit from the poisonous tree and turning it into manna from heaven.” Daniel laughs at his own brand of joke, quickly stopping once he realizes I’m not laughing with him. “Don’t worry, William. We will handle everything and you will be divorced sooner than you can say rule in perpetuity.”
I shake my head as Daniel makes another attempt at a joke. “Why don’t you stick to your day job. I don’t think you were cut out to be a comedian.”
“Oh pish posh. That was funny. I know, funny.” Daniel laughs, mumbling something about perpetuity under his breath.
“Sure, you keep telling yourself that. I’m just glad you’re a damn good lawyer. Keep me posted on any progress. I want to know everything, every step of the way,” I say emphatically.
“Yes, of course. I’ll get my staff on it right away. We should be able to get warrants on your mother and Heather very soon, providing you’re not objecting to either.”
“Fuck no. It’s time these women paid for their actions and stopped destroying the lives of others.”
“Very well then. I’ll be in touch.”
The line goes dead as I stare at my phone in contemplation. Could this really be over?
I’m about to tuck my phone away when the screen lights up showing an incoming call. It’s Mariana.
“Hello?” I answer, curious as to why she’s calling this early.
“Morning,” Mariana greets with a matter-of-fact tone. “There’s been developing information on my sister’s car accident and we need to question Aiden. I wanted to give you a heads up that I’ll be visiting him later today to talk to him about what we uncovered and figured you’d want to tell him what you know beforehand.”
“Thanks for letting me know. I’ll head over to his house as soon as I’m able to rally the team,” I say, thankful for the notice.
“No problem. Take care.”
Hanging up my phone for the second time that morning, I make my way to the coffeemaker. “I can’t believe I’ve accomplished so much before my first cup of coffee,” I say to myself as I pour an extra-large cup, making sure to fill it to the brim. Lord knows I’m going to need every last drop if I’m going to be playing alarm clock to the team.
“Aiden, you really need to hire a full-time nanny,” Ren complains. “I can’t fill in for Bella all the time.”
“Bella can’t hold out on me forever. She loves the boys and will be back to her regular self in no time.” Aiden waves away Ren’s concern.
The whole team has managed to crowd around Aiden’s kitchen island, scarfing down the kolaches and coffee we brought over, knowing the information we were about to deliver was less than ideal.
“What’s going on?” I ask without trying to sound overly interested.
“Bella has gone on strike ever since dear old dad over here shut down her dreams of becoming an author,” Ren answers before turning back toward Aiden. “You need to bite the bullet, man. Apologize to her and hire a damn nanny. You were going to do that once she started college in the fall anyway. What’s the big deal?”
“The big deal is she dropped out of college before she’s even begun!” Aiden shouts, his vocal cords vibrating with each word. “If I hire a nanny, she will think that it’s okay for her to forgo all of her responsibilities to pursue a fruitless dream.”
“Fruitless?” I curl my lip and sneer. “Have you seen her work? She’s brilliant. There’s no doubt in my mind she could have a successful career as an author if she wished to be one.”
“What is this, gang-up-on-Aiden day?” Aiden argues in defense.
“No. It’s keep-it-real-with-Aiden day. Bella told us you were released from Dr. Ansley’s care and that means no more sugar-coating things,” Hudson adds.
“Well, shit. If you’ve been sugar-coating things before, I can’t wait to hear what you have to say now,” Aiden quips.
Hudson runs a hand through his hair, nervously shifting his gaze between everyone. “The reason we’re here is to talk to you about your wife. Well, more like something involving your wife.”
“You mean my adulterous spouse? By all means, please tell me what could be worse than finding out the woman you’ve idolized was sleeping with one of your friend’s father,” Aiden grits out.
“It’s not worse, per se,” Titus states, turning his palms up and shrugging his shoulders. “It’s just news that could be considered shocking.”
“Well, what is it then? We don’t have all day,” Aiden prompts.
“We found out who the driver was the night of the car accident,” I rush to reply, needing to be the one to tell Aiden this information. Thankfully, the team seems to understand and they all back off giving me the floor. “Aiden, before I tell you, you need to understand that the authorities believe it was an intentional hit. The person who ran into your wife and daughter did so with the intent to harm, and most likely kill.”
“You mean to tell me someone set out to hurt my wife and daughter? How the fuck could I not know about this?” Aiden’s face contorts in outrage. “When did you find out about this? Is the person still out there?”
A female voice responds in my place.
“Oh, she’s very much out there. Isn’t she, William?” Heather trains her wild gaze on me, cocking the revolver nestled between her outstretched hands.
At once, we all turn our eyes toward the madwoman who’s begun to pace back and forth in Aiden’s kitchen.
“Heather, what are you doing here?” Aiden asks, his brows furrowing in deep confusion.
“You mean they haven’t clued you in?” Heather laughs, waving her gun in the air in a circular motion. “Well, sit down, darlin’. I’m about to fill you in.”
