I’M COMING BACK from a run when I see William’s SUV parked in front of my father’s house. That’s odd. I didn’t know he was planning on a visit. I’m about to enter the house when a familiar car catches my eye. Heather’s pink SLC Roadster sits empty across the street, which could only mean she’s already somewhere on the property.
I’ll be damned if I’m going to let that woman threaten me. If anyone is going to tell my father about William and me, it will be me.
I march up the entryway stairs and into the open living space but can’t hear any commotion. Suddenly, a loud pop reverberates throughout the entire home. Was that a gunshot? The loud pop sounds off once more and now I’m certain someone is shooting off a gun in the house.
I lower myself to the ground and quickly dial the police from my smartwatch, praying it’s close enough to the actual phone to catch a signal. I knew I should have gone with the cellular version.
“911, state your emergency,” a voice greets from my wrist.
“Hello, yes. We have an intruder at five fifty-five Romansky Way. They have a gun,” I answer as quietly as possible.
“We’ve already received a request for service from that location. It appears a silent alarm was triggered and help has been dispatched. Expect someone to arrive soon.”
As soon as the woman finishes speaking, I’m able to hear shouting in the kitchen. “Ma’am, ma’am, if you could please stay quiet, I’m not sure how to lower the volume on my watch and I don’t want the intruder to hear me.”
I crawl a little closer to the commotion once the operator agrees to remain silent. I definitely don’t want to insert myself into the middle of a shootout, so I quietly step into the kitchen hallway, and immediately my jaw drops at what I see.
Heather is restrained in a chair and her hands are being cuffed by Hudson while William picks up a revolver with a large freezer bag.
“Where the fuck is your security team, Aiden?” Titus asks my father.
“I gave them the day off. I’m a fucking SEAL. I don’t need a damn security detail,” my father rebuffs.
“You gave them the day off?! You might not need the security but Bella and the twins do. For fuck’s sake, what would’ve happened if they were in the room when Heather came in wielding her gun?” William roars, the veins in his neck pulsating wildly.
“I’m here. I’m okay.” I step into the kitchen, letting everyone know I’m uninjured. “And the twins are over at the neighbors for a play date.”
“You got lucky.” William glares at my father while making his way to me. As soon as he reaches me, he pulls me into an embrace and presses a kiss to my forehead. “I’m so fucking glad you’re okay.” He breathes into my skin.
“What the hell is going on?” My dad looks between William and me, no doubt confused with the sudden affection.
“You didn’t know, did you?” Heather cackles from her seat. “Daddy’s perfect little angel isn’t so perfect.”
“Shut your mouth, Heather,” I growl out before turning to face my father. I’m about to tell him about our relationship when William beats me to it.
“I’m in love with your daughter, Aiden,” William says matter-of-factly.
And just like that, all the air leaves my lungs. To hear him declare his love for me so openly, to my father, brings me an immense sense of peace.
I hadn’t realized how much our sneaking around was affecting me until this very moment. Having to constantly worry about keeping things from my father, or letting something slip out in public was weighing me down and this moment of liberation has left me feeling so light and free.
“How fucking sweet.” Heather breaks into my moment of joy, wrecking it with her sarcasm. “Well fuck you and your happily ever after. Marissa—Oh wait, she goes by Shannon now.” Heather rolls her eyes and shakes her head before continuing. “Shannon promised me this would be easy and that everything would be okay. She and I were supposed to be on some remote island sipping daiquiris by now, not having a care in the world. But nooooo. William wouldn’t take me back because of this little bitch.” Heather points her head toward me as I sit there stunned by all the verbal diarrhea that’s coming out of her mouth.
“Watch yourself, Heather. You will not talk about Bella like that,” William warns her through clenched teeth.
“You can’t control me.” Heather scoffs. “I will not let you hold me back, William Hawthorne. You screwed me over once with that damn prenup and I will not let you do it again.” Heather seethes as everyone watches her verbally spar with William.
“Is that what this is about? The prenup?”
“Yes! If you would have let me walk away with some money, this wouldn’t even be happening right now. Once I realized I wasn’t going to get anything from you, I had to come back. Otherwise I’d be left with nothing. That’s when your genius of a mother approached me, talking about some hair-brained scheme to clean you out once you and I were back together. Apparently her stash of money had run out and she was in need of replenishing her funds too.”
“Fucking money. It all boils down to money and greed. Coveting that which isn’t yours to possess.” William shakes his head in disgust.
“Of course it’s about money. Haven’t you been paying attention? Well, the part where your mother killed your father… that was more out of blind jealousy. But I mean, someone was threatening to take away her cash cow, so could you really blame her?”
“Yes!” everyone shouts in unison.
“Whatever. Just be glad I didn’t try to kill you and Bella, like your mother did with your father and Lucia. Though trashing Bella’s car felt pretty damn good.”
“That was you?” I gasp in surprise at the same time as William shouts, “Of course it was my mother!”
“Yup.” Heather pops her P, seemingly unaffected by being handcuffed to a chair.
“Yes to what? You were the one who vandalized Bella’s car, or my mother was the one who murdered my father?” William asks.
“Yes to both of those. I shot Bella’s tires out with that gun right there.” Heather points her head toward the gun inside the plastic bag. “It was a gift from your treacherous mother. Said she couldn’t look at it any longer, something about it being the gun she used on your father.”
William shares a knowing look between Ren, Titus, and Hudson. I’m guessing they already suspected as much.
“I never should have trusted that woman. But she assured me over and over again that she could make it so I could win my hearing and get back into William’s good graces.” Heather laughs maniacally. “We hadn’t counted on William fucking the nanny though. That definitely threw a wrench in our plans.” Heather turns her head to look at me. “You dug your heels in real good, didn’t you honey?”
I narrow my eyes at Heather, unable to keep quiet any longer. “Don’t blame me if you never appreciated what was right in front of you. You were the one who walked away from a life with William and Harper. Throughout this entire breakdown of yours, you haven’t even mentioned her once!”
“You could have them both for all I care. I just needed the money. Instead, I get a call from the mastermind herself telling me that the jig is up. That there are warrants out for our arrest and she’s going into hiding. Do you think the brain decided to take her underling with her? Noooo. That’s too much to ask for. After all, I only did every little thing she asked of me, including keeping her damn secrets. Did y’all know she was the hit and run driver that killed Lucia? If only she could have killed Isabella too.” Heather hocks a loogie, aiming it toward me but missing by a long shot. Thank god for small miracles.
A second later there’s a loud bang at the front of the house. We all crane our necks in an attempt to see what caused the noise, but we’re unable to see anything because of the way the kitchen is closed off.
Luckily, we don’t have to wait long for an answer. A team of heavily armed police officers and FBI agents descend into the kitchen.
“Looks like your time is up, Heather,” I add a little too cheerily for the occasion. “You’re going down after that beautiful confession you just delivered.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about. I haven’t said a word this entire time, and you can’t prove otherwise.”
The entire room goes silent. Surely she can’t get away with everything she just admitted to being a part of, can she?
“Ma’am? Ma’am? Are you still there?” A woman’s voice breaks through the silence. Everyone turns to look at each other trying to figure out where the voice is coming from when it speaks again. “Ma’am? Ma’am, this is the 911 dispatcher.”
“Yes! I’m still here,” I say, bringing my wrist closer to my mouth. “I’m so sorry. I forgot you were there.”
“Oh, don’t worry. I just wanted to let you know that it is our protocol to record all incoming calls. This entire conversation has been recorded and can be pulled up for future review if you’d so wish.”
“Well, shit,” Heather mumbles under her breath as the entire room breaks out into a combination of snickers or outright laughter.
