by Nicola Marsh
He allows my hand to linger a moment before gently removing it with his. “I need time, okay?”
I believe him. I have to. Because from the first moment I realized he meant more to me than a meal ticket out of my old life, I believed in this man. He’s loyal, dependable and supportive. I wasn’t lying when I said the business means nothing to me, the money too. He’s all I want.
But there’s something that’s niggling at me and I know if I don’t ask him now, I’ll obsess.
“How did your mom know which bottle of mine to poison?”
He stiffens. “What?”
“That night at my launch, how did she know which bottle I used for my usual pick-me-up blend?”
He glares at me, affronted I’ve had the audacity to ask such a question, because he’s not stupid and he knows what I’m implying.
“You think I had something to do with her poisoning you?”
I take a steadying breath and blow it out. “Did you?”
“After all you’ve kept from me and all we’ve been through…” He shakes his head, then drags a hand through his hair. “Fuck, Shamira, surely you can’t believe I’d harm you?”
I don’t know what to believe, that’s the problem. I trust my gut and when it comes to my husband, I know he’s ultimately on my side. But he’d been so disgusted by my revelations and I have to know whether he had any part of his mother’s lunacy.
“You were so mad at me and I just want to know—”
“I had nothing to do with Mom poisoning you.” He hoists the duffel higher on his shoulder, sadness clouding his eyes. “She’s been to every one of your launches and could’ve seen you drink from that damn bottle any time. But the fact you think I had something to do with hurting you…”
He swivels abruptly and heads for the door, leaving me heartbroken and lamenting the yawning gap between us. If I hadn’t already shattered his trust in me by keeping the secrets of my past, I’ve irrevocably damaged it now by implying he was an accomplice to my poisoning.
“Is it okay if I call you—”
“I need time,” he says, his hand resting on the doorknob. “Leave me alone to sort this mess out with my family.”
I should’ve known that when things get tough, the Parkers would rally around each other. It’s what they do. And it leaves me feeling more of an outsider than ever.
“Okay,” I murmur, as I watch my husband walk out the door and I pray to a god I don’t believe in that he’ll come back.
47
Ria
I’m still shaking, locked in my car, when Justin’s SUV screeches into the driveway. He swerves next to my car, kills the engine and flings open his door before making a beeline for me. I shudder as a fresh wave of nausea rolls over me. I came close to dying several minutes ago.
Justin bangs on my window and my fingers tremble as I unlock the car door. He wrenches it open and reaches for me.
“My God, are you okay? Grayson told me what happened…” He trails off when I burst into tears again and he hauls me out of the car and holds me close against his chest. Grayson is still in the house with May; he texted me to say he’s okay, that he’s calling the family for back-up, but now I know what May’s capable of I’m exceedingly nervous that he’s alone in there with her.
I sob, great gut-wrenching cries that make my head ache, oblivious to his murmured platitudes but grateful for the comfort nonetheless.
His cell rings and he reluctantly releases me to slide it out of his pocket.
“It’s Grayson,” he says, before answering it. “What’s going on? I’ve just arrived.”
A frown furrows his brow as he glances at me. “Ria’s okay, I’m with her now.”
He pauses and his frown deepens. “Are you sure that’s wise?”
After several moments where I struggle to hear what Grayson’s saying, he nods. “Okay, we’ll come in.”
I inadvertently take a step back. No way am I going anywhere near their psycho mother.
Justin hangs up and says, “Grayson says Mom’s groggy from him knocking her out, and he’s restrained her, but he wants us in there with him—”
“I don’t care what he wants. I’m waiting out here until the police arrive.”
His gaze darts away, sheepish. “Grayson has called Christine and Trent. They’re both coming over too, but he wants us to be in there until they arrive.” He swipes a hand over his face. “And I don’t blame the guy. Why should he be the only one to deal with her?”
“Fair point.” I gesture at the house. “Why don’t you go in and I’ll wait out here for the others?”
He reaches out to touch my hand and I flinch. “Ria, Grayson and I won’t let anything happen to you.”
I refrain from responding with “you almost did.”
He tries to take my hand again and I yank it away. The last thing I need is for Grayson to see us walking in hand in hand. Not that it would mean anything. The moment my ex-husband returned I haven’t given Justin a second thought. I’m not fickle but Grayson and I always had something special and while I know we can never go back, I’m hoping that now we’ve uncovered who threatened him all those years ago he might have a chance to be part of our lives again.
“Okay.” I take tentative steps toward the house, hating that I’m still shaken up. I’m not this woman. I’m strong and independent, but coming face to face with crazy May, no matter how groggy she is, isn’t high on my to-do list right now.
Justin unlocks the front door and we enter, treading lightly as we walk down the hallway to the back of the house. My heart is thumping with fear, until I spy Grayson standing in the doorway to the conservatory.
Without a second thought I cross the short space between us and fling myself into his arms. He wraps his around me, holding me tight, and at last I feel some sense of calm. I’m all cried out from a few moments ago but I cling to him, inhaling his familiar scent, comforted.
When we ease apart, he places a finger under my chin and tips it up. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
Mute, I nod.
He gives a little shudder. “I can’t believe… I mean, if I’d lost you—”
“Ssh, it’s okay.” I press a finger to his lips and am startled by the intimacy of it.
Justin clears his throat behind us and in that moment I realize how much Grayson means to me, because I’d forgotten my brother-in-law was even there.
Clutching my hand tight, Grayson says, “She’s in here.”
I balk for a moment and he squeezes my hand, infusing me with his silent strength, and I will my legs to move. The three of us enter the conservatory, where May has presided over so many family gatherings. Where she entertained with aplomb. Where she lavished her granddaughters with attention.
A lump swells in my throat at the thought of what I’ll tell Shelley, who adores her grandmother.
I spy May sitting on the sofa near the French doors leading to the patio. She’s half slumped and her hands are bound at the wrist with what looks like gardening twine.
We lock gazes across the room and I clamp down on the instant flare of pity, because May isn’t some frail, broken old woman.
My mother-in-law is a murderer.
She killed her husband and was about to do the same to me.
“Justin, how nice of you to join us,” May says, like we’ve all come to pay her a visit.
“You’re sick.” Justin shakes his head as the three of us take a seat on the sofa opposite. “What the hell is wrong with you, Mom?”
“Absolutely nothing.” She eyes us with defiance. “I protect what’s mine.”
“By killing Dad? By trying to murder Ria?” Justin’s face reddens with anger. “Not to mention trying to hurt Chrissie, Shamira and Ash.”
May scoffs. “Like you don’t want to hurt Ashlin yourself.”
Justin’s lips thin and he looks away. His hands are clenched into fists and Grayson lays a comforting hand on his shoulder for a moment before removing it.
“I hop
e you haven’t called the police,” she says, sounding imperious as always. “I want to talk to you all before I’m taken away.”
“Trent and Christine are on their way, then the police will be contacted,” Grayson says.
May’s brow furrows. “I should’ve known Christine wouldn’t check into rehab. My daughter is a total waste of space.”
Grayson and Justin both stiffen but neither says a word. I don’t blame them. How can you converse with a madwoman?
May’s fanatical gaze focuses on Justin. “I hope I can count on you.” She bestows her usual proud smile on Justin, the one that makes him straighten his shoulders even if he doesn’t know it. He’s always been her golden boy, doing exactly as he’s told.
“Let me guess, this is about your precious bloody company.” He avoids her eyes, his discomfort evident in every line of his tense body.
“Of course. You’re exactly like me, and don’t you forget it—”
“I’m nothing like you,” he spits out, half-rising off the sofa before Grayson placates him again.
May grins and steeples her fingers as if oblivious to her restraints, resting her hands in her lap.
“All I need you to do is keep the company running as smoothly as possible because another sale is imminent.” Her chilling grin widens. “Whatever charges are leveled at me, they won’t stick. I’ll accentuate the poor helpless grandmother act, and considering the healthy yearly donation I make to the pension fund of most cops in this city, I’ll be well looked after until I’m released.”
“You’re delusional,” Justin mutters, bitterness lacing his reluctant response, as if he can’t bear talking to her.
“No, I’m remarkably sane.” Her gaze glitters with malice. “I value what’s rightfully mine. I fight for it. I protect it. I make the tough calls for the sake of the company and you do too.”
Disgust pinches his mouth. “But you’re forgetting one point. I don’t kill to get what I want.”
“Don’t you?” May leans forward and fixes Justin with a maniacal stare. “You killed your marriage years ago because you had the hots for your brother’s wife.”
I feel Grayson lean into me and I lay a comforting hand on his thigh, while Justin recoils. I know May, she likes nothing better than one-upmanship and no one, not even her favored eldest son, will get the better of her. “The minute Ria became available five years ago you started retreating from Ashlin. Subconsciously at first but it spiraled and I watched your obsession grow.” Her smug smile makes his eyes narrow. It does little to hide his hatred. “Face it, son, you hoped your marriage would end so you could go sniffing around Ria.”
Justin’s jaw clenches, like he’s struggling to hold back a response, as May gives an exaggerated tut-tut designed to taunt. “Seriously, Justin, you should be thanking me. I was trying to do you a favor by expediting your wife’s departure, ensuring she wouldn’t sabotage another sale with her whoring, saving us a fortune in alimony, preserving more money for your daughters who will ultimately carry on the Parker tradition with Shelley—”
“Shut up,” he growls, leaping to his feet. The muscles around his clenched jaw bunch as he struggles to get himself back under control, and I finally speak.
“She’s pushing you for a reaction, Justin. Don’t give her the satisfaction.”
May’s gaze swings onto me as Justin sits. “So, finally found your voice, dearest daughter-in-law?” She shakes her head. “You were always my favorite. Pity you had to be such a nosy-Parker.” She laughs at her own joke, a cackle devoid of amusement.
“I can’t believe you were behind everything.” I shake my head. “Those threatening emails, the accidents—”
“I don’t know about any emails, but yes, I already told you I had a hand in the rest.” Her offhand shrug infuriates me, like she doesn’t give a damn how much she hurt her family. “Everyone can be bought and I have contacts everywhere who will do anything for a price.”
May likes toying with people, always has, to see if they have the mettle to match wits with her. She’s picked the wrong person this time.
“So you really think your contacts will get you out of this?”
“Of course.” May has never been short on confidence. “I’ll never confess to anything. And it’s my word against you and Grayson, and I’ll tarnish you both if I have to. Besides, there’s little evidence, circumstantial at best. Plus I have the Parker fortune on my side. I can buy anything and anyone.” Her eyes glitter with triumph. “I’ve done it before.”
I don’t bother responding to her ridiculous claim. Instead, I ask the one question I need an answer to.
“Why did you do it, May? All of it?”
She eyes me with respect. “For my grandchildren.”
Grayson, Justin and I are stunned into silence by her bizarre proclamation.
“I know my own children only speak to me because I control the money. It’s why I cut them off and wanted to sell the company, to invest for Jessie, Ellen and Shelley.” Her expression softens. “They’re innocent, untainted by the greed that drives the rest of you. Plus they’re young and pliable. I can mold them into strong, independent women who won’t be duped by usurpers.”
She lets out a soft sigh. “They’re my one chance at redemption considering I failed my children…”
“But you’re forgetting one thing, May.” I glance across at Justin and he gives the slightest nod, as if he knows what I’m about to say. “After today, you’ll never get to see your grandchildren ever again.”
May jerks as if prodded and I swear her eyes roll back in her head. “What did you say?”
“You heard her, Mother.” Justin’s tone is low and menacing. “You will never be allowed anywhere near your granddaughters after this.”
May’s shoulders straighten, outrage puffing her chest as she stares at us in disbelief. “You can’t be serious. Everything I’ve ever done has been for them. They’re good girls. They deserve to be looked after.” She starts to bluster, her face reddening. “They need to be instructed on how to be proper Parker women. They need guidance on self-reliance and money management and company policy and—”
“Shut up.” Grayson’s cell buzzes and he takes a quick glance at it. “Chrissie and Trent are almost here, so it’s time I rang the police.”
May ignores him and continues to stare at me, the strange glint in her eyes beseeching me to understand something I have no hope of fathoming. “I need to see my girls. They need me—”
“It’s over, Mother.” Justin sounds plain weary now. “You are never seeing Jess, El and Shelley ever again. Your precious attorneys that you keep on retainer will draw up the necessary legal documents to ensure it once they hear what you’ve done.”
May deflates before our eyes, appearing to shrink in on herself. Her shoulders slump, her head falls forward and she’s plucking at invisible threads on her skirt.
“Can I use the bathroom please?” It’s a soft, subservient tone I’ve never heard May use, a plaintive plea from a defeated woman.
“Fine,” Grayson says, waiting until May stands and not offering a hand to help. “But I’ll be right outside.”
The fact she doesn’t snap back with some wisecrack about him being her prison guard is telling. Maybe she’s finally accepted it’s over for her?
May shuffles from the room, with Grayson tailing her, leaving Justin and I to stare at each other in dumbfounded silence. After a few moments, Justin swipes a hand over his face and says, “She’s wrong, you know. I wouldn’t have wished anything bad to happen to Ash no matter how I felt about you—”
“It’s over, Justin.”
I eyeball him so he’ll understand I’m referring to everything. Him, me, the forbidden attraction.
Understanding sparks in his eyes and he nods. “Okay.”
Relief filters through me, but it’s short-lived when I hear Grayson’s frantic yell.
48
May
I can’t believe it’s come to this.
My chest is tight, anxiety robbing my lungs of air.
I’ve done all this for my granddaughters. I won’t be deprived of the chance to help them, to make them true Parkers and better than their sniveling parents.
I’m trying to stay calm. I know what will happen. The police will charge me with one count of murder—that had been a dumb move, taunting Ria with my smugness about getting rid of Percival—and one count of attempted murder. Though if they really want to throw the book at me, they’ll try to pin Christine and Shamira’s ‘accidents’ on me too. It’s silly, because I never intended to murder them, just throw the focus off Ashlin so the hit-man I hired could try again while I used the distraction to continue siphoning company funds for my girls. Annoyingly, if Grayson hadn’t shown up, Ria would be dead and I wouldn’t be in this predicament. I curse the vagaries of fate.
As for the other charges that will come to light, embezzlement and fraud, I can fight those. Grayson thought he was so damn smart stumbling across my siphoning company money years ago but it didn’t take much to scare him off. Threatening his wife and child put paid to his interference. He’s weak and afraid, like his father. I counted on it and he proved me right. He fled, enabling me to stash away hundreds of millions of dollars without Percy knowing. I’d initially done it to spite my asshole husband, for all the years I’d put up with his emotional abuse, later realizing the money would protect my granddaughters from the harsh lessons of life. Then not long after Grayson left, Percy started digging where our youngest son had been and I couldn’t have that. Percy discovered my secret and threatened to oust me from the company. So I’d killed him. I thought I’d gotten away with it too, until now.
With my admission to Ria, the police will reopen the case. Not that it matters. Justice moves slowly and I’ll be a model prisoner. I’ll get privileges because of my age, my social standing and my money. I can buy anything and anyone.
