by K. M. Scott
All I could do was nod in agreement. I had no real proof, but like Serena, I knew he did it. My gut said he finally crossed that line and took aim at the mother she’d missed all her life.
Serena stood from the bed and began pacing in front of me. “I never thought he’d do it. You know that? I thought he used that threat as a bluff. That he just wanted to control me. And all along, he was just waiting for the moment when he would kill her. He finally found that moment, and now she’s gone.”
I reached out for her hand as she passed me, touching the tips of her fingers, but she yanked her hand away and kept walking. “He fucking did it. He took her away once and for all. It wasn’t enough to make me grow up without a mother. No, he’s a fucking monster. As soon as I found her, he probably began to plot out when it would hurt me the most to take her away again.”
Standing from the bed, I stopped her and wrapped my arms around her. “Don’t do this. He’s not worth it.”
Pushing me away, she looked up at me and twisted her face into a horrible grimace. Her eyes flashed a rage like I held inside me for him. “He actually said to me out in the garden the other day that it was a shame my mother wouldn’t be around to see Cayden grow up. He knew what he was going to do even then, Ryder. He’s a fucking monster who took away my mother and our son’s grandmother. A monster!”
“Serena, we have to be careful now,” I warned, unsure if I should even broach the subject that was on my mind.
“Why? He’s already taken my mother from me. What else could he do?” she asked as she turned on her heels and began pacing again.
“If he’s willing to go this far, then I don’t know where he’ll stop. I was afraid the police were here for me. He can make that happen any day he wants.”
She stopped and spun around to face me, a look of horror in her eyes. “Why? Why take away everyone I love, Ryder? Is he just a monster, or is there something else behind this? What have I ever done to him to deserve this? All I wanted was to know my mother. To let her see that I grew up to be a normal woman and to share our son with her. Why was that so bad that he had to kill her?”
“I don’t know. All I know is that he’s worse than I ever imagined he could be.”
Serena slowly walked toward me and took my hands in hers. “All I know is that I will never forgive him for this. I hate him. I wish he was dead.”
As the words left her mouth, she broke down and fell to the bed sobbing. I held her once again, wishing I could do more and wondering if Robert had plans to get rid of me like he had Alita.
How far would his need to control Serena go?
Chapter Fourteen
Ryder
The sun shined like it was any ordinary day, but as we stood on the grass beside Alita’s open grave, nothing felt like it would ever be the same again. For three days, Serena’s emotions had swung like a pendulum back and forth between complete and utter sadness at the loss of her mother and unrelenting rage at her father for his part in taking her away forever this time.
Sometimes she cried for hours on end, unable to move from our bed where she lay curled up in a ball. Her devastation at Alita’s passing crippled her unlike anything Robert had ever done before.
Then, as if possessed by a need to do something to feel some sense of power, she paced across the floor of our bedroom flailing her arms as she swore she’d never forgive her father for what he’d done and wishing him dead. When I stopped her by pulling her into my hold, she’d beat her fists against my chest, screaming for me to let her go, and then she’d collapse against my body, sobbing that she couldn’t handle any of this.
And all the while, I held her and hated him for what he’d done. To her. To Alita and Michael. To us.
This morning, I wasn’t even sure she’d be able to come to the funeral. The realization that today she’d say her final goodbyes to her mother set in right after she woke after sleeping for only an hour or so last night, more sleep than she’d gotten since I told her the news. She sat on the side of the bed and sobbed uncontrollably. She couldn’t go to Cayden when he cried. She couldn’t even stand.
She’d somehow found the strength to get herself dressed. Hiding beneath a large black hat, she sat next to me gripping my hand tightly, as if I was the only thing that kept her from running away from the horrible scene in front of us.
Next to me on the other side, Robert sat staring straight ahead listening to the minister eulogize his wife, his expression a void. The time for pretending had ended for him, but as I looked around at the people attending Alita’s funeral, I saw many friends of his there to pay their respects.
He’d still pretend for them. He’d put on the grieving husband act and say all the words he knew would garner their sympathy. And if he could squeeze in some business while their hearts were open, all the better.
It’s not like he’d cared about Alita. For fuck’s sake, he was the one who had her killed.
And for what? I had no idea. Because he could. Because it would show Serena and me that he had the power and we didn’t.
Because he was a monster.
Beside Robert sat Janelle, who looked bored more than anything else as she stared off toward the cemetery’s tree line. Who would expect more from her? I imagined Serena did, but not me. Janelle’s look said she felt put out, not sad.
But maybe that was to be expected since she never knew her mother. Robert had made sure of that.
The minister finished speaking and approached Robert to express his sympathies for his loss once more. I watched, expecting him to flash one of his crocodile smiles, but he simply nodded and thanked the minister for his kind words.
He shook his hand and in a surprisingly humble tone, he said, “We all appreciate how wonderfully you spoke of my dearly departed wife, Reverend. You made a difficult time for all of us a tiny bit more bearable. Thank you.”
The minister turned his attention to Janelle, who pretended like any of it mattered to her, and then Serena. She looked up at him, and the abject grief written all over her face appeared to surprise him for a moment. He opened his mouth and nothing came out.
Holding her hand, I tried to smooth over what had quickly become an awkward moment. “Thank you for everything, Reverend. I know Serena appreciates it.”
Serena didn’t react to my comment and simply continued to stare up at the man. He smiled at me and then touched her arm in a gesture of sympathy that all of a sudden made her break down and begin crying once again.
Robert quickly moved to escort the man away, as if Serena’s genuine show of grief at the loss of her mother embarrassed him. Janelle stood looking down at us with an expression of confusion in her eyes. She had no idea why either of us should feel this much for someone who amounted to nearly a perfect stranger to her.
“Are you leaving now? I’d like to grab a ride back to the house with you two so I can get to see Cayden before I go home,” she said with a cheeriness that sounded more appropriate to making plans to go out on a Friday night than a funeral.
Serena stared at the hole in the earth where her mother would find her final resting place and said nothing, so I answered, “I think it might be better if you go with your father, Janelle.”
She shrugged and turned around to walk toward his car waiting on the road nearby. Robert had left the minister behind and stood talking to a group of men and women expressing their condolences. The whole scene felt surreal, like some kind of garden party at the estate with a casket and the hole it would be lowered into everyone found easy to ignore, except for Serena and me.
I turned to face her and the complete sadness she wore all over her face broke my heart. “Let’s go. I think we should leave here.”
She tore her gaze from the casket and looked blankly at me. “Okay.”
We began walking to the car when I heard Robert yell, “Serena! Ryder! Come over here for a minute.”
Horrified, I turned to see him standing with an older man and his wife, the three of them all smiles. I shook my h
ead and kept walking with Serena toward the car, but he didn’t let up.
“There are some people here I want you to meet.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Serena’s expression twist into one of loathing at how her father had chosen to treat her mother’s funeral like some chance to conduct business. I placed my hand on her back and tried to guide her away from him, but then I heard him say something I knew she could never let pass.
“My dear wife was troubled. Always had been. I’d done all I could for her all these years to make sure she was comfortable, but now I can’t help but regret not putting her in a facility where she would have been safe from a murderous home invasion.”
Barely concealing his glee at Alita’s death, he sounded glib and inappropriate. Serena heard what he said and something inside her snapped. Spinning on her heels, she stared at the small group of people with Robert at the center and balled her hands into fight fists.
“My mother wasn’t sick or troubled! She was kind and good and deserved a life better than she got from you! Why don’t you tell them what kind of husband you were, Daddy? Tell them where you sent her to, away from her own daughters and the life she should have had! Tell them or I will!”
Her outburst stunned everyone, especially Robert, and for a moment it felt like the world had stopped moving. I watched as his eyes grew wide for a split second before the crocodile smile appeared and then it faded as he seemed to remember where he was and how he was supposed to act.
Serena stood rigid at my side, ready for the fight she wanted, but I knew she wouldn’t win so I pulled her away. “Come on. This isn’t going to help. Let’s go.”
She stood staring bullet holes through him for another moment as he stared back at her in their emotional standoff that I sensed had only just begun. Tugging her arm, I turned her around and saw nothing but hatred in her face as she looked at me.
“I swear to God he’s as guilty as the day is long, and someday he’s going to pay for what he’s done, Ryder.”
“I know. Not today, but he will. I promise.”
We slowly drove home without saying another word, and by the time we reached the house, Serena had slipped back into her grief. Hoping that seeing Cayden might help her to find some tiny bit of happiness, I took her to his nursery to let her sit with him for a while.
“I’m sure Cayden missed us while we were gone. It’s the first time since he came home from the hospital that he hasn’t been with you all day,” I said as I opened the door to his room.
She smiled as we walked toward his crib. “I missed him too.”
Happy to see her smile again, I looked down and saw Cayden wasn’t in his bed. A look of fear settled into Serena’s features, and she shook her head.
“Where is he? Why didn’t Melanie put him down for a nap yet? This is when he should be in his crib for a nap.”
“I’m sure she’s on her way here right now. Let’s go see where she is,” I said, trying to comfort her.
But it didn’t work. She ran out of the nursery and down the hallway to the stairs yelling, “Melanie! Where is Cayden? Melanie!”
By the time I caught up with her, she had made it to the kitchen to look for the maid we’d left in charge of Cayden while we attended the funeral. She should have been there waiting for us when we returned home, but she seemed to be nowhere to be found.
Serena spun around to face me, her eyes wide with fear. “Where is she? I told her to feed him and then put him down. Why wouldn’t she be here or in his nursery, Ryder? Where could she be?”
“I’m sure she’s just enjoying herself with him too much and forgot what time it was. Maybe she took him to her room.”
My suggestion calmed her for the moment, and she took off like a shot toward the maid’s quarters in the staff wing. I followed her, and when she broke into a run, I did too, catching up to her just outside the maid’s door.
She banged on it, yelling, “Melanie! Open the door!”
The maid appeared a few seconds later looking confused by Serena’s screaming. “Miss?”
“Where’s Cayden? Why isn’t he in his nursery?”
The maid shook her head. “Miss, I was going to put him down like you told me to, but Mr. Erickson came home and told me not to bother because he was taking him.”
My blood ran cold as thoughts of Robert taking Cayden away from us filled my head. Serena grabbed my hand and squeezed it hard.
“Where did he take him, Melanie?” she asked in tears.
“I don’t know, Miss. I didn’t think… I just thought since he told me he was taking him and he’s his grandfather that it would be okay.”
Serena rushed off toward the main house, and I thanked Melanie for watching Cayden before running after her. I knew where she was going.
I hit the main hallway and heard her voice in Robert’s study. She sounded frantic, and I knew I needed to get in there quickly.
“Give me Cayden, Daddy. He needs to be down for his nap.”
“Relax. I’m just spending time with my grandson, Serena. It’s a grandfather’s prerogative.”
Stopping as I stepped into Robert’s office, I saw him standing in front of the bookcase with Cayden in his arms smiling like he always did when he was enjoying himself. I reached out to take Serena’s hand, but she yanked her arm away and stepped toward them.
“Give me my son. Give him to me right now,” she said, her voice becoming more frantic with each word.
But Robert merely waved her off and turned his attention to Cayden. “Your mommy wants to end our fun. We’re not going to let her, now are we?” he said to him in that sugary sweet voice he used whenever he talked to the baby.
Serena took another step forward and put out her arms. “Give him to me, Daddy. Right now!”
“Robert, he needs to go down for a nap. Give him to Serena.”
He didn’t appear to even hear what I said. He simply stared at her as she stared back at him in their second standoff of the day. The room practically crackled with tension as they stood silently facing off, with only the occasional noise from Cayden.
Just as I thought he might do as I said, Serena screamed, “Give me my baby!”
I gently put my hand on her shoulder and tried to diffuse her anger. “Serena, he’s okay. We’ll put him down for a nap and you can sit with him all afternoon.”
But it was no use. I’m not even sure she heard me.
“Give him to me now! I want him now!” she cried out in a desperate voice that sounded like a wounded animal’s.
Robert looked stunned and then rattled by her outburst this time and handed Cayden to her without another word. Serena ran out of the room, leaving me standing there and wondering how much worse things could get before she snapped.
“My daughter seems to be taking her mother’s death rather hard,” he said in his usual relaxed tone as he walked behind his desk to sit down.
“Are you surprised? You know how much finding her mother meant to her. She’s been asking you to help her for years.”
“And she succeeded in that all on her own.”
I knew asking him why he did it was probably a waste of breath, but I said, “So you knew. How did you find her?”
He smirked and shook his head. “I’ve known the whole time. What made you think you could hide that from me? Did you learn nothing in all your time here? Everyone works for me, Ryder. There are eyes everywhere, and they all watch for me.”
“But why kill her? Nobody was being hurt, and Serena was happy to share the baby with her mother, something no one else, not even me, could give her.”
My mention of Serena being happy made him frown, and he shook his head in disgust. “There are consequences to betrayal, Ryder. I would think you, of all people, would know that.”
“She didn’t betray anyone, Robert. She wanted to know her mother. That’s not a betrayal of you. She was her mother, for Christ’s sake. You took her away for what? To show you could? Do you want her to hate you?”
/> He winced for a moment and then sighed. “Her feelings for me have been the same for years. Long before you entered this house, she hated me. Someone had to pay for the betrayal. Perhaps now she’ll learn her lesson.”
“Be careful, Robert. The lesson you wanted to teach might not be the one she’s learning.”
I saw there was no point in talking to him anymore. Whatever he’d been before and whatever he’d done to me in the past, at least it hadn’t been solely to intentionally hurt Serena. Now, all that had changed.
This monster didn’t deserve my loyalty.
Chapter Fifteen
Serena
The sound of Cayden’s early morning crying came through the baby monitor telling me my time to sleep had ended, so I dragged myself out of bed and slowly walked down the hallway to his room to find him looking up at me with a smile I knew should have made my day.
But it didn’t.
Nothing did anymore. It had been two weeks since my mother’s funeral, and I still could barely bring myself to get out of bed. If it wasn’t for Cayden, I wouldn’t. I’d just stay under the covers and cry all day.
Nighttime was no better. I tried to sleep, but my thoughts wouldn’t let me. I couldn’t stop thinking about my mother and what she’d gone through all those years just to have it all mean nothing. She’d sworn to wait my father out, but in the end, he’d won and now she was gone.
She’d lived as a prisoner all those years, but she’d never given up. I loved that about her. I wanted to believe I could be that strong. Never knowing if she’d be free ever again, she still looked to the future and a time when she’d be reunited with Janelle and me again.
Now that would never happen for my sister. My father had made sure of that. Janelle would continue to think all the lies he told for our entire lives were the truth about our mother. I could try to convince her otherwise, but my father had done a very good job of making her the villain all those years.
