Serenity (Inevitable Book 5)

by Janet Nissenson

  Lindsey had been ecstatic when he’d called her earlier today and said he’d be home to have dinner with her and the kids this evening. She had almost squealed with excitement, in fact, and Matthew had felt more than a little repulsed at her enthusiasm. She had made a big show out of asking him what he’d like for dinner, and then promised to cook everything herself.

  Matthew wasn’t the least bit fooled, however, and knew very well that the chicken parmigiana, Caesar salad, and garlic bread had been prepared by Maribel. But the food was admittedly delicious, and he took two helpings of everything. Ever since Casey had met him at the airport yesterday afternoon, food had quickly sounded appetizing again. And life - his life, in particular - suddenly felt like it was truly worth living once more.

  But he still had to let all of this play out, had to slowly, one by one, reveal all of the cards he currently held in his hand. And if getting Lindsey’s hopes up, if letting her believe that she had finally won him back, only to demolish it all in one fell swoop was cruel, it was no less than she deserved.

  Matthew caught Casey’s eye as the boy reached for another slice of garlic bread, and gave a slight, almost imperceptible shake of his head. Casey glanced back down at his plate, practically shoving the whole piece of bread in his mouth at once. But Matthew knew that his son had received the signal loud and clear - to stay out of what was about to unfold until the time was right.

  Over greasy burgers, fries, and milkshakes late yesterday afternoon, father and son had rather gleefully plotted how they would handle the situation with Lindsey and Hayley. Casey had wanted him to confront his mother and sister the second they arrived home, but Matthew had cautioned his son to be a little patient.

  “There are other things at stake here, Casey. Things that I’ve got my attorney checking into for me even as we speak. And until I hear back from him, which will probably be tomorrow morning, then you and I need to keep our cool. Your mother isn’t going to get away with what she’s done, and I’m keeping my fingers crossed that I can use all of this as leverage to finally get that divorce.”

  Casey had nodded, but a wistful expression had crossed his face. “I know. It must have really sucked for you these last few months, Dad. But at least it was cool having you back home for a little while. I’ll miss you when you move back out.”

  “Hey.” Matthew had rumpled his son’s hair affectionately. “What if you moved out, too? I can tell my attorney that one of my new conditions is that I insist on having custody of you.”

  Casey’s face had lit up. “Really, Dad? You’d really want me to live with you?”

  Matthew had reached across the table and given him a fierce hug. “It would be a dream come true for me,” he’d replied somberly. “Though it would mean you’d have to live in San Francisco, and change schools. Think you could handle that?”

  Casey had shrugged. “I’m starting high school in a few weeks, so I’d be at a new place anyway. And, yeah, I’d have to make new friends and stuff, but I’d be okay with that. It would be worth it in order to live with you all the time, Dad.”

  Matthew had blinked back tears. “Consider it a done deal, then. We’ll have to move fast, get you enrolled in a new school, and I’ll probably have to offer up a few bribes or call in some favors to get it done. But one way or the other it’ll happen.”

  Casey had slurped his milkshake loudly. “Mom won’t be happy about it,” he observed.

  “Like I care?” Matthew had snorted. “And believe me, by the time I’m done with her, your mother will be the unhappiest woman in the state of California. But it’s what she deserves. Now, let’s go over our story one more time, okay?”

  “What should we do after dinner?” inquired Lindsey cheerfully. “It’s early yet, and since the kids are still on summer break maybe we can go see a movie together. It’s been ages since we’ve done something fun like that.”

  Lazily, Matthew took another drink of his iced tea. Unlike Lindsey, who’d been guzzling wine all during the meal, he had declined any alcohol, wanting to keep his wits sharpened for what was about to unfold.

  “Actually, I was going to suggest that you take Hayley shopping for maternity clothes tonight,” he drawled, observing his daughter very carefully to gauge her reaction. “After all, honey, it’s about time, don’t you think? How much weight have you gained so far - ten, fifteen pounds? Perfectly normal, of course, for being almost five months pregnant, but it’s pretty obvious that you just can’t wear your regular clothes any longer.”

  Matthew had to force himself not to smirk, and hoped that Casey was doing the same, as he watched the expression of mingled shock and furor that crossed Hayley’s face. Lindsey paled noticeably beneath the layers of heavy makeup on her face, and he knew his words had definitely hit a sore spot.

  “Omigod, Dad!” shrieked Hayley. “How can you say something like that? I have not gained anywhere near that much weight! In fact, I’ve actually lost a few - uh, I mean…”

  Hayley’s voice trailed off as she realized her flub, and she glanced anxiously at her shell-shocked mother for guidance. Lindsey was quite obviously flustered, and quickly tried to cover up Hayley’s blunder.

  “You’re embarrassing her, Matt,” chided Lindsey. “You know Hayley doesn’t like to talk about anything having to do with her pregnancy around you.”

  “Hmm. Could that be due to the fact that she isn’t actually pregnant, and never has been?” inquired Matthew calmly. “And that the two of you, along with your so-called friend Nicole, have cooked up this entire series of lies for the sole purpose of getting me to call off the divorce?”

  Lindsey and Hayley both gasped simultaneously, with Hayley once again looking at her mother in a panic.

  “Are you out of your mind, Matt?” exclaimed Lindsey in feigned outrage. “How can you even suggest that we’d make up something like that? Of course Hayley is pregnant, almost five months along now. Why would you think otherwise?”

  “Because I heard the two of you talking a couple of days ago,” chimed in Casey. “You were out by the pool and arguing about how much longer Hayley had to keep up the pretense. And she said this had to all be over with by the time school started because there was no way she was going to wear baggy clothes on the first day back. And then you told her that during Dad’s next business trip she’d conveniently have a miscarriage, and it would all - ”

  “Shut up!” Lindsey screeched, surging to her feet and storming over to where Casey sat. “You deceitful, lying little brat! How dare you eavesdrop on me! You take that back right now, admit to your father that you made all that up, or I’ll - ”

  She had raised her hand menacingly, and started to bring it around as though she intended to slap Casey across the face. But Matthew forestalled her, gripping her wrist so tightly that she yelped in pain. And there was real fear in her eyes when she saw how furious he was.

  “Don’t you dare,” he warned her in a dangerous voice, “ever even consider laying a hand on either of my children. I’d have you charged and arrested for child abuse before you could blink an eye.”

  Lindsey glared at Matthew first, then at Casey. “He had no business listening in on a private conversation,” she muttered sullenly. “He should have had the courtesy to let us know he was home.”

  Matthew gave a hoot of laughter. “Why? So that your web of lies wouldn’t have become unraveled? You would have liked that, wouldn’t you, Linz? Or if Casey had just kept quiet about what he’d heard and let your deception unfold according to plan. Fortunately, at least one of my children can be counted on to do the right thing.”

  Tears were already streaming down Hayley’s cheeks, and she was basically blubbering as she pleaded, “Daddy, please listen to me. I didn’t want to do this, I swear! But Mom forced me, she threatened - ”

  Matthew held up a hand to silence her. “Save it for now. I’ll get to you in a few minutes, young lady. And believe me, you’ve got an awful lot to answer for. But right now,
I need to make sure your mother fully understands the consequences of what she’s put me through these last few months.”

  Lindsey lifted her chin mutinously. “You still aren’t forcing me to sign those damned divorce papers, Matt,” she insisted. “This changes nothing.”

  “Oh, I beg to differ, my soon to be ex-wife,” he retorted. “You see, as soon as Casey told me everything he’d overheard between you and Hayley, I called my attorney. And he’s positive that a judge would easily grant me a divorce after hearing the way you coerced our daughter into lying so blatantly, especially about being date raped. You’d be considered an unfit parent, and I could even get full custody of both kids if I wanted. However, I’m only taking Casey with me at this time. It’s going to take some time for me to forgive Hayley for her part in all this.”

  Lindsey looked like she was going to be sick to her stomach. “You - you can’t take Casey,” she protested weakly. “I won’t let you.”

  “I can and I will,” corrected Matthew. “And there’s not a damned thing you can do about it. If you think I’d leave him alone here with you for one more night, you’re crazier than I thought. He’s already packed up most of his stuff, and it’s in the car. Along with my things, by the way. We’ll be going back to the condo tonight, and we’ve already found a great high school for him to attend in San Francisco.”

  Lindsey shook her head, sinking back onto her chair as though afraid her legs would give out from under her otherwise. “Fine. He can go with you. For now.” She glared at her son again. “I’m so pissed off at the little tattletale right now anyway, I’m not sure I could stand having him anywhere near me. You’ve ruined everything, Casey. Everything.”

  Casey shrugged, clearly unfazed by his mother’s anger. “Maybe for you,” he replied nonchalantly. “But I’m happy to be going with Dad. And the new school I’ll be attending is super cool. And what you and Hayley did was really mean, Mom.”

  “I did it for us, Casey!” Lindsey screamed. “For you and Hayley. So that you’d have your father back here where he belonged.”

  Casey shook his head. “No, Mom. I think you did it for you. Because you were mad that Dad left you. And even madder when he started seeing Sasha. You just wanted Dad back because he bruised your ego, and because he was happy without you. You wanted him to come back so you could get revenge, not because you cared about me or Hayley.”

  Lindsey’s green eyes narrowed dangerously. “On second thought,” she hissed, “maybe I won’t care if you leave. You ungrateful, backstabbing brat. How dare you - ”

  “Enough!” demanded Matthew. “Leave my son out of this, Lindsey. He did the right thing, and there is no way I’m going to allow you to keep verbally abusing him. In fact, Casey needs to finish packing a few things, don’t you, buddy? Why don’t you go take care of that? We’ll be leaving shortly.”

  Casey didn’t need to be told twice, and fairly ran out of the kitchen where they’d been having dinner.

  Matthew glanced back at a sullen Lindsey. “How long did you two honestly think you could keep getting away with this?” he asked, shaking his head in disgust. “Not only did you make Hayley lie about being date raped, you were going to make her pretend she’d had a miscarriage as well? Jesus, you are one sick bitch, you know that? Now, I strongly suggest you give your attorney a call first thing in the morning and set up an appointment to sign those divorce papers. My attorney has already let her know what’s been going on, and she’s reluctantly agreed that you no longer have a leg to stand on.”

  “Well, sounds like I’ll just have to get a new attorney then, doesn’t it?” declared Lindsey. “Because there is no way I’m signing those papers, Matt.”

  He shrugged. “Fine. Have it your way. I believe I already mentioned that your signature is no longer required. Based on your appalling actions of late, a judge will grant me a divorce with or without your consent. Of course, it would be easier and quicker if you’d finally cooperate and sign, but one way or another our marriage is finally going to be over with.”

  “Then take me to fucking court!” she challenged. “Because I’m not going to sign anything willingly.”

  “You might change your mind when you go over the revised settlement terms,” replied Matthew rather matter-of-factly. “Let’s call it a bit of extra motivation for you to make this easier for all of us. Effective immediately, each day that you refuse to sign, the amount of the settlement decreases by a hundred grand. That works out to three million a month, Linz. So I’d really urge you to reconsider, given your spending habits. That’s a lot of money to lose while we’re waiting for a judge to grant me a divorce. My attorney said sometimes these cases can drag on for a few months. Think about it, hmm?”

  Lindsey pounded her fist on the kitchen table, causing the dishes to rattle precariously. “Fuck that!” she hissed. “You can’t do that, Matt!”

  “Ah, I beg to differ,” he taunted. “Call your attorney and ask her, Linz. I think you should start practicing your signature as soon as possible.”

  Lindsey stormed out of the room, her phone in hand, leaving Matthew to face his teary-eyed, trembling daughter.

  “Daddy, I’m s-sorry,” sobbed Hayley. “I know how angry you must be right now. But Mom made me do it, I swear. I never wanted to lie to you, but she didn’t give me a choice.”

  “I’m not angry, Hayley,” he replied stoically. “At least not with you. But I am disappointed. Terribly disappointed that you could willingly participate in something like this. And knowing your mother, I’m convinced she forced you into this. But you should have confided in me, Hayley. Should have told me what she was up to. Do you honestly think I would have allowed her to send you off to some boarding school without my consent? I’m hurt that you had so little faith in me.”

  Hayley flung herself at him, wrapping her thin arms around his waist as she wept against his chest. “I didn’t think it would ever get this far. Mom was convinced that the two of you would get back together right after you moved back in. But when that didn’t happen, things just got more involved.”

  “Didn’t you ever hear that old saying “oh, what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive”?” he murmured. “Basically, it means that once you start lying you can’t stop. Otherwise, everyone will realize that you were lying all along. Now, be honest with me for once, Hayley. What was the real reason you chose to go along with your mother’s crazy scheme?”

  Hayley kept her gaze downcast, too ashamed to meet his eyes. “I - I guess maybe part of it was that I was, well, jealous of Sasha,” she admitted reluctantly. “I didn’t like it that she obviously meant that much to you. And I sort of hated the fact that she was so perfect. No matter how much of a bitch I was to her, she was always nice, always understanding. And somehow that made me feel bad about myself, like admitting that I wasn’t a very nice person.”

  “You weren’t,” agreed Matthew without hesitation. “At least not to her. And you’re right. Sasha made every effort to be your friend, to get along, and you froze her out each time. And because of your little games, you’ve managed to destroy my relationship with her, Hayley. You know, I hadn’t been happy with your mother for a long time. I’ll accept the blame for part of that, but it was largely her fault that our marriage went to pieces. When I started seeing Sasha, I felt happier than I had in years. Now that’s all gone, thanks to you and your mother.”

  “I’m sorry, Daddy,” she sniffled. “I wish I could make it up to you somehow.”

  Matthew shook his head, taking a step back. “I don’t see how that’s possible at the moment,” he said sadly. “Look, Hayley. You know I’m always here for you. You can call or text me if you need something. But, well, I think that it’s going to take a little time for me to process all of this, to forgive you, and until then it’s probably best if we don’t see each other. I’ll call you in a few days, okay?”

  Hayley nodded sadly. “Okay. I - I wish none of this had ever happened, Daddy.
That I called you the first time Mom started talking about the idea.”

  He pressed a farewell kiss to her forehead. “Me, too.”

  “I’m afraid there isn’t much food here at the moment, buddy. We’ll have to go shopping sometime tomorrow and stock up.”

  Casey shrugged unconcernedly. “No big deal, Dad. I know where all the places to eat are around here, so I can fend for myself for a day or two.”

  Matthew grinned, rumpling his son’s hair affectionately. “Yeah, you sure can. But you won’t have to keep doing that any longer. You and I are a team now, Casey. And you’re never going back to live with your mother. I should have insisted on getting custody of you when I first left your mother. But at the time I didn’t want you to have to leave your friends, or change schools during your last year at middle school.”

  “It’s okay, Dad. Besides, if I hadn’t been living with Mom, I would never have overheard her and Hayley talking. So I guess it’s all working out for the best.”

  “Seems that way, huh?” agreed Matthew as he deposited a load of bags in Casey’s room. Someone from the building staff would be delivering the rest of their things any minute now since they hadn’t been able to carry everything in one trip.

  “Hey, Dad?” asked Casey timidly.

  Matthew smiled at his son reassuringly. “What is it, buddy?”

  “When are you going to let Sasha know? I mean, that you’ve moved back here. And about Hayley and everything.”

  Matthew’s smile froze on his face. “I don’t know, Casey,” he admitted quietly. “I’m not even sure how to begin a conversation like that. And I’m sort of terrified that she won’t want to have anything to do with me again. I wouldn’t blame her, frankly.”

  “Nah.” Casey waved a hand dismissively. “She’ll come around, I know she will. She’s not the sort of person who holds grudges, you know?”