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“How was my baby girl after last night’s dinner?”

Matthew turned his attention back to his tablemates, but before he could answer Jerome, the diner’s front door slammed open with such surprising force that it made everyone jump. Florence even cried out in fear, while everything Beth Ann had in her hands dropped to the floor with a crash.

“What the devil!” Jerome scowled as he and Matthew spun around to see Katherine standing next to the shattered door. An invisible web held the tiny shards of glass together.

“Aww, hell’s bells!” Justin said, spotting the folders he’d given Matthew in Katherine’s hands. Jumping up from the bench seat, he positioned himself in front of Beth Ann.

About that time, Zach rushed through the kitchen door, followed by Lucy and Lyla. He didn’t see Katherine or the shattered glass of the front entrance. Instead, he looked at Beth Ann on her hands and knees, picking up broken pieces of cups and plates, with Officer Macomb standing over her.

That’s when Matthew realized that Katherine was wearing his old basketball shirt and immediately knew she’d found those damn files of Justin’s.

“Baby girl, do you mind tellin’ me what the hell is goin’ on?” her father hollered.

“Stay out of it, Daddy!” Katherine shouted back, looking positively wild. Her face was red with anger, and her cheeks were streaked with tears and mascara. “This is betweenmeandher!”

Hearing Katherine’s angry voice, Beth Ann rose to her feet and peered around Justin. When she saw Katherine’s face, she immediately burst into tears.

“So, it wasyou,” Katherine said, advancing on Beth Ann, her voice low and menacing. “All this time, it was you, and youneversaid a word. Not adamnword!”

When Matthew got out of the booth to stop her, Katherine glared at him. “You stay away from me,” she warned. “I’ll deal with you later.”

Matthew reluctantly stepped aside, afraid to even speculate the meaning of her words, as the weight of guilt hit him like a ton of bricks.

As Beth Ann tried to step out from behind Justin, he wouldn’t let her.

“It’s okay, Justin. I deserve this.”

“No, you don’t, Beth Ann.”

“Oh yes, she does,” Katherine snarled.

That’s when Jerome left the booth to stand next to Justin. He wasn’t going to stop Katherine from saying what she needed to say, but he’d be damned if he’d let her physically harm Beth Ann. Because for the first time, he could see how the years of guilt weighed heavily on the poor girl, and he finally accepted what he might’ve known all along. That Beth Ann Lucas’s heart had been just as tender as Katherine’s, and they’d both been duped by Maxwell Chandler.

“Speak your mind, baby girl, then let it go.”

“What’s going on?” Zach demanded, but everyone ignored him.

“Get out of my way, Justin,” Katherine said. “She’s gonna answer for what she’s done.”

“No, Katherine.” Justin shook his head. “I know you’re hurtin’ right now, and I’m sorry for that, but she hasn’t done anything wrong. She’s been here all this time lookin’ out for you. All these years, she’s done her damnedest to make amends to you.”

As more tears fell from Katherine’s eyes, she laughed. The sound was evil and sinister and filled with pain. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. Oh, wait,” she sneered, holding up the file folders in her hand. “I recognize this handwriting. These belong to you, don’t they? So, youdoknow what you’re talking about. You knew everything, and you never said a damn word either.”

“Baby girl, you be mad at me. Justin was only doin’ his job.”

Katherine ignored her father’s words and threw the folders at Justin and Beth Ann’s feet. “That. Was.My.Baby!” she screamed at the top of her lungs, her voice cracking from sheer rage.

Beth Ann slumped back down to the floor in sobs. She pressed her hands together as if silently pleading for forgiveness and rocked back and forth under the tormenting weight of her secret.

Then, without warning, Katherine lunged forward, pushing past Justin and landing on her knees in front of Beth Ann. She grabbed Beth Ann by the arms and shook her furiously. “That wasmyhusband, and that wasmybaby! You want me to have a husband and a baby so bad? Well, I had them, Beth Ann! I had them! But he didn’t choose me, and he damn sure didn’t choose her! He chose you!”

Caught by surprise, Justin and Matthew struggled to separate Katherine from Beth Ann. Even Zach ran over to help pry Katherine’s fingers from Beth Ann’s arms.

“My baby’s gone.She’s gone! And you just get to go on like nothing ever happened?”

“I’m so sorry, Katherine. You know how much your happiness means to me.” Beth Ann’s words were broken by sobs of anguish. “Please, you have to forgive me.”

“Forgiveyou?” Katherine yanked her arms away from everyone’s grasp. “Forgiveyou?” she screamed again.