Page 33 of Single Mom’s Undoing (Lucky Lady Reverse Harems #1)

CLARA

M atty and I were given a room of our own.

There’s plenty of food, refreshments, and service staff present to attend to our every need. There are also Bill’s goons—Wyatt and Laura, along with a few others—who patrol the grounds, weapons holstered and eyes sharp.

“It’s nice here, Momma,” Matty sighs, playing in a patch of sand with a handful of toys. At least his grandfather made sure he’s got enough entertainment handy.

Building sandcastles keeps my boy busy, which means fewer questions about why we’re here, about Carter, and about going to the hospital. Matty has been through enough already.

“It is,” I say, seated on a bench nearby.

We’re outside in the garden overlooking a lush orchard of apple and walnut trees, raising their rich, green crowns to the blue sky.

Blackthorn Falls isn’t too far from here, judging by the mountain ridge I spot to the east. Not exactly walking distance, but we could make it on foot if push came to shove.

I just need to figure out a way to sneak off the premises without getting my ass tackled by Laura. She keeps a surprisingly sharp eye on me, and she’s never far away.

“How’s that sandcastle coming along?”

He smiles. “Good. I’m going to make it really, really big.”

“Can you build a tower for the princess?”

“Yeah, I have this,” he says, showing me one of the narrower plastic buckets. “I’m gonna keep the princess safe.”

“That’s my little man,” I smile softly.

“I’m gonna keep you safe, too, Momma.”

Tears prick my eyes as I shake my head. “Oh, honey, you’re too sweet. But I’m the one who’s supposed to keep you safe, not the other way around.”

“It’s okay, Momma. I’m a big boy now.”

“That, you most certainly are.”

Here we sit like prisoners in a gilded cage, while Bill Lockwood waits for me to relinquish my parental rights and hand over my son just so he can have an heir to his fortune—a fortune I know was built on the backs of innocent, hard-working people.

It’s one of the things that Carter could never reconcile, and why he worked so hard to build a business of his own, away from Lockwood Industries.

Margot didn’t have as many qualms with the unethical practices of her father’s company, often saying that the ends justified the means, that they were giving jobs to people all over the county.

She was not entirely wrong, but not exactly right either.

“Where’s Daddy?” Matty asks at one point.

“He’s busy at work, honey,” I reply. I hate every word of this lie because I know that Carter is somewhere out there, desperately looking for us.

I should never have run; I know that now.

“He’ll be with us soon enough,” I add. “We’re not staying here for much longer.”

“I miss him.”

“He misses you, too.”

The sound of heels clicking across the stone floor of the garden terrace makes me turn my head. It’s Margot coming toward us. Her dark green dress clings to her slim figure, her hair a glamorous mess, but there are dark shadows under her eyes.

“When Dad told me you were here, I thought he was crazy,” she gasps. “I guess the old man went all the way, huh? Whatever it takes for family.”

I stand up to keep us out of Matty’s earshot. “You’ve got to help us,” I tell her. “Margot, he’s holding Matty and me hostage. We’re not allowed to leave. There are people with guns here, watching us. You have to tell Carter.”

“Clara, I’m not getting involved in whatever this is,” Margot replies, but the strain in her voice reveals her doubt. “I just stopped by to talk to my father, and he mentioned you and Matty were here. It’s not my place to intervene. ”

“Margot, are you not hearing me? Your father is holding my son and me against our will. He had us kidnapped from Baker City as we were leaving for the hospital for Matty’s surgery. He’s threatened my life more than once.”

I glance back to make sure Matty is still involved with his sandcastle. He is, thankfully, completely oblivious to our conversation, whereas Margot seems to be working overtime to appear as though she doesn’t care.

“Not my circus, not my clowns,” she says. “Besides, you’d be an idiot to refuse his support. Matty will get the best care for his heart condition, just like I did.”

“I’m not sure you’re hearing me,” I try again, then pause, wondering if she’s even aware of the full story. “Hold on, Margot. What did Bill tell you about us, about why we’re here?”

“He said he took matters into his own hands because he couldn’t stand to watch you fail to keep your son, my nephew, safe and healthy,” she replies. “My father might come across as forceful sometimes, but he does have Matty’s best interest at heart.”

I exhale sharply and take a step back, wondering if Bill thought things through when he told Margot that we were here and being held against our will. Is she really going to believe that he’s trying to save my son while making me out to be the villain?

“Forceful,” I mumble. “He had me drugged and thrown into the back of a car. My son was scared out of his mind. And it happened just as I was taking Matty to the hospital for his procedure. ”

“I doubt it was that dramatic, Clara.”

“Margot, wake the fuck up,” I hiss, hoping Matty didn’t hear me. “He wants me to leave Matty behind. To let your family raise my son without me. Have you people lost your goddamn minds? Carter would never allow it, nor would I ever willingly do it.”

“Didn’t you run away from him again? With his son?”

Oh, I could slap the life out of this woman, even though she’s not wrong.

I did run away from Carter, but not on a whim.

And then it hits me: a conversation we had not that long ago, a moment when I realized that Margot had no idea of the truth behind Stephan’s death.

I quickly connect the dots as I take a deep breath and go for the biggest gamble of all.

“Do you know why I ran away the night Stephan died?” I ask quietly, my voice trembling with emotion.

Margot gives me a startled look. “What does that have to do with any of this?”

“It has everything to do with it, with who your father really is. He killed Stephan, Margot.”

Her eyebrows pop up before hysterical laughter follows. It’s a natural reaction, given my statement. “You’ve lost your damn mind to think that you can turn me against the only man who’s always stood by me, Clara.”

“I was there,” I tell her. “Stephan and I were meeting at Mondy’s Diner that night. I saw him pull into the parking lot. Then I saw him look down at his phone. We were supposed to talk; I was going to help him end things with you for good, but then he suddenly left, so I followed him. ”

“Clara…” She shakes her head, but I’m not stopping until she hears the whole truth, regardless of how painful it is.

“Margot. I followed my brother all the way to Samwell Bridge,” I continue. “They were there, waiting for him. Bill and Emmanuel.”

“Emmanuel?”

“He was in on it! They knew about the affair. Emmanuel picked up on the signs, Margot. He told your father. They confronted my brother that night. Emmanuel wanted to pay him off, but Stephan didn’t care about the money.

He said things, things he shouldn’t have said to a man whose pride was already injured. ”

“Clara, stop.”

“Bill got angry. He got so angry that he hit Stephan in the head with a large wrench,” I manage, hot tears filling my eyes again.

“I watched my brother fall. I watched my brother die. And then I watched Bill go into a full-blown panic. Emmanuel shut down; he didn’t know what to do.

They shoved Stephan in his car, then fiddled with the gear shift and gas pedal.

I saw my brother’s car go off that fucking bridge, Margot, but he wasn’t driving. He was already dead.”

Margot takes a few steps back, horrified by everything she just heard, but I refuse to let her deny any of it, to reject any of it.

“Look back and tell me things didn’t drastically change in your marriage after Stephan died. Tell me Emmanuel wasn’t acting shady as hell, that your father’s behavior wasn’t different. Look me in the eyes and tell me.”

She lifts her gaze and our eyes meet .

I see the flicker of clarity. The realization that every word I just said was true. I can almost hear the glass castle shattering inside her head, the lies she’d told herself over the years to appease her own suspicions and her own sense of guilt.

“Your father saw me that night,” I continue.

“As soon as he spotted me, I ran back to the cabin. I packed a bag, but he caught up with me. He threatened me. He paid me off, but it’s not like I had any other choice.

I could either walk out of town with enough money to start over some place far away or I could die, because I was a witness to Stephan’s murder. ”

“God…”

“I’m not proud of how I reacted that night, or how I failed to react.

I was scared out of my mind. I was just a kid.

I spent years chastising myself over it, punishing myself, keeping my distance.

And you know what, Margot? I wasn’t even aware that I was pregnant at the time.

It wasn’t until I got to Portland that I figured that out, but the damage was already done.

I’d lost everything. My brother. The man I loved. My life here…all I had was Matty.

“And now your father expects me to leave him behind, too,” I say, tears flowing freely.

“What proof do you have of what happened that night?” Margot calmly replies.

“A simple independent autopsy on Stephan’s body would tell you everything you need to know, even now,” I say.

“I’ll sign off on an exhumation order, if needed.

I’m sure a good cop will know what to look for in the evidence box, too.

Your father’s got the sheriff in his pocket.

They ruled Stephan’s death as inconclusive, a possible accident or suicide, but they insisted that there was no foul play.

I know what I saw, Margot. Stephan was already dead when your father and Emmanuel shoved him back in his car. ”

“I think I’m going to be sick,” she mumbles and looks away.

“What happened to Emmanuel? Where do you think he vanished to? That is, if he vanished.”

Might as well go for the whole nine yards and plant another seed of doubt. Knowing Bill, I may not be too far from the truth, anyway.

“Or did Bill dispose of him, too? Maybe Emmanuel threatened to expose him. How was their relationship before he disappeared?”

“I can’t listen to this anymore.” Margot steps back.

I can’t let her escape reality again. I have to get a message out to Carter, at least, so I grab her by the wrists.

“Please, Margot. I beg you. Don’t let your father do this again.

Don’t let him get away with any of it. Matty is my son.

He’s my baby, my child. Please, just tell Carter where I am. He’ll find us. He’ll help us.”

“No, I can’t get involved,” she gasps and yanks herself free from my grip. “You stay away from me. This can’t be real; this can’t be happening.”

“It is real. It is happening. Please, Margot, just tell Carter?—”

“Shut up!”

Margot runs back into the house, the frantic echoes of her heels lingering in her wake as I stand on the terrace, my knees shaking, wondering if I managed to get through to her for once .

I know she loved my brother deeply. She once said that he was the only man she ever truly loved. Maybe that still means something. Or maybe it doesn’t.

I look around. Laura is watching us from the other side of the garden, her eyes narrowing with suspicion, one hand resting on the holstered weapon on her belt. I turn away from her and go back to the bench, struggling to keep my composure in front of my son.

Matty gives me a worried look. “Why are you crying, Momma?”

“I just miss your dad, baby, that’s all.”

“You promise?”

“Yes,” I reply with a soft smile. “Oh, that’s a really cool sandcastle, Matty. What else are you putting on it?”

He thinks about it for a moment, then picks out a couple more plastic molds from his beach toy bucket. “Animals! I’m gonna put animals all around it to keep the princess safe, Momma. And you, too.”

“My sweet, sweet boy,” I sigh and give him a playful wink. “I’m always safe with you, little man.”

“I have dolphins and octo…octo…what is this?”

Matty holds up one of the molds.

I laugh. “Octopus. That’s an octopus.”

It takes a little while, but Matty manages to pronounce it before showing me another animal. “And I’ve got stars, too!”

“We need all the stars for our sandcastle,” I say as I kneel beside him .

His innocence is the only thing that keeps me from falling over the edge at that moment. I’m hanging by a thread, still looking for a way out of this place. Margot can’t be trusted. Everyone else is paid to keep me here.

I can’t afford to wait to be rescued. Bill is determined to get my son. He’ll do that with or without my permission.