The Montgomerys hadn’t been gone five full minutes when Paige dashed up to Camille’s office. However, now that she’d arrived, she was outraged. Camille didn’t even have a real job, yet the entire room screamed style and refinement and was much bigger than the one she had at her condo. The office was filled with expensive cherry-wood furniture that included a fancy desk, matching working table, wall-to-wall bookcases, and a classic black leather sofa. It was enough to make Paige despise her sister even more. Not to mention, while she’d said it many times before, she couldn’t help saying it again: Camille had everything, and it just wasn’t fair. It wasn’t right, and if Paige had things her way, Camille would end up miserable, destitute, and even suicidal. She would practically lose her mind once Pierce filed for a divorce, asked her to move out, and then settled with her for the least amount of alimony possible. Of course, the children would be welcome to live with their father and favorite auntie for as long as they wanted, but if they chose instead to reside with their mother, Paige had no objection to Pierce paying child support. Paige loved her niece and nephew with all her heart, and she would never hurt or deprive them of anything.
Paige sat in front of Camille’s computer and clicked on the AOL icon. She waited for the sign-on screen to open, and as expected, Camille’s password was saved in the system and Paige easily accessed her email account. At first she browsed through Camille’s inbox listing, without opening any of the messages, and then she opened a new window so she could send out the following email to WilliamT@pmail.com, a fictitious email address Paige had created last week through some off-brand mail server for Camille’s fictitious lover, William Tanner:
Dearest William:
I hope this note finds you well, and that you had a great weekend. I haven’t been able to call because my sister was raped on Friday evening, and it has really taken a toll on all of us. They haven’t caught the guy who did this yet, so she’ll be staying here with us for a while. I’ll make sure to call you tomorrow, though, right after I drop the children off at school. I can’t wait to speak to you again, and I’m getting to the point where I’d really like to see you, William. I know it’s wrong to want you so much, but I’m so tired of fighting all these feelings.
Again, I’ll phone you in the morning.
With love,
Camille
Paige hit the send icon, printed out a hard copy of the message, deleted it from Camille’s sent messages folder, and then signed into William’s email account and began typing:
My Dearest Camille:
I’d been hoping I would hear from you today, and please know that I am truly sorry to hear about your sister. Tragedy is never easy on anyone, so I do pray that things get better for her and that they find the person who did this. And as far as you and me, I couldn’t be happier about your finally wanting to spend time with me, because you know I’ve wanted that for months now. Anyway, let’s talk more about it when you call tomorrow morning.
So looking forward to hearing your voice.
With all my love,
William
Paige printed out both the email William had received from Camille and also the one he’d just sent back to her. Then she signed back into Camille’s account, printed the email from William, and then deleted it from Camille’s inbox. This way, she now had both the outgoing copies from each of them as well as both the incoming ones.
Paige signed out of AOL, turned off Camille’s computer, and felt proud. She left the office and strolled down the plush-carpeted hallway toward her room, but stopped while passing Camille and Pierce’s master suite. In the five years since they’d built their home, she’d gone in there many times, but she wanted to see it again and all by her lonesome.
She pushed the door completely open, walked in, and felt worse than she had when she’d entered Camille’s office. The black and off-white color scheme was tremendous, the California king sleigh bed with leather headboard and footboard was adorned with the most striking velvet comforter, matching shams, sheets, and pillowcases, and the matching velvet drapes and off-white Berber carpet were to die for. There was also the stunning marble fireplace situated in the sitting area, right in front of the balcony, as well as the mansion-size walk-in closet Pierce and Camille shared. Paige was in total awe and couldn’t believe this was all going to be hers in the near future. She likely wouldn’t change a thing except possibly the paint color to a slightly lighter crème than what her sister had chosen. Although as she looked more closely at the carpet, she could see maybe choosing a different texture for her and Pierce’s bedroom, and she was sure he’d be fine with making any changes she wanted. He’d always allowed Camille to do whatever made her happy, and she knew he would offer her the same courtesy. He would want the absolute best for his new wife and would do anything to see that she had it.
Just thinking about the fabulous life she’d soon be living gave her tiny goose bumps and made her feel as though she’d finally be special—just as special as Camille had always been to their parents and everyone around them, and maybe even more so. Pierce would treat her like a queen, and she knew they would be happy until death.
Paige went inside the walk-in closet, scanned Camille’s section of it, and decided right then that she was going to have every one of these items. Camille must have had every high-end shoe she could think of—Christian Louboutin, Bally, Gucci, Salvatore Ferragamo—and then there were her beautiful handbags: Louis Vuitton, Jimmy Choo, Marc Jacobs, etc., etc., etc. It just didn’t make sense, especially since Camille never got excited about brand names or any other luxuries she’d been blessed with. As a matter of fact, most of the pricey items she owned had been given to her by Pierce as gifts, because whenever Camille shopped, she looked for serious bargains at normal department stores and only tended to buy things she actually needed or clothing for the children. Paige, on the other hand, was planning to shop for the best of everything, every chance she got, and wouldn’t feel bad about it.
About a half hour after Paige had gone back to her own room, the doorbell rang. She smiled, because even though it wasn’t quite noon yet, she knew it was Karla. So she went down the winding staircase, disarmed the security system with the code Camille had recited to her, and let her in.
“Hey, honey,” Karla said, hugging her.
“Hey yourself, and look at you all dressed up in that tight-fitting black sweater dress.”
“Well, we do what we can,” Karla said, laughing as they walked into the family room and sat down on the apple red, grained-leather sofa.
“With a dress like that, you’ll find a new man in no time. Because I know there had to be a ton of them checking you out this morning.”
“Yeah, I guess, but since I went to the early service and wanted to come by here, I sort of hurried out to my car when it was over. And it’s not like I’m in a huge hurry to meet anyone anyhow.”
“You will be eventually.”
Karla’s face softened, revealing a touch of sadness. Paige knew why and rubbed the top of her best friend’s hand.
“You will,” Paige said. “You’ll see.”
“Maybe, but I won’t even lie, P. I miss Kevin so much, and to be honest, I’m not sure any man could ever replace him. That’s why I’m not all that interested in meeting someone else so quickly.”
Kevin and Karla had only been engaged a month when he’d been killed by a drunk driver, and Paige completely understood how hard it must have still been for her. Especially since it had only happened six months ago.
“I know it’s tough,” Paige told her. “But as time goes on, you’ll feel better and better.”
“I sure hope so. But enough about me. How are you?”
“Still hanging in there.”
“Have you heard anything from the police? Are there any leads yet?”
“No, nothing at all.”
“It’s too bad you couldn’t see his face.”
“I know. I keep thinking the same thing,” Paige said, hating all the lying she kept doing to Karla.
“Well, at least it’s over,” Karla said, scanning the family room and kitchen. “And it’s good you have people who love you like Camille and Pierce.”
“That’s for sure. They’ve been extremely wonderful to me.”
“And you have me, too, remember?”
“Of course, and I won’t ever forget that.”
“And hey, wait a minute. Where’s Owen? Is this his weekend to stay over at the fire station? I just thought about him.”
“Girl, long story short, he came over on Friday evening and proposed to me, but I told him I wasn’t ready for marriage. And we broke up.”
“Oh no. I’m so sorry, P. I had no idea.”
“It was all for the best, because I just didn’t love him the way he wanted me to.”
“Well, as long as you’re not upset about it.”
“I’m not. I mean, I feel bad for Owen, because I can tell he really loves me, but he’ll get over it.”
Paige and Karla chatted for another hour, ate some leftover pizza, and then Karla prepared to leave.
“You look tired, so I’m going to let you get some rest.”
“Yeah, I am a little sleepy, but I’m so happy you came over. It gives me such peace every time I see you.”
“I’m glad. And I’ll be back tomorrow, too. I have a meeting after work, so it might not be until early evening.”
“That’s fine. And if you can’t get back until later in the week, then just call me.”
“I will,” she said as they walked to the front door. “And you take care of yourself, you hear me?”
“I will. I love you, Karla.”
“I love you, too.”
Paige waved at Karla one last time and watched her drive away. Then she closed the door, went upstairs, and climbed into bed. She tried making herself comfortable, but it wasn’t long before her thoughts got the best of her…and she began calculating her next move.