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A New Day
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“ARE YOU SURE YOU’RE okay?” I hadn’t stopped asking Laurel since we’d been reunited, but somehow, none of her reassurances convinced me. She was a scared teenager, and the house of cards I’d built for us had all come tumbling down. “I was worried sick about you.”
“I’m okay.” The fact she’d hardly let me go since we’d been escorted out of the anonymous-looking building told me that wasn’t true, but I hoped to God it was only insecurity causing her anxiety and that nothing more ominous had happened. “It was just scary being thrust into the dark and taken away.” She sniffed. “I didn’t know if I was going to see you again.”
“Oh, sweetheart.” My heart ached as I hugged her closer. I was so damn relieved that she was seemingly all right, but I dared not dwell on how many years of additional therapy Wilson’s little excursion would cost her. “I’m so sorry you had to go through that.”
“You went through it too, Mum.” She withdrew a few inches and looked at me. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine.”
“And that guy we met in there.” She motioned to the building behind us. “Was he the prime minister?”
“Yeah.” It seemed crazy when she put it like that, but then, so much of our story was implausible, yet against all odds, we’d come through. “That was him.”
“The one that hurt you?” She lowered her voice.
“Yes.” I’d already told her that part of the tale so there was no point holding back. “He appears to be the reason we’re here, though God knows why they put the hoods on us.” Especially since they’d ejected us without the same horrifying qualification. “He wanted to talk to me...”
“Did he hurt you again?” She glanced back as though she intended to rush back into the building and take Wilson on.
“No.” I consoled her on that point.
“And did he say if he was my real father?” She turned back in my direction. “Neither of you mentioned it.”
“He doesn’t know,” I told her. “No one does. We’d need to perform a paternity test to find out and I haven’t pushed for that because...” My voice trailed away.
“You don’t want him to be?” Her tone was knowing.
“I just don’t want to know.” I sighed. Neither man was a great option. “That’s the truth, Laurel, but if you want to discover the truth in the future, I’ll support you.” I stood by the promise, even though I’d just vowed to Wilson that he’d never see or hear from us again. I just hoped Laurel could wait until she was eighteen, when custody was no longer an issue Wilson could hold over me.
“Okay. So, what did happen in there? I was kept in a room on my own before that man came to take me to you.”
“We talked and he agreed to give us the money.” I nodded at the briefcase by our feet. Packed inside was all the cash I’d asked for. I knew because I’d made one of his goons count it in front of me.
“I still don’t understand that.” Her brows knitted. “Is he buying you off so you don’t go to the police about what he’s done?”
“No.” I peered around the abandoned dockside to make sure we were still alone.
Wilson had ensured we were escorted out with the money but was still to release Nathanial and Sally. Once they were free, he’d also promised us a car to take us wherever we wanted to go. That destination was still to be decided.
“Listen, there’s more I need to tell you, love.” I gripped her hand, loathing that the huge secret of Sam’s death had managed to come between us. We’d promised to be open and transparent, yet I’d had to keep what I’d done from her.
Until now.
“What?” She blinked up at me. “What’s happened?”
“It’s something I did.” Apprehension tore at my insides as I considered my confession. “When we still lived with Dad.”
“Oh.” She squeezed her eyes shut. “I don’t like thinking about those days.”
“I know.” Pain echoed in my chest. “You went through so much.”
“We both did.”
Our exchange fell into silence, broken only by the whipping whirl of the wind from the nearby water.
“It’s about what happened to Dad.” It was my turn to pause.
“I don’t care what happened to him.” Her voice hardened. “I don’t care if I never see him again.”
“It’s been so long I can’t even remember what I told you about him.” I couldn’t help but chuckle at my web of lies. She’d been so vulnerable when we’d gone to the women’s shelter that I hadn’t been able to tell her the truth. I hadn’t even been able to face it myself.
“He’s out of our lives.” She squeezed my fingers. “That’s all I care about.”
“He’s certainly out of our lives.” I glanced behind her to see if Nathanial and Sally were on their way. I wanted to say my piece before they joined us. “But I need to tell you how.”
She stared at me, her expression serious. “Are you going to tell me you killed him?”
It was possible my heart stopped beating altogether at her matter-of-fact tone.
“Because if you are, don’t worry about it.” She forced a smile. “I figured that out ages ago.”
“What?” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “What do you mean, you figured it out?”
Naturally, I knew what it meant, but I couldn’t wrap my head around the fact my little girl already suspected I was a killer. All those months of figuring out our new life; finding a new home and school and a job for me, and she’d suspected me the entire time? It was incomprehensible.
“Well,” she shrugged, “we left Dad sleeping that day and he never came after us.” Her tone was wry. “That didn’t seem like the dad I knew.”
I couldn’t argue with her logic. Had Sam been alive, he’d have moved heaven and Earth to track us down, and given what I’d just found out about his links to the government, he’d have probably discovered us too. A fast shiver raced along my spine at the disconcerting realization. If I hadn’t taken him out of the equation, it would never have been over.
Sam would have hunted us, he’d have found us, and he’d have made our lives a misery. Again.
“Right.” What else could I say? I always knew Laurel was bright, but her answer had blown me away.
“I guess I worked out there was something else going on.” She smiled at me, that single gesture consoling. I’d been so worried about telling her the truth when all along she already recognized what had happened, and somehow, she didn’t seem upset or angry. “I knew there wasn’t a trial because you never had to go to court, and there was nothing about it in the news. I get updates on my phone all the time, so what other conclusion could I reach? You must have finished him.”
“Have you told anyone else?” Even I could hear my trepidation, but the idea that she’d shared her theory amongst her friends was one I hadn’t contemplated until then. If she had, it would mean serious damage control.
“Of course not.” She recoiled, offended by my question.
“I’m sorry.” Laurel’s candor had left me speechless. “Of course you didn’t. I didn’t know what else to do that night. I swore he was going to kill me, and his behavior with you was increasingly concerning.” I didn’t dwell on what behavior I meant, but I suspected we both knew.
“I don’t blame you, Mum.” Her expression was deadly serious. “He was dangerous and you did the right thing.”
“I deprived you of a father.” It was the only part of Sam’s end that had really haunted me since the fog.
“Not a father. An abuser.” She lifted her chin. “We’re better off without him and if that means we have to keep moving on, then so be it.”
“Actually, it doesn’t.” Glancing down to the case again, my thoughts returned to Wilson. I still despised the prick, but I had to admit, his intervention might have done us a huge favor.
“It doesn’t?”
“No.” I took a deep breath. “Wilson offered me the chance for freedom if I agreed not to press charges about what he did to me.”
I hadn’t intended to tell her the whole truth, but standing there, after everything we’d been through, I realized I wanted to. There had been too many secrets in our lives. Whatever came next needed the kind of openness we’d demonstrated outside Wilson’s mysterious lair.
“So, he just gets away with it?” She frowned, turning back to the place we’d left.
“We both do,” I corrected. “I killed someone, Laurel. Technically, I’m the bigger criminal of the two of us. I don’t love the deal, but at least you and I have a life ahead without worrying about my possible arrest, and we have financial means.”
“But that’s nuts.” She shook her head. “You were a victim, Mum. He assaulted you.”
“The law doesn’t see things in such a black-and-white way, sweetheart. “I steeled myself. “And there’s something else. In the spirit of honesty, I want to share everything.”
“Please do.” As her gaze met mine again, I was stunned by how mature she looked. She’d endured so much in her short life that it was sometimes easy to forget her age, but there she was—my wonderful daughter.
“Wilson convinced me to accept this plan not only because of his offer of impunity and the money but because he threatened to take custody of you if I didn’t.” I braced for her inevitable outrage.
“What?” Her eyes widened. “He can’t do that!”
“He could if I was in prison.” I grimaced, realizing that as prime minister, he could pretty much do whatever he wanted. “I couldn’t risk that happening, love. Not even for a short time.”
“I’d never live with him.” She shuddered as a scowl painted her pretty face. “I don’t want anything to do with that oily bastard. Even if he is my father.”
“I’ll protect you from him.” I patted the top of her hand. “I promise.”
“Just like you protected me from Sam.” A sly smile crept at her lips.
“No.” My tone was emphatic. “Not like that. We’re going to start somewhere new and stay the hell away from him.”
If that was possible.
“Em!” Sally’s cry seized my attention, and I glanced up in time to see her running in our direction. “Thank God you’re okay.” She threw her arms around me. “I didn’t know if I’d see you again.”
“You’re the second person to tell me that.” I hugged her back, grateful that she seemed to be okay. “Are you all right? Did they hurt you?”
“No.” Her swollen eyes fixed on me. “But they scared the shit out of me.”
“Same.” I wrapped an arm around Laurel and held them both. “But at least we’re here, we’re out, and we’re free.”
“Thank God.” Sally sniffed, resting her head against my shoulder.
For one blissful instant, a cloud of serenity settled over me. Laurel was safe and we had enough money to find somewhere else to live. Based on what we’d endured, things could have been so much worse.
It took a moment for me to realize who was missing, but all at once, his absence smacked me in the face. Peering over Laurel’s head, the inevitable question left my lips.
“Hang on. Where’s Nathanial?”