SWNOVELS Acts of Atonement: Chapter 15
IF THERE’S A silver lining in all this, it’s the weather. Instead of having to endure a triple-digit heat wave, it’s a beautiful seventy-five degrees with clear blue skies and a gentle breeze. God bless California. I’m making the best of our situation and bringing the kid train outside. There’s a swing set, sandbox, and treehouse so I know they’ll be entertained for hours.
I’m at the sandbox with Harper when the patio door opens and William steps out. “Heading to a meeting. Won’t be back until late tonight, so don’t wait up.”
“Okay.” I scrunch my brows, curious as to what’s brought on this change in mood. “Is this meeting the reason for your scowl? If it’s causing you to be in such a foul mood then maybe you should cancel.”
“I’m not a child, Isabella. I deal with matters straight on, regardless of whether they’re enjoyable or not.” William kisses Harper on the nose and waves goodbye to the boys who are up in the treehouse.
“You don’t have to be a donkey about it.” I roll my eyes at his rebuke. “We’ll save you some pizza. It’s movie night and we’re ordering in from that place down the street.”
“Don’t bother. I’m eating out.” And with those parting words, William slams the door behind him.
Well shit, who pissed in his Cheerios?
Whatever. I’m not going to let his dickish attitude ruin my day. I look down at Harper’s big beautiful eyes and smile. “We are going to have so much fun, aren’t we pumpkin?”
It’s that moment Harper chooses to release the loudest fart, causing giggles to erupt all around. I can’t help but join in on the laughter as I see the proud smile on Harper’s face. Drying my eyes, I pull her in for a hug. “Yes, sweetheart. You should be proud. Such a tiny thing making such a big sound.”
The laughter helped ease the darkness William’s mood left behind, but I can’t help but feel that this cloud was just the beginning of something worse to come.
The kids and I are snuggled up on the couch as the end credits to Finding Dory roll in the private theatre. There’s a huge projection screen, snack bar, and comfy lounge chairs along with a fluffy sectional, perfect for cuddling. Harper is asleep on my lap, while the boys are passed out on either side of me. Movie night was a hit. I’m debating moving them to their rooms when the phone in my pocket vibrates. I pull it out as gently as possible and see that it’s an unknown number.
Choosing to ignore it, I get up and take Harper to her room. If they want to reach me badly enough, they’ll leave a message. It isn’t a local number and anyone else I’d want to talk to has already been programmed into my phone.
I’ve made my way back to the media room when my phone starts vibrating again. Hmm, it’s the same number. Not wanting to wake the boys I step out into the hallway and answer the phone. “Hello?”
After a long pause, a woman’s voice comes through the line. “Hello, Isabella. You’ll never guess who I’ve run into, all the way out here in California.”
The woman’s voice sends prickles up my back and has my hairs standing on edge. “Look, whoever you are, I don’t give a flying fuck who you’ve run into. Just do us both a favor and lose this number. Either that or I can easily block you.”
“Poor Isabella, I wouldn’t do that if I were you. How else would I be able to send you pictures of William and Mariana sharing an intimate meal together.”
Suddenly my mouth goes dry and the room starts to spin. Did she just say William and Mariana, my aunt?
“Cat’s got your tongue, sweetie?” The woman cackles, her words causing bile to rise up my throat. “Looks like whoring yourself out didn’t work out so well. By the looks of it, William is moving on.” Her tone goes flat and loses all amusement. “Keep an eye out for the photos. I’ll be sending them shortly.”
The line goes dead before I even have a chance to ask her anything else. Not that I’d even know where to start with my questioning. The whole conversation was surreal.
My phone vibrates twice, notifying me of an incoming text message. I unlock my phone and freeze. Staring back at me are grainy images of William and Mariana huddled close to each other. The room they are in is dimly lit but there is no mistaking those broad shoulders or great head of hair. That’s my man… with my aunt.
William is placing his hand on Mariana’s while she shoots him a coy smile. Yeah right. As if there were a shy bone in that woman’s body. I scroll to the second picture and have to refrain from throwing the phone. William’s face is obscured while Marianna whispers into his ear, her hand visibly pressed into his leg.
This is the meeting he had to go to? The one keeping him out late? Hardship my ass. I can tooooootally see he’s not enjoying himself.
I know we aren’t officially together but I thought our time in the study meant something. I opened up to him. Told him I was there for him. But instead of him coming to me, being open with me, he chooses to share himself with Mariana. What a fucking joke.
Seeing him with her, like that, sends a piercing shot of pain straight through my chest. He clearly didn’t want me to know who he was meeting up with. Otherwise he would have told me. And if there wasn’t anything nefarious about it, he would have shared the purpose of the meeting.
But nope. Instead he was a total jerk.
In that moment I remember his words. “Don’t bother. I’m eating out.” My stomach revolts and I run to the bathroom just in time to hurl. Did he mean he was going to eat her out like he’d done to me earlier today? Rein the crazy train in, Bella. I’m sure he just meant he was eating dinner out.
There has to be a logical explanation for all of this. There just has to be. Whoever sent these messages did so with the intention of ruining whatever I have with William. Which begs to question, who knows about us and why would they want to break us apart?
Lifting myself up to the sink, I splash cold water onto my face and resolve to confront William about this as soon as possible. I can only hope that he had a good reason for keeping this from me.
If he doesn’t, the mystery woman might just get what she wanted.
William
Guilt has my steak tasting like sawdust. I shouldn’t be keeping things like this from Bella, and wondering what her reaction to this would be has my stomach in knots. My phone vibrates alerting me to another incoming text message, but I silence it and divert my attention back to the woman next to me. I just have to get through this dinner.
“Mariana, you said you had news for me?” I take a gulp of water and try to wash away the horrible taste in my mouth.
“Yes. We know we’ve run the details of your father’s murder with you before but there was a new development and we wanted to question you about it.” Mariana’s coy smile seems extremely inappropriate in our conversation. Here she is talking about my dead father and she can’t stop blushing like a schoolgirl.
“I’ve talked to y’all about this countless times. Nothing has changed.”
I was away on business when I received a call from Ashley. She was hysterical. Wouldn’t calm down no matter what I said. After minutes of attempting to soothe her, she managed to mumble that she had walked in on my father’s body and my mother was nowhere to be found.
That’s when I placed a call to 911 on three-way, telling her to get out of the house and into her car. I wanted her as far away from there as possible.
Once the police arrived, I called the guys. Titus and Ren showed up first. The scene they walked into was straight out of a horror movie. Blood was everywhere and my father’s body was splayed out front and center, serving as a warning.
The team looked for my mother but couldn’t find her. Forensics later confirmed that the blood soaking the room was from both of my parents, leading us to believe she had been attacked as well. Signs of a struggle were evident and it appears that she had been dragged out of the house based on the blood streaking the floors and doorway.
Forensics also uncovered the extent of brutality my father had endured while dying. Sure, there was no love lost between my father and me, but I would never wish for his death. Especially not one as sick and twisted as his was. Whoever mutilated him wanted to send a message. He’d been castrated and amputated after being shot. The sick fuck that did this cut off all of his appendages, including his balls and dick.
“William? You listening?” Mariana’s voice cuts through my thoughts, bringing me back to the present.
“No. Sorry. What were you saying?”
“We have evidence from a new crime scene matching that of your father’s.” Mariana looks at me expectantly, continuing when no questions follow. “Forensics sent us the information from a crime scene involving Isabella—”
“What?” Mariana had my attention now, and if she noticed the reasoning behind the change in my demeanor she didn’t mention it.
“The local police department contacted us when they noticed the bullets recovered from the scene matched those of the murder investigation for your father. Whoever shot at Isabella’s tires the night her car was vandalized used the same gun as the person who shot your father.” Mariana’s eyes soften at my concern and she reaches to touch my hand in comfort. “We will find whoever did this, William.”
Ignoring her attempts to soothe me, I press her for more information. “How certain are you that it’s the same gun?”
“As you well know, almost every gun barrel is rifled when being manufactured. The rotating grooves imprint a mirror image of the markings onto the bullet once it’s been fired, creating unique striations.” Mariana purses her lips as she shakes her head. “We were able to match the bullets recovered from both scenes to test them against each other, and without a doubt, whoever shot at Isabella’s SUV used the same gun as the one that was used on your father.”
“I don’t get it. Who would want to hurt both of our families?” My entire face twists as I try to wrap my head around this new information.
“That’s why I asked you out tonight. I wanted to ask you personally before bringing the rest of my team into this. I know Isabella has been working closely with you as of late. Is there anything that would tie her to your father?”
My mouth goes dry and my whole body stiffens at the question. I need air. Now.
“Excuse me, Mariana. I need a moment to process all of this.” I get up from the table and head toward the exit.
I’m standing by the valet when a small hand scratches down my back. Spinning quickly, I’m able to grasp the perpetrator’s wrist.
“Hello darling husband. I see you’ve moved on from the teenybopper and are now screwing her aunt.” Heather’s cold and detached eyes stare back at me.
“What the fuck are you doing here? How did you even know where I was?” Trying to get answers, I squeeze her bony wrist tighter.
“I know lots of things, William.” An evil cackle falls from her chapped lips. Upon closer inspection, everything about her seems unbalanced—her hair looks like it hasn’t been brushed in days and her usually impeccable clothes are disheveled. It’s clear that this woman is unhinged. “Lots of things I’ve shared with your whore of a mistress. Well, I guess she isn’t your mistress anymore.”
“Tell me what you’ve done,” I command through gritted teeth. “I swear to God, if you’ve hurt one hair on her head I will—”
“Is that a threat?” Heather’s lips rise in a half-smile. “That would be a bad thing, William. Can’t have you threatening your poor distraught wife who’s caught you in not only one, but two affairs.”
“I’m not going to play games with you, Heather. Tell me what you’ve done. Now!” Losing my patience, I shout—not caring if anyone can hear.
Heather tsks while waving her phone in front of her. “I’ve sent Bella visual evidence of your tryst with her aunt. Surprise surprise, it didn’t go over too well.”
I don’t hurt women but at that very moment, I want Heather to be the exception. Not trusting myself, I drop my hand from her wrist and take a step back.
Is this why my phone’s been vibrating non-stop. Oh, god. I’ve ignored every single message. What must she be thinking?
I pull up my phone and sure enough, I have three missed calls and ten text messages, all of them from Bella. Needing to do some major damage control, I call Bella’s number but there’s no answer. Of course. I’ve ignored her all night so why in the holy hell would she pick up my fucking call now. I need to get back to the house and try to undo the damage my crazy ex has caused.
Speaking of which, I look to where Heather was standing a mere moment ago and see she’s disappeared. Dammit. I knew I shouldn’t have released her. I shake my head knowing this is not the time for self-reprimanding. What I need to do now is get to Bella.
Stepping back inside, I pay for a dinner I didn’t eat and quickly explain to Mariana that something came up. I know it makes me look shady, but fixing this situation with Isabella takes first priority.
I have to get back to the house before Heather does something else, causing irreparable damage. I have no idea what’s going on in that crazy head of hers but based on whatever ‘visual evidence’ she took, I have a lot of explaining to do.