Page 28 of Our Secrets and Lies

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Lucy’s hand shook as she rang the buzzer beside the enormous black gates. She’d insisted on doing it alone. Jenny and Sarah were waiting for her in Sarah’s car around the corner. She’d said she’d call them if she needed back-up.

‘Who is it?’ a familiar voice barked.

‘It’s Lucy Murphy. I’m here to find out where Tom is. He needs to know he has two beautiful babies.’

‘What? How dare you cometo my home? I told you to stay away from my son. I thought I’d made myself very clear. You are not fit to go near my son, or me for that matter. Don’t ever contact us again, by any means.’

A sense of calm came over Lucy. She looked down at the two sweet faces in the buggy. Dylan cooed at her, and Kelly was sucking her thumb.

‘If you don’t open this gate, I will cause the loudest scene you couldpossibly imagine. I don’t think you want your neighbours to see that, do you?’

‘You wouldn’t dare –’

‘Watch me, GABRIEL,’ she screamed into the speaker. ‘LET ME IN OR ELSE!’

‘Stop it this instant,’ he roared. The black gates groaned and slowly began to roll back.

Taking a deep breath, Lucy pushed the double buggy through and up the driveway. Gabriel met her at the door. He looked the same,tall, broad and imposing.

Lucy pushed past him, wheeling the buggy into the vasthall. It was cold and stark, like its owner. No soft rugs or furnishings, just cold white marble.

‘That’s enough, you can stop right there.’ Gabriel closed the door. ‘What do you want?’

‘I want you to tell me how to get in touch with my babies’ father.’

‘My son has nothing to do with you or these poor unfortunatechildren.’ He didn’t even glance down at Dylan and Kelly.

‘Tom needs to know,’ Lucy said, her voice quivering. ‘He needs to know that he has two beautiful children. He needs to take responsibility and stop hiding like a coward.’

Gabriel glared at her. ‘My son is not a coward. He’s just not going to get dragged down by some gold-digging hussy. Now take your offspring and get out of my house.’

‘How can you do this? How can you deny your own grandchildren? Look at Kelly – she’s the spitting image of Tom. She has his eyes. He needs to know, and they need a father.’ Lucy felt a wave of emotion overwhelm her. She gripped the handles of the double buggy and willed herself not to cry.

Gabriel clicked his tongue impatiently. ‘Tom was happy to leave. He didn’t require much persuading – in fact,he practically ran onto the plane. What is it you really want? Money? Is that it? If I give you money, will you go away? How much to get you to crawl back under the rock you came from? Ten grand? Twenty?’ He pulled a chequebook out of his breast pocket.

Lucy felt fury rise from within her. ‘I don’t want your filthy money. I wouldn’t accept a cent from you. All I want is for Tom to know he hastwo beautiful children and to decide for himself if he’d like to be involved in their lives or take the spineless, pathetic decision to pretend they don’t exist. You can keep your money.’

‘My son is far away, living a good, respectable life. I gothim away from you and your mess. Now leave or I will throw you out. Go back to your corner shop and stay there.’

Lucy laughed bitterly. ‘For all yoursuccess and money, you are the lowest form of human being I’ve ever met. A man who bullies his son and tried to bully a pregnant girl, a girl carrying his grandchildren, into having an abortion, then accuses her of being a slut. If I wanted to, I could go to the newspapers with this story. It’s pretty salacious, don’t you think? I could demand a paternity test and shame you and your coward ofa son publicly. How do you think that would go down with your legal pals?’

Gabriel’s face went puce. ‘How dare you threaten me? You have no idea who you’re talking to. If you cross me, I will destroy you and your father’s business. You’ll wish you’d never met me.’

Lucy laughed. ‘I already wish I’d never met you. I also wish I’d never met your pathetic son. I was wondering how I’d explain tomy children why they had no father and now I know exactly what I’m going to say. I’m going to tell them the truth. Their father was a weak man, bullied by his own father and too pathetic to stand up for himself.’

Gabriel’s eyes were bulging and his face was twisted in anger. ‘Get out of my house, you dirty little tramp. Those children will probably end up in foster care. You clearly can’t evenlook after yourself. People like you shouldn’t be allowed into university, whores looking for rich boys to trap. It makes me sick. I pity your children having a mother like you. They’ll never amount to anything.’

‘Oh, yeah?’ Lucy shouted into his face. ‘Watch this space!’

She turned, swung the buggy out of the front door and marched down the driveway. I’ll show you, Gabriel, she thought. I’llmake you regret your words. I’ll raise the two most amazing kids in the world. Just you wait and see.

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