Page 99 of The Cottage on Plum Island
“Clair was misunderstood,” Angela defended her sister. “While she may have been selfish and angry at the world, she gave her life to save mine.”
“And she did the right thing, even though she knew she was in danger,” Andrew backed up Angela’s statement. “I’ve spent forty years trying to bring this organization to its knees. It has destroyed families and communities and worked above the law for too long.” He looked around the room. “Good people have lost their lives and sacrificed their souls to end their reign of terror. Now, thanks to Clair, Annie, and Angela, we’ve finally got the evidence to do so, along with everyone connected to it.”
“I think what Andrew is trying to say is, we need to move out, now!” Sam ordered. “I have the evidence.” He smiled at Angela.
“No, you don’t!” Harley held up the thumb drive as all eyes turned to him. “You’ve got Daniel’s lunch box with a note from me saying I love you, son, and a Sharpie in.”
“May I have that?” Andrew held out his hand.
“I want to give it to you,” Harley told him. “But I look around the room, and apart from Jennifer, Harriet, and me, I don’t trust any ofyou. You’ve done nothing but lie to us.” He glared at Sam. “And you betrayed my trust to get close to me so you could steal this.”
“That’s not why I did what I did,” Sam told him. “I was trying to…”
“Protect me!” Harley nodded. “Like you were protecting Jennifer by not telling her about Andrew?” He glanced around the cottage. “Is Betty in on this too?”
“Is she?” Jennifer gasped, looking from Andrew to Sam.
“I’ve been in contact with Betty at least once a week for the past forty years,” Andrew admitted. “My weekly updates about you and Liam.”
Harley felt Jennifer stiffen beside him. “You’re right, Harley. Everyone in this room is a liar; we can’t trust them.”
“Jennifer, please,” Andrew implored her. “We don’t have time for this. You have no idea what the people whose empire we’re about to crumble are capable of .”
“I think we’ve all been victims of them,” Jennifer told him. “Harley lost his wife and child.”
“That wasn’t them,” Andrew told her.
“No, Andrew, she’s right,” Wallis said. “My sister and father encouraged me to pursue Angela even though she was married to Harley.” He looked apologetically toward Harley. “I never meant for Daniel or Angela to get hurt.”
Harley nodded, his fists balling, and he gritted his teeth.
“I never meant to keep Clair’s flu a secret from you, Harley,” Angela’s voice was soft, her eyes puffy from crying. “The news has broken me. While you were being strong for me while trying to keep your life together, I wasn’t going to throw the straw that would break you, too.”
Harley stared at her with mixed emotions coursing through him. He knew that she was telling the truth, and in her own twisted way, she thought she was protecting him. But Harley couldn’t get over the fact that Angela had let him go on a witch hunt when he was looking for someone to blame for Daniel. The one thing that had always been glaringly obvious to Harley was that even though they were dysfunctional, the Wesleys had each other’s back at whatever cost.
“Is this why you left us?” Jennifer’s eyes were fixed on Andrew, and Harley stepped closer to her side.
He knew how hard that question had been for Jennifer to ask, and he stepped closer to her side and took her hand.
“Jennifer, is now the time to be asking this?” Sam was the one to step forward. “We need to get you all out of here as fast as possible.”
“I think now’s the perfect time,” Jennifer stated, her eyes never leaving Andrew.
“We’d all like to know.” Harriet stood on Jennifer’s other side and glanced around the room. “At least the three of us would, as I’m betting the rest of you already know.”
“Yes!” Andrew nodded. “My mother needed help as she’d gotten an invitation to BAD MAN. I’d only ever heard rumors about the club. That’s when you were so ill.”
“So what?” Jennifer’s voice became low and was filled with anger. “You traded an operation to help her?”
“No.” Andrew shook his head. “My mother was always going to perform the operation. My father found out and was the one that extended the invitation to my mother.”
“You don’t turn down an invitation from BAD MAN.” Jennifer nodded.
“No, you don’t, but someone of equal value can take your place,” Andrew stated.
“And that was you!” Jennifer guessed.
“Your fa…” Sam stopped. “Andrew is the best defense attorney in the state, if not the USA, and his father knew that. A judge can only do so much and needed someone like Andrew in the club.”
