Page 94 of The Cottage on Plum Island
“Can I answer?” Angela raised her arm.
Jennifer’s gaze honed in on Angela as she tried to gauge the woman’s state of mind. Other than feeding her addiction to sugar, Angela seemed lucid.
“Sure, why not?” Jennifer shrugged.
“About a year ago, Clair came to see me,” Angela explained and glanced at Annie. “I allowed her to only if Annie stayed with us.”
“Angela has always been convinced that Clair was trying to… harm her,” Wallis filled Jennifer in. He turned andsmiled warmly at Angela. “I’m sorry I never believed you.” His eyes darkened with sorrow once again. “I should’ve believed you, as I know what it’s like when people don’t.”
Angela reached over and squeezed his hand compassionately before turning back to Jennifer. “Clair told me that Harley and my parents were keeping me locked in the institute and being fed drugs that weren’t helping me but hindering my recovery.”
“I told Clair to stop lying as I know exactly what medication Angela is on,” Annie added.
“Clair was furious when I believed Annie over her,” Angela continued. “Annie made her leave after Clair accused Annie, Harley, and my parents of manipulating me so they could keep control of the company and my money.”
“Wait!” Jennifer stopped her. “What do you mean keep control of the company and your money?” Before Wallis could launch into an explanation, she held up her hand. “Let me rephrase that. Why would your family need to keep you locked away to control the company, and why would they needyourmoney?”
“My grandfather and my father never got along,” Angela explained. “Especially after my grandad found out my father was mixing with what gramps called the wrong crowd.”
“Her grandfather meant my father and your…” Wallis pursed his lips. “Pearce Gains, Andrew’s father.”
“No matter what my father tried, Gramps held onto control of the company until I was old enough to take over,” Angela said. The information made Jennifer’s eyes widen as she nodded.
“Angela’s grandfather, Harrold, left the company, all his estates, and the entire family fortune to Angela,” Sam finished for Angela.
“What about Clair?” Jennifer asked. “She’s your twin. Didn’t your grandfather leave her anything?’
“Gramps left me in charge of the trust fund he’d set up for Clair,” Angela informed Jennifer.
“Clair has never been happy about that,” Wallis said. “That and how Angela warned Clair that the only way she’d ever see any of the money was for her to clean herself up and take a job at the company.”
“Clair did clean up her act,” Angela told Jennifer. “And she worked really hard in the marketing department. I even promoted her to VP of it.”
“Where does your relationship fit into all this?” Jennifer asked Angela and Wallis.
“I cheated on Harley with Wallis. Harley and I got divorced. I married Wallis,” Angela told her.
“And I cheated on Angela with Clair and fell for her.” Wallis sent an apologetic look to Angela.
“We knew a few months after we got married it was a mistake,” Angela admitted, and Wallis nodded. “I was lonely with Harley being gone all the time, running a company, and being a mom took its toll, and Wallis was there for me.”
“We grew up together,” Wallis explained. “I was always envious of how close their family seemed.” He shook his head. “I used to think of Randal and Margaret Wesley as my parents. Marrying Angela made it seem official.” He looked at his hands. “My father and sister always tried to push Angela and me together in our early twenties.”
“You married Angela because you wanted her parents to be yours?” Jennifer looked at him in disbelief.
“No!” Wallis looked at her as if she was crazy. “I married Angela because I thought I was in love with her.”
“We loved each other, but we weren’t in love with each other,” Angela told Jennifer. “By the time I realized I still loved Harley…” She sighed. “It was too late. I’d ruined any chance I’d had with him.” She smiled. “Then Daniel got sick. Mine and Harley’s lives changed so drastically. My sole focus became Daniel and doing whatever it took to get him better.”
“Angela even made me temporary CEO of Wesley Industries,” Wallis surprised Jennifer. “That did not sit well with Angela’s parents, but it drew Clair and me closer.” His eyes narrowed and flashed with an emotion Jennifer couldn’t define. “It also made my father proud, and he tried to talk me out of divorcing Angela. He said that Angela would make the position permanent if I stayed married to her.”
“You were so besotted with Clair that you didn’t realize that she was using your feelings to get what she wanted,” Annie’s eyes flashed angrily at Wallis. “She wanted control of Wesley Industries.”
“So why did Clair end up dead?” Jennifer asked, moving the conversation away from the family drama.
“Because she finally grew a conscience when she realized what the people actually meant when they said Angela needed to be more permanently moved out of the way,” Annie answered.
“And notonlyAngela,“ Sam added.
