Page 162 of Sins of the Father

“You shouldn’t talk to him right now,” Claire advises her.

Jamison’s rings next.

“Give me the phone,” my mother insists, her voice becomes louder, and anger flies into her eyes.

“Turn it off,” I bark.

Jamison doesn’t hesitate.

“You’re all going to make this a thousand times worse.”

“Really, Mom? Are you going to be in his bed tonight, too?” I snap.

My mom reaches out and slaps me hard. The sting of her hand crawls up my cheek. My skin burns, but it’s nothing compared to the hatred burning inside me for Maximillion.

The car becomes so silent, you could hear a pin drop.

Her eyes fill with tears. “Do you think this is easy for me? The man I love, who I’ve given my life to, set me up and threw me in jail.”

“He called me to tell me you’d be in his bed tonight,” I seethe.

She looks out the window and, for the remainder of the ride, stays silent.

No one else speaks. Quinn and I exchange several glances. Claire sits with her hand on my mom’s thigh. Harper holds my hand, and Jamison holds Quinn’s.

When we pull up to the building, my mother quietly says, “I told you he wouldn’t stop. You should have let me speak with him.” She opens the door and steps out before we can stop her. I open the door to follow her, but I have to wait for the traffic to pass to open my door. By the time I get out, she’s already in a car with Maximillion, and they take off.

“Damn it,” I scream.

“How...how could she go with him? After what he did to her,” Quinn asks.

“We don’t know what she’s going to do. Give her the benefit of the doubt. From the conversations we’ve had, I don’t believe she will stay with him or let him manipulate her anymore,” Claire insists.

But the story of our life doesn’t lie. And history often repeats itself.

28

Harper

Beth islike watching a building implode. She doesn’t seem to have any willpower when it comes to resisting Maximillion. And her children suffer for it.

For hours, we stew at Jamison’s, waiting for Claire’s FBI contact, Agent Creedie, to show up.

Anna brings Hope back to the house. The four of us women focus on the baby, but even Hope doesn’t ease the tension in the air.

Steven paces. And I want to help him, but I’m not sure how. He tries several times to call Maximillion since Beth doesn’t have her phone on her, but he gets sent to voice mail. I’m not sure what his plan is if he gets her on the phone, but he keeps trying and gets more upset with every unanswered call.

At four p.m., Agent Creedie arrives. He’s dressed in a black suit and has combed-back, salt-and-pepper hair. Jamison leads him into the house.

“Thanks for coming out so quickly,” Claire says, shaking his hand.

He smiles. “I’m glad you called me. You know I’ll always help you.” A faint blush appears on his cheeks.

Jeez. Ethan was right. He does have puppy dog eyes.

Claire introduces him to everyone, and we all go into the family room.

Creedie pulls out two cuff links. “These have a recording device. All you do is put them on like normal then push them to activate. You’ll feel a little buzz when it turns on. I advise you to do it before you go into the room with him.”

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