“I didn’t want to, but Samantha insisted on it. Something about her inheritance and trying to keep her business.”
Bianca’s brow pinches together. “Her PR company?”
“She thought her stepmom was trying to use it to…never mind.”
“No, tell me. I promise I won’t retaliate against a pregnant woman, even if she is Satan.”
“She thought her stepmom was going to try to lure you back to the family by offering you her business.”
Bianca shakes her head from side to side. “I don’t think Dorrine would actually do that.”
“Then where would she have gotten that idea from?”
She bites her lower lip, looking conflicted. “I could tell you a little of what I know…”
A part of me wants to tell her not to say a word because I don’t want to betray Samantha any more than I have, but I’m not that strong.
“Please do.”
“There was some overlap between when Samantha’s dad divorced her mom and got with her stepmom, Dorrine. They were all living in the same house when Dorrine got pregnant with Elliot, my ex.”
“Jesus Christ, what a bastard.”
“Samantha’s mom eventually left and wanted nothing to do with her, and she always held it against Dorrine.”
All at once, I picture Samantha in a way I never have before. Heartbroken and sad and waiting for her mother to come back home.
Just as I had for my father.
Just as Maria had.
Now, I understand her. I get why she acted as she had. She was abandoned, just as I was, only she was under constant assault, and it soured her inside.
How could I have been such a damn fool?
THIRTY-ONE
Samantha
“Please tellme you have good news for me,” Carl says, his tone tired and distressed.
“I got him to agree to mediation, but he’s going to expect a payout.”
“How much?”
“Six figures.”
“Jesus, fuck that.”
“There is another option.”
“No—she’s been through enough already. I’m not having her give a statement.”
“You know, she’s less fragile than you think,” I tell him, but deep down, I admire how protective he is of Vanessa.
“And she’s off limits.”
“Understood.”
