Our wicked lies, p.21
Our Wicked Lies, page 21
But in reality, Alicia didn’t care about public opinion of her. She had two daughters to worry about. Kat had ruined their lives, too.
As if communicating via telepathy, Lily and Marston walked into the family room, their footsteps heavy, eyes wet and dull. Marston spoke first, clutching her phone in her hand.
“Is it true, Mom?”
“Girls.” Alicia’s voice was full of sorrow. “Please sit.”
They obeyed. Lily shivered, then rubbed her arms as though trying to keep them warm. Marston, in typical Marston style, held it in, remaining poised and holding herself tall, despite everything. But she wanted answers. There was no point in lying to them. Alicia didn’t want the girls to think badly of their father, but it was too late for that. She could no longer protect him. Everything was out in the open.
“We thought Maxim was just upset when he told us, jumping to conclusions and just acting out,” Marston said. “But he was right.”
Alicia nodded miserably. “Yes, that poor child. He told the truth.”
Lily and Marston exchanged curious glances. “How come Maxim knew about the affair?”
She exhaled and provided an abbreviated version of how Maxim accidentally found out and had been angry at his mother ever since.
Lily stood and raked her hair back, eyes glistening with unshed tears. “What are we going to do, Mom? Are you and Dad getting a divorce?”
“It looks that way.”
“Don’t tell me you would consider staying with Dad,” Marston said. “What he did is unforgiveable.”
“Yeah,” her sister chimed in. “That’s seriously disgusting. They both played you, Mom. I knew something was funny, the way Kat reacted when I showed her pics of you and Dad in Paris. I just shrugged it off at the time.”
“What do you mean, funny how?”
“I came back to the house a couple of days after you guys left for the trip. I’d forgotten my curling iron. I ran into Kat. She had just come back from a walk. Anyway, I showed her the pics you guys sent. She was not happy. She gave me a fake smile to cover, but it was too late. I had already caught her reaction.”
“Ugh,” Marston grimaced. “She sat here that night of the dinner, acting like she was happy you and Dad went away. How dare she?”
Lily said, “And the bracelet she bought.”
“Girls, stop it. You’re upset, I get it. But it’s not nice to speak ill of the dead.”
“It doesn’t change what she did, Mom,” Lily whispered. “I feel terrible she’s gone—she was basically like an aunty to us. And I feel awful for Maxim who will never see his mom again and Mr. DeLuca who lost his wife. But as far as I’m concerned, what she did… how she tried to break up our family and steal Dad from you… that doesn’t go away. She got her wish. She’s just not around to collect her prize.”
Alicia reached over and hugged a sniffling Lily. Marston embraced them both. When they pulled apart, Lily said to her sister, “Dad screwed up your big day.”
“What?” Marston asked.
“Your graduation. Everyone is going to be gossiping about the latest development. They’ll think Mom had something to do with Kat’s death. They’ll be looking at us sideways the minute we step foot on school property tomorrow. Colby sent me the link to a popular crime blogger website. They’re calling it the ‘Bestie Murder’ if you can believe that. I mean, how unoriginal. It’s even trending on Twitter.”
Alicia had forgotten all about social media, the digital equivalent of a snake pit in her opinion. She had a Facebook account she accessed once or twice a year. The Bestie Murder, she mused with disgust. Now, her daughters were caught up in the melee. The thought of them being targets ripped her heart right out of her chest. She could kill Eliot.
“Girls, it’s going to be okay,” she said.
“How can you say that?” Marston asked. “It will never be okay again. Don’t put on a brave face for our benefit, Mom. We’re not little kids. Don’t stay married to Dad for our sakes.”
Her children were being brave for her, but she could see it in their eyes that they had been shredded to bits. They adored their father, and the thought of him not coming home every night, not being part of their daily lives, was too much to bear.
“Prom is definitely off.” Lily swiped a tear.
Marston concurred, and so did Alicia. It had taken a lot to persuade Marston to give prom a go after the incident with Brandon. Now, with their family crisis out there for everyone to see—and Kat’s tragic, untimely death—trying to convince them to attend a party would be pointless.
Silence pricked the air. She had no words of comfort to offer her girls. Whatever she said would sound empty.
“There’s just one other thing,” Marston said. “I don’t want to keep secrets from you anymore. Dad did, and it didn’t work out so great for our family.”
Alicia braced herself. In the past few weeks, secrets and lies had been popping up like weeds. She wasn’t sure she could deal with much more.
“What’s going on?” she asked.
“Dad went after Brandon and told him if he ever came near me again, he would destroy him.”
Alicia’s eyes went wide. “When did this happen?”
“The day Kat died.”
So that was what he was up to when he went “jogging”. Alicia was partly relieved. At least if he was with Brandon, he couldn’t have murdered Kat, right? Alicia hated herself for even contemplating it, but with recent events, she could no longer trust her own instincts.
“Who else knows about this?” she asked.
“Just Brandon and his parents. Brandon started freaking out every time he saw me. I know we’ve been avoiding each other, but this was just weird. He’d run down the corridor in the other direction the moment he saw me. So, I cornered him at his locker and asked what was going on. He kept looking around all nervous, like he expected someone to appear out of nowhere and beat him up. That’s when he told me that Dad threatened him.”
Marston scraped back the braids hanging in her face. “Dad promised Brandon if he ever came near me again, he would use his influence to get Brandon’s scholarship to Georgetown revoked. The director of admissions and Aunt Dana are close friends. They were roommates at Brown.”
Eliot had always been fierce when it came to defending and protecting his children. He’d been enraged when she’d told him what happened with Marston, but Alicia thought he’d been able to control himself. Now he’d just added threatening teenagers to his list of offenses.
Eliot’s sister Dana was co-anchor of The Morning Edge, a popular network television show. She was well respected in the industry and had won an Edward R. Murrow Award, a prestigious honor that recognized excellence in journalism. Her influence went a long way. Eliot’s threat was serious.
“Brandon deserved much worse after the way he treated you, Marston.” An unapologetic Lily pulled a face. “Props to Dad for having your back.”
“Too bad he didn’t do the same for Mom,” Marston said. “Cheating is bad enough, but with Kat? What was he thinking?”
“He wasn’t,” Lily mocked. “Not with his brain, anyway.”
“Watch your mouth, Lily,” Alicia admonished. “He’s still your father.”
“Yeah, some father. I can’t even look him in the face. I don’t think I’ll ever forgive him.” Then she stood up and walked out of the family room.
Alicia considered going after her but thought better of it. The happy and secure family life her daughters had grown accustomed to had shattered right before their eyes. Each girl would deal with the fallout in her own way. There was little Alicia could do to ease their pain. And that was the worst feeling of all.
She turned to Marston and squeezed her hand. “If I could take away the pain, I would. Just remember your dad loves you very much. That hasn’t and will never change.”
“So, we’re just supposed to forget what he did, act like it never happened?”
“No, Marston. Be true to your feelings. But your dad will never abandon you or your sister.”
Marston shook her head slowly. Then she said, “No. I don’t believe you, Mom. He was going to leave us for Kat. It was only a matter of when. Did you confront either one of them?”
“Now is not the time to discuss this, Marston—”
“You confronted Kat, didn’t you? That’s what they’re talking about on the news. She was mean to you. And Dad lied when you asked him about it.”
“Marston—”
“While you guys were away, it became obvious that she had a thing for him. Now we know why. They were already involved, so she got angry that he took you to Paris and not her.” Marston continued shaking her head in disbelief. “I can’t... I just can’t anymore.” Her voice cracked. Then, she too stood up and walked out.
CHAPTER 50
The door flew open without warning as Arnie Tillerson stormed into Eliot’s office, red-faced and blustering. “We were blindsided. You blundering fool! You put the firm’s reputation at risk. Imagine how embarrassing it was to learn this from the news media. Now, we have to put out a statement, all because you couldn’t keep it in your pants. What do you have to say for yourself?”
He wouldn’t back down or flinch. Arnie was one of the two managing partners of Tillerson Brenner and technically Eliot’s boss, but he wouldn’t allow the man to treat him like a wayward child in need of scolding. There was always a chance Eliot would lose Arnie’s respect and that of his colleagues. He didn’t have time to dwell on that possibility, however. More serious matters demanded his attention.
Sitting at the edge of his desk, he said, “It’s true. Katalina and I were involved. I regret the decision. I showed poor moral judgement and a lapse in ethics. Alicia and I were working things out privately. We had no reason to believe they would splash our marital problems all over the media and turn us into murder suspects.”
Arnie sat down, his face flushed with anxiety. “Talk to me, Eliot. What’s going on? It’s bad enough we lost Katalina so tragically, now this.”
“We were set up, Alicia and I.” Eliot explained the confrontation in Katalina’s office and McBride’s hint at the affair. Eliot chose his next words carefully. He didn’t want to appear as though he were placing blame elsewhere to avoid taking responsibility.
“Who set you up?”
“Detective McBride. It’s the only explanation that makes sense. He hauled Alicia in for questioning once he uncovered the confrontation and the affair. He insinuated that Alicia caused Katalina’s death, but Alicia is innocent and saw through his ruse. That didn’t sit well with him, so he leaked information to the media, knowing full well how they would spin it.”
“He hoped that the scrutiny and pressure would get to you, force a confession or a stupid move?”
“Precisely. Delia did some digging and came up with some additional information about the case.” He provided Arnie with the highlights and included the pregnancy. No point in holding back.
Arnie rubbed the back of his neck, then blew out a long breath. “I’m sorely disappointed in you, Eliot. How could you do something so reckless, jeopardize everything you’ve worked for, put Alicia and now your daughters through hell? I thought I knew you.” His body sagged. “Why didn’t you come to me?”
Arnie was more than Eliot’s boss. As their relationship blossomed into one of mutual respect and admiration, Arnie had become a father figure of sorts to him. Eliot had shared with Arnie his devastation when Alicia lost the baby. Arnie had consoled him and given him advice, even forced him to take time off from work to grieve and be there for Alicia. In a way, Eliot had betrayed Arnie too.
I thought I knew you.
“It’s my mess and I take full responsibility. I’m sorry, Arnie. I’ll get it sorted out.”
Arnie stood and rocked back and forth on his heels, hands in his pockets. “I’ve made a decision. You’ll work from home until this whole thing blows over. I’ll get our PR firm to put out a statement saying you’ve been put on leave pending the outcome of the investigation, that we have every confidence in your innocence, and that it’s a shame the media has besmirched the reputation of such an outstanding man, so on and so on.”
“Understood.”
“And for goodness sakes, don’t say anything to the police without a lawyer present. I can’t believe you took the risk.”
“I thought Detective McBride was after the truth. It won’t happen again. If he wants to speak to Alicia or me, he will have to do it through our attorney.”
“Good. Although you might have bigger fish to fry than McBride. Paula is pissed at you.”
Paula was Arnie’s lovely but formidable wife.
“She likes Alicia. She might try to string you by your nuts the next time she sees you. In the meantime, keep a low profile while I try to reassure our clients that neither you nor Alicia is a murderer.”
CHAPTER 51
KATALINA TORRES
August 13, 2015
DIARY ENTRY
Eleven long years we have done this dance and now, finally, thanks to my powers of persuasion and a talented real estate broker, Eliot and I live in the same town, on the same street.
Nothing can bring me down from this high. Not even Richard has the power to take away the rush.
“Where did you really go this weekend?” he asked last night after I returned.
I feigned innocence—I could hardly tell him of Eliot and my sweet reunion. A fabulous weekend at Chanler Cliff Walk in Newport, Rhode Island, a nineteenth-century mansion converted into a luxury hotel with rooms that overlooked the Atlantic. Old world elegance combined with modern amenities. My kind of place. The last of our carefully planned weekend trysts, and the beginning of so much more.
But my husband was persistent. Said he hadn’t seen me this happy in a long while and he just knew I had a secret lover. I wasn’t about to confess, so I ignored him. He followed me into the master suite and shut the door behind him. The more he demanded answers, the more stubborn I became. That infuriated him.
I have never seen him so angry, full of rage. When he grabbed me by the throat and shoved my head into the bedroom wall, I was stunned. But I refused to cry or beg him to stop. That infuriated him further. He then called me a shameless slut, stormed out of the room, and slammed the door behind him. My head hurt, but it didn’t matter; I had my sights on a bigger prize.
The next morning, Monday, I was pumped. It was time to meet Mrs. Gray face-to-face, size her up, see what I was up against. I told Eliot I had no intention of being his secret forever. He brushed me off, and then kissed me and then, well… But I wanted out of my marriage to Richard and a future with him, but first, I had to deal with the current wife. And to do that, I needed insight into her personality, her secret fears and insecurities, I needed to learn what made her tick, what brought her joy and pain, learn her backstory. I wanted leverage.
I won’t lie. I was disappointed when she opened the front door. Average. Across the board. She didn’t possess the beauty, charm, or elegance I expected from the woman who canceled Eliot’s bachelor card. I always made it a point to never look at photos of her or learn anything about her prior to this day, as I wanted to imagine myself as the only woman in Eliot’s life. Plus, I wanted the in-person meeting to be special, no preconceived ideas to spoil it.
She was barefoot, dressed in a tie-dyed maxi dress, with fringe trim and a fitted bodice. It would have looked better on someone taller with a statuesque figure, but she was around five foot three and far from svelte. I’m not saying she was fat or anything, but she definitely knew her way around a meal or two.
She just stared at me, in wonderment, like she didn’t think women who looked like me existed in real life, only on overly air-brushed magazine covers. No air-brushing here. One hundred percent the real deal. I didn’t bother introducing myself at that moment. I made some barb about melting in a puddle because she took so long to answer the door and it was hotter than hell that day.
Then I barged into the house like I owned the place. It was best to establish the relationship dynamics right away. I would be in control at all times, and she would be the loyal lackey who would do anything I asked because “desperate for friends” was written all over her face. This was going to be so easy, snatching Eliot away from her. I was almost disappointed as I’d looked forward to a good fight, but it just made my journey to becoming Eliot’s one-and-only so much easier.
I listened attentively as she poured out her whole, sad backstory, about how she grew up poor in the hood, her mother dying, how she met Eliot. Ah. So pathetic and desperately in need of affirmation. I can do that. I happen to be a fantastic actress.
CHAPTER 52
Unknown: Did you tell her the truth about you and Katalina? Two years? Ha! Don’t make me call Detective McBride, Eliot. Tell Alicia the truth. Tonight. I will text you tomorrow morning to confirm. Then we can move on to my demands.
Eliot shoved back his swivel chair and slammed the phone down on the desk. He picked it up again and began composing a response to the text. He stopped midway, deleted the message, and tossed the phone across the room. It ricocheted off the door and landed on the floor near a leather armchair.
He had awakened early with a massive headache hammering away at his skull. After taking two aspirins, he got an early start to his day once the headache subsided. He had yet to tell Alicia that Arnie had, effectively, suspended him, so he’d been holed up in his study since six a.m., unable to concentrate on work.
The story had created a media firestorm, and his phone wouldn’t stop ringing, another reason he was on edge. He just yelled at a reporter who had asked him how it felt to turn his wife into a killer. How dare they? And then the text had come in right on the heels of that call. His pulse wouldn’t stop racing. Every little sound made him jumpy. Who was he kidding? He was unraveling.
