Chapter Nine
KATIE
Even though Eric’s been in town for five days, I still find myself looking over my shoulder and waiting for Brittany to appear. Since she’s been MIA, I’m paranoid as hell about what she’s planning next.
My mother has been picking up Owen every day after school, so I decided to tell her what was going on with Loretta. I spared her the details she didn’t need to know and wanted to make sure she didn’t mention it to Owen or speak to Loretta. I have no doubt she’ll eventually reach out to Mom because after learning she lied to me about the money, I’ve sent her calls to voicemail. I’m pissed because for a moment, I believed her.
“Hey, you heading out? I’ll walk with you,” Missy says, poking her head into my office.
I check the clock. “Not yet. I have about ten more minutes of stuff to do.”
“Okay, see ya tomorrow then! Thank God it’ll be Friday!” She releases a whoop-whoop, and I chuckle, waving goodbye.
Once I’ve cleared my inbox and tidied my desk, I grab my bag and lock my office door behind me. I check my texts and smile when I see Noah’s name on the screen. Just as I’m about to unlock my car, I notice Loretta standing next to it, waiting for me. My adrenaline spikes, and I go into overdrive as I check my surroundings.
“Katie.” She wears a defeated expression.
“What’re you doing here?” I ask, keeping my phone tight in my palm just in case.
“I wanna see my grandson,” she states.
Arching a brow, I place a hand on my hip. “Which one?”
She narrows her eyes. “What do you mean? The only one I have.”
I scoff, resisting the urge to roll my eyes. “You sure about that?”
“What on God’s green earth are you talkin’ about, Katie?”
“Well, seeing as Anthony is Gabe’s son, I was just wondering which grandson you were talkin’ about.”
“Wha-I have no idea what you’re—”
“Don’t insult me, Loretta,” I interrupt. “I’ve put the pieces together. Brittany was one of Gabe’s mistresses, wasn’t she?”
She inhales a sharp breath as if she’s debating on coming clean or not. If she knows what’s good for her, she better.
“Yes, she was. He got her pregnant, but Elliot and I didn’t know until after Gabe passed.”
“So that’s how you knew her and why you teamed up with her to kill Noah?”
She balks. “What? Of course not.”
“Explain the twenty grand then. And don’t you dare lie to me this time.”
“Katie, let’s sit down somewhere and talk about this,” she pleads.
I look around the parking lot. “I’d rather not. There are cameras back here just in case.”
“You really think I’d try to hurt you?”
“I’d say never until someone started coming after Noah, and then you withdrew the same sum of money that Brittany paid a hit man. It’s not hard to figure out what’s going on. He’s responsible for Gabe’s death, and you and Brittany aren’t happy he’s back. He took away your only son and Anthony’s father.”
“Katie, I really don’t know anything about someone trying to kill Noah, but yes, I did give Brittany that money. Years ago when she gave us proof that Gabe was her son’s father, we paid her to keep quiet and leave town, knowing how it’d look and all.”
“How it’d look?” I raise a brow, knowing it was to save Gabe’s image.
“I knew it’d break your heart even more. You didn’t deserve learning the news of that after everything you’d already been through. It’d tarnish your memories of Gabe and would be a constant reminder of what he did to you. Elliot and I thought we were doing what was best for everyone.”
“By ignoring a child who was your blood relative? Of course I would’ve been hurt, but what he’d done couldn’t be changed.”
“Brittany’s extremely unstable and would’ve made your life hell, Katie. I did it for both of us,” she exclaims.
“Seems like she’s dead set on making Noah’s life hell. She’s behind everything, and when I saw you withdraw that money, I thought you could be too.”
“I assure you I only gave her that money so she’d leave town again. She was blackmailing us with rumors and said if we gave her the cash, she’d take Anthony and move away.”
“And you believed her?”
“Well, she did last time, so I was hopeful. When I saw she returned, I reminded her of our deal, and she said she had unfinished business.”
I think back to what Noah told me was said at the deli and what Loretta’s saying seems to match. While I have no reason to believe Loretta since she made up a tall tale previously, Belinda heard this exact conversation, so I know she’s telling the truth. “You knew she was coming after him then?”
“At the time, I didn’t realize what she was capable of. It wasn’t until things started happening that I put it together.”