Chapter 12
STELLA
I’d commandeered my dad’s office, munching on popcorn, gaze locked on the live feed playing on the monitor before me.
As soon as I had found out about Felix, naturally, I went digging.
It didn’t take long to realise he had tampered with the security footage at the office.
Hence why I immediately installed hidden cameras in and around our home—in case he made the imminent error of fucking that hussy between my sheets.
But I had never thought in a million years that I would voluntarily send her there myself.
I’d dispatched my husband’s mistress to pick up my son from daycare and babysit the two-year-old hurricane in my home.
No, I wasn’t psychotic.
If she stepped out of line, I would have no issues destroying her on the spot. But I had the urge to play and mess with her a little.
Heather was bouncing from left to right, bolstered by the attention of powerful men. After her successful trip with Jake, she had thought she bagged a semi-famous athlete. Well, she definitely bagged something, but it wasn’t what she was bargaining for.
Instead, all her hopes and dreams were totalled alongside the end of Jake’s sporting career, inadvertently pushing her back down the social ladder to rely on her old fling, Felix.
However, with my husband’s disinterest and continuous attempts of shutting her down, she became desperate, which made her sloppy.
Sure, Heather thought she wanted the house, money and a higher tax bracket. But she forgot everything else associated with his lifestyle.
She was fucking a family man. A father. So, if she wanted to audition for the role of Mummy, I was more than happy to oblige.
Heather lived in a fantasy, and it was time she had a healthy dose of fuck around and find out.
“Stop, you terror!” she screeched on the video as I watched Phoenix chuck some mushy porridge, staining her pristine white dress shirt. He giggled, and I was soon joining him.
She was livid, unable to wrangle my son as he ran around the house, destroying everything in his path.
How can such a tiny human cause so much destruction? I smiled as my boy continued to give her hell.
My phone began to ring just as Phoenix managed to grab Heather’s handbag and launch it against the wall.
I answered the call blindly, turning the speakerphone on loud when my best friend’s voice drifted through.
“Did you give your son a briefing on the assignment? Because he’s executing it brilliantly. An overachiever like his mama, huh?”
I guessed Daisy had decided to tune into the live stream alongside me. I wasn’t remotely surprised; she was an IT prodigy who had a predilection for hacking.
We had met in college, and it was a hard-won friendship. Everyone was conned by the small, petite girl named after a flower. But I wasn’t fooled by her name, soft-spoken voice or pixie-like features.
There was a bulldog hiding within. And much to my delight, I was proven right after we struck a mutually beneficial deal.
At one point, she needed some legal advice, and I, in turn, required the expertise of a computer engineer.
We had been inseparable ever since… Until she moved to another country to be with her pilot husband. Barf.
“Did you manage to track her outgoings?” I asked.
“What? Do I look like an amateur?” Daisy scoffed in condemnation. “Let’s just say, Felix didn’t pick the smartest out of the bunch.”
Her statement was interrupted by a faint creak from the office door. I bolted to my feet to block the monitor behind my back.
“Everything alright in here, Stella?” Dad asked, popping his head in.
“Yeah, Dad. All good. Just finishing off a few things.”
“And you couldn’t do this project at home?” he asked with a perked brow. Shit, he’s so onto me.
Dylan Foster had held suspicions ever since I started back at work. The change was abrupt, and he couldn’t wrap his head around my sudden urgency to return.
I had desperately wanted to tell him from the very first. But I knew my dad, and he was severely protective.
I was his only child, his golden girl, the one person in his life who could do no wrong. So, I knew that as soon as he found out about Felix, he wouldn’t be able to hold back—probably burn the whole building down with my husband still inside.
My dad wasn’t known for subtlety or restraint, which meant that if he found out too soon, my plan would go up in smoke. I had to hold off—just for a bit longer.
Sensing my distress, Daisy interrupted and chimed in.
“Sorry, Mr Foster! I asked Stella for an urgent favour that is of the highest security clearance. She had to go somewhere private, which meant your house.”
As soon as he heard her melodic voice, his face relaxed, and a genuine smile grew. “Is that you, Daisychain? How have you been, baby girl?”
I groaned, knowing she would get a kick out of that nickname and torture me with it later.
“I’m good,” she said. “Miss your daughter, though, so I’ll have to visit soon.”
“Well, don’t forget about her old man here! We would love to have you.”
“Can’t wait, Mr Foster.”
“Don’t call me that. We’ve discussed this.”
Before she could reply, I cut in. “Alright, Dad. Gotta get back to it.”
He picked up on the cue, said goodbye to Daisy, then left, closing the door behind him.
Slumping back into my chair, I took the phone off speaker and held it to my ear.
“Don’t say a word,” I snapped.
“I didn’t say anything.” She didn’t have to. Just based on her tone, I knew Daisy was smirking.
Did I mention that Daisy was a notorious flirt? It was innocent and never went anywhere—especially since she was obsessively in love with her husband. But that didn’t stop her filthy mouth from running.
Without missing a beat, she continued with a hum. “I miss you. Nearly as much as I miss your daddy.”
“Eww. Can you not?”
“Well, if I can’t talk about the ultimate DILF, at least let me talk about your other best friend… Might change that name from Curtis Wright to Curtis Might… get this pussy—”
“What does your husband think of your mouth, Daisy?”
“That it’s vulgar and perfect when it’s wrapped around his—”
“Ahh, alright! I’m hanging up.”
“No! Okay, okay, I concede.” She giggled. “Oh, look, the show is about to begin.”
We both locked in on the scene of Felix dragging Heather to the foyer. Daisy and I remained quiet, listening in on their conversation.
Then, time seemed to pause as I processed my oldest son entering the front door, quietly watching the scene before him play out, silently assessing the absurd scenario of his father fighting with an unknown woman.
For a split second, I saw his expression stall, his eyes bleeding with a certain knowing before they locked down.
“Shit,” Daisy whispered. “Did you see his face?”
My insides screamed for the splinter in my son’s innocence. “Eli’s not supposed to be there.” I choked. “He’s supposed to be at baseball practice.”
I never wanted this for my boys. I never wanted them to experience this pain. It wasn’t meant for them. Never them.
A particular coldness took me over, settling into every fibre of my being.
The stakes were too high, the repercussions long-lasting and irrevocable. No one hurt my boys. Fucking no one… including their own father.
My spine straightened, and my voice came out as hard as steel. “Daisy… there’s a change of plans.”
“We’re going nuclear?”
“Nuclear,” I confirmed.