32
E mily kissed Ava on the head and whispered, “Goodnight, baby,” before climbing out of bed and leaving the room. She shuffled wearily into her bedroom, ignoring Gabriel, who lounged on the bed with his legs outstretched. Without a word, she went to the bathroom, sat on the side of the jacuzzi tub, and turned on the water, her thoughts briefly drifting to Roman, who was probably worried. She left the bathroom to find her phone so she could text him.
She retrieved her phone from her purse downstairs and texted Roman to tell him she was home and heading to bed. She promised to call him in the morning. Just as she started to head back upstairs, the doorbell rang.
Who would be calling this late? Her first thought was that it might be Roman. Slowly, she turned and descended the steps to answer the door.
Peering through the peephole, she was stunned to see the woman Roman had photographed kissing Gabriel standing on the other side of the door. She stood frozen for a moment. What do I do? she thought. After contemplating, she turned and ascended the stairs, thinking, This is Gabriel’s mess; let him deal with it.
She strolled into the bedroom, and Gabriel asked, “Did I hear the doorbell?”
“Yeah, your girlfriend is here,” Emily replied, walking past him, ignoring the look of shock on his face as he leaped from the bed and rushed out of the room. She went into the bathroom, closed and locked the door, and leaned against it momentarily. Noticing the tub was about to overflow, she quickly hurried over and turned off the water.
She sat on the edge of the bathtub and quickly texted Roman, “Oh my God, she’s here!”
Roman responded immediately, “Who?”
“The woman in the photograph. The one you thought was Maggie,” she replied.
“What does she want? Never mind, I’m coming over,” Roman texted back without hesitation.
Worried that Roman would only make matters worse, she quickly called him to dissuade him from coming. When he didn’t pick up, she left a message.
“Roman, please don’t come here. I don’t want you and Gabriel to have another confrontation; we’ll be fine. I’m sure Gabriel will send her away.”
Gabriel opened the front door, stepped onto the porch, and quickly closed the door behind him. “What the hell are you doing here?” he demanded through gritted teeth.
“You wouldn’t return my calls,” she replied.
He grabbed the woman firmly by the arms, spun her around, and shoved her off the porch. “You can’t be here. My children are home.”
“You’re hurting me!” she cried, struggling to break free from his grasp.
He loosened his grip, allowing her to pull away. “So what? I’ve wanted to meet them,” she said defiantly as she returned to the porch.
He grabbed her by the elbow and pulled her back, drawing her close until his face was just an inch from hers. “What do you want, Lily? Why are you here?” he demanded, his voice low and intense.
A slow smile crept across her face.
“When I realized you were never going to leave your wife, I wanted money for me and our baby,” she said, placing a hand on her enormous baby bump.
“But when your wife accused Maggie of sleeping with you, it gave me an idea that would give me both—you and the money. I love you. I want us to be together,” she murmured before kissing him.
Gabriel recoiled, wiping his lips with the back of his hand. “That’s never going to happen,” he said firmly.
Her anger began to surface. “Why not? Maggie is out of the picture. Emily is going to prison. Nothing is stopping us from being together now.”
“You’re sick, you know that. You killed an innocent woman. Despite what everyone thinks, I wasn’t sleeping with Maggie. I’m not going to let you pin this on Emily. I don’t know how, but I’ll find a way to prove what you did. I’m calling the police,” he turned and went inside, and Lily followed behind him and said, “I wouldn’t do that.”
Gabriel froze at the unmistakable click of a gun. Slowly, he turned around to find the barrel aimed directly at his chest.
“If I’m sick,” she said, stepping closer and pressing the cold barrel against his chest, “it’s because you made me this way: you and your endless promises to leave your wife. You claimed to love me. Was it all just a game to you?”
He raised his hands in surrender. “You’re right. I’m sorry. Please, just put the gun down, and we can talk about this.”
Roman threw the car into park and hurried to the porch. He raised his fist to knock but paused at the sound of arguing. The voices were unmistakably Gabriel and another woman—not Emily. Catching a reference to a gun, he quickly retrieved his own weapon from the back of his pants. Gently, he reached for the doorknob and slowly opened the door, trying to be as quiet as possible. Roman tiptoed into the foyer and found Gabriel at gunpoint, with Lily’s back to him. Gabriel’s panicked expression betrayed Roman’s presence, causing Lily to whip around.
“Put the gun down!” Roman shouted.
But it was too late. Lily fired a shot straight at Roman’s chest. He managed to fire back with lightning-fast reflexes before collapsing to the floor.
Emily dropped her phone at the sound of gunfire. Without a second thought for her safety, she sprinted out of the bedroom to see what had happened. As she hurried down the hallway, the twins’ bedroom doors swung open, their faces etched with fear.
“Stay in your rooms,” she commanded firmly. “Lock your doors and don’t come out until I tell you to.”
“Is Dad okay?” Hunter asked.
“I don’t know. I’m going to check. Please, stay in your rooms.”
With some apprehension, the twins retreated into their rooms, quietly closing the doors behind them.
Emily rushed further down the hallway and paused at Ava’s room. She opened the door and sighed in relief, finding her young daughter still peacefully asleep. She quickly closed the door and bolted down the stairs.
“Gabriel, where are you? Are you okay?” she called out, her voice echoing as she descended the stairs. However, halfway down, she froze, her heart pounding. It wasn’t Gabriel who was in danger. Sprawled across the foyer floor were Roman and the other woman, each lying motionless in growing pools of blood.
“Oh my God! Roman!” Emily screamed, scrambling down the rest of the steps, nearly losing her balance in haste. She rushed to his side, terrified that he might already be gone. She pleaded, “Roman, please look at me.”
His eyes fluttered open slowly, and he whispered, “Hey.”
Emily’s face broke into a relieved smile, her voice soft and trembling as she responded, “Hey.”
Just then, Gabriel rushed into the foyer, the phone pressed against his ear. “Yes, it’s an emergency,” he said urgently. “Two people have been shot.” He quickly relayed their address to the operator and then hurried to Lily’s side, feeling for a pulse. “Yes, she has a pulse, but it’s weak. Please hurry, she’s pregnant.”
“Help is on the way.”
Gabriel set the phone down, tore off his shirt, and dropped to his knees beside Roman. He pressed the makeshift bandage firmly against Roman’s chest, applying pressure to stem the bleeding.
“Don’t touch him,” Emily demanded, pushing Gabriel aside and taking over, applying pressure herself. “This is all your fault.”
Gabriel stood up, raised his hands in surrender, and stepped back to give Emily space. “Help will be here soon,” he assured her, glancing out the window in search of the EMTs.
A tear rolled down Emily’s cheek as she choked out, “I told you not to come.”