Chapter 12 #2
Julie nodded and continued, her voice steady despite the emotion. “She went on to tell Victor that she’d sent the nanny out with Jane and that Victor must meet the woman at the beach and take Jane.”
“Was that the day the nanny quit?” Jack breathed, memories clicking into place.
Things that hadn’t made sense the day Pamela had abruptly left thirty years ago suddenly crystallized with horrifying clarity.
“She was in tears and apologetic when I got home that day. Then she ran off, and we never saw her again.”
“I fired her,” Julie said bluntly. “The nitwit was about to hand Jane over to a stranger who walked up to her and told her that Pamela had sent him to get Jane.”
Julie’s expression softened slightly. “Luckily, Mrs. Hurling was on her way to the inn and saw what was happening. She stepped in and saved Jane.”
“That’s the day you offered Mrs. Hurling a job here as well,” Jack realized, more pieces falling into place.
“She was recently widowed and needed something to ease the heartache and help financially with her kids,” Julie confirmed. “She’d also just stopped your wife from kidnapping your daughter. It seemed like a natural fit.”
That crazy, chaotic day started to make sense now.
The nanny quitting in tears. Mrs. Hurling suddenly taking over the breakfast kitchen.
And Pamela finally, finally agreeing to leave after weeks of dragging her feet and making everything awkward.
Especially difficult timing with his father having just had a heart attack, and Jack suddenly having to help run the inn, finalizing his studies, trying to build a business, while also caring for a three-year-old daughter.
“You got Pamela to finally leave the inn,” Jack said slowly.
“Yes,” Julie nodded.
“Did you threaten her with legal proceedings for attempted kidnapping?” Jack asked, but his gut screamed it wasn’t that simple, whatever his mother was confessing to right now.
“No,” Julie shook her head. “It wasn’t that easy to get rid of that viper.”
She raised her chin a little higher, and Jack recognized that expression. His mother was preparing to defend a decision she knew he wouldn’t like.
“Once Mrs. Hurling had thwarted Pamela’s attempt to have Victor kidnap Jane and extort you for the inn, I approached her.
I was ready to go to the police. And she told me it wasn’t kidnapping if she was trying to get her child the only way possible.
She threatened to make it very difficult for you to ever see Jane again.
She said she’d go to the judge and tell him we were trying to take her daughter away from her. That she’d do whatever it took.”
“I...” Jack was beyond livid. He couldn’t believe what his mother was telling him. What she’d kept from him for thirty years.
“Let me finish,” Julie said firmly. “I told her she’d never get the inn. That James would find a way, and even if it cut his heart to pieces, he’d disinherit Jane if he had to, to ensure Pamela never got her hands on this place.”
“Why is she so obsessed with this place?” Jack asked, though he wasn’t sure he wanted the answer.
“I don’t know, love.” Then Julie continued.
“Pamela then said she’d just make things up with you and ensure that never happened.
I was so furious. All I wanted was for her to be out of your and Jane’s lives for good.
So I snapped. I asked her how much it would take for her to go away and never darken your doorway again. ”
Shock ripped through Jack. “Mom, no.”
He realized where this was going, and the implications made him feel sick.
“When I watched her load the last of her bags into Victor’s car, I knew it was unethical and you’d probably never forgive me when you found out, but it was worth every penny,” Julie said, her eyes glazed over as if she was back in that moment thirty years ago.
“I stood watching from the doorway of the inn, holding a sleeping three-year-old Jane in my arms. She was totally oblivious to her mother leaving. The relief that flooded me when they drove away. It was like a darkness lifted from the inn. Even Jane slept better than she’d ever done that afternoon. ”
“How much?” Jack said through gritted teeth, his emotions in complete turmoil. “How much did it cost you to get rid of her?”
“You must know, Jack, I didn’t think she’d take it.” Julie’s eyes met his, pleading for understanding. “I’m a mother. I’d never have given you up for all the money in the world. I couldn’t believe it when she named her price.” She swallowed hard. “What type of mother does that?”
“We all know that Pamela was never a mother,” Jack said, his voice harsh. “She had Jane to control me and her father. That’s all Jane ever was to her. A tool.”
“It still makes me sick thinking a woman could do something like that,” Julie’s voice dropped low.
“How much, Mother?” Jack asked again, needing to hear the number.
“Three-hundred-and fifty thousand dollars,” Julie said softly.
“Mom!” Jack wanted to vomit. He and Jane were just three hundred and fifty thousand dollars to Pamela. Three hundred and fifty thousand dollars, and she’d walked away from her own child without looking back.
“Why are you telling me this now?” Jack asked.
“In case Pamela did,” Julie told him. “She’s back.
She’s working with Victor to take the inn.
I couldn’t risk her using this against you somehow.
Twisting it into something else. You needed to hear it from me.
” She reached out and took his hand. “I’m sorry, Jack.
I should never have kept this from you. But I’m not sorry I did it.
It gave you thirty years with your daughter without that woman poisoning her life.
Thirty years where Jane could grow up happy and safe. That was worth every penny and more.”
Jack sat there, trying to process everything. His mother had paid Pamela three hundred and fifty thousand dollars to leave. That’s why the savings weren’t as large as they should have been. That’s why money had been tighter over the years than it should have been for a successful inn.
His parents had sacrificed their financial security to protect him and Jane from Pamela.
And now Victor and Pamela were back, trying to take everything away again.
His gut clenched, and he felt even worse.
His parents had sacrificed more than he knew, and now he was about to lose everything…
He looked at his mother. Jack knew he should be angry, but he understood why she’d done it.
He pulled her into his arms and hugged her.
“It’s okay, Mom,” he said softly. “I’m sorry you felt you had to keep this to yourself for so long.
” He pushed her away from him. “But, Mom, you’re going to have to tell Jane. ”
Julie smiled at Jack through her tears and nodded. “I know.” She kissed his cheeks. “I love you, and I’m so proud of you. No matter what happens, Jack, that will never change.”