Chapter 37
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
Stacy was distracted all day at work.
Her hands trembled so badly a plate slipped from her hand and fell to the floor, sending shards of pottery and pieces of fruit everywhere. Orders were forgotten or delivered to the wrong person. One table never got their bill and had to chase her down. She was rude to a customer who then walked out without ordering.
Were the customers whispering about her? She was sure Emelia and the other servers were staring at her, silently pointing fingers, saying, She did it. It was her.
Every few minutes, she glanced around, positive the police would show up to arrest her.
She never imagined that Titus and his group would be looking into all the employees, contractors and previous owners’ backgrounds. No doubt they would have discovered that she had a twin and that he’d served time. Would that mean they would start watching her more closely? She sure hoped not.
The minute Stacy got home, she dialed the number the man had given her. It rang and rang but no one answered.
Now what was she going to do? Bile slithered up her throat, and the knot that twisted in her gut all day returned with a vengeance.
She paced back and forth in her tiny apartment, her mind racing with all the negative outcomes.
Originally, the money sounded good, almost too good. She couldn’t refuse, not if it meant keeping her twin out of jail. But now it seemed Emelia would discover she was the one harassing her and breaking into her apartment. There would be no way she’d get the final payment, and perhaps her brother could end up back in jail.
A vision of her twin entering prison that second time flooded her mind, piercing her heart with guilt. The anguish he felt connected with her soul. Right then, she vowed to do whatever she could to keep him out of jail.
Although the very thing she was hoping to avoid might just send her to the big house.
As Stacy sat in her dimly lit living room staring at the blank walls that felt like they were closing in on her, couldn’t help thinking what a mess this was turning out to be.
Love and fear battled in her mind. What kind of person had she become? She’d always walked the straight and narrow, unlike Steve, who flouted authority, took what he wanted, and paid the price. Was she willing to do the same?
Why did she ever agree to this? How stupid was she?