Chapter 14 #2
My stomach dropped. “What? No. Jimmy left me a voicemail two days ago. His wife got offered a promotion that requires them to move to New York, and they’ve decided to go for it.
He said they’d be moving in a month, so they were giving notice.
” I ran my hand through my hair. “I’ve been so caught up with everything else, I hadn’t gotten around to calling them back.
I didn’t even know they’d spoken to Chloe. ”
“A month,” Mrs. Parker said quietly. “Not two days.”
“Definitely not two days. He said they need time to pack, arrange movers, find a place in New York…” The pieces clicked into horrible place. “Oh god. Jenna tells Chloe I’m moving in with them, and then Jimmy calls, saying they can move out immediately. Chloe must have thought—”
“That you’d already arranged everything,” Mrs. Parker finished. “That the timing confirmed what Jenna had told her.”
I felt sick. The coincidence was so perfectly damning. Jenna’s lies, followed immediately by what must have seemed like proof. No wonder Chloe ran.
“Sam.” Mrs. Parker’s voice was gentler now. “I can’t tell you where Chloe went. She specifically asked me not to.”
My heart sank. “I understand.”
“But I can tell you that she’s safe. She’s somewhere she can think clearly without distractions or pressure. And I can tell you that the daughter I raised doesn’t run away from problems she wants to solve. She runs away from problems she thinks are unsolvable.”
Problems she thinks are unsolvable.
“You’re saying she left because she thinks the situation is hopeless?”
“Yes, but if what you’re telling me is true, if you really do want to include her in your life with your son, then it’s not hopeless. It’s just complicated.”
“How do I prove that to her if I can’t find her?”
“You prove it by handling this situation the way you should have handled it from the beginning. You take care of your son. You confront his mother about what she did and why. You get to the bottom of how she manipulated both of you. You clean up the mess instead of trying to manage around it.” Mrs. Parker paused.
“And then you show up for Chloe when she comes back, ready to build something real with her. Something that includes complete honesty.”
“Are you sure she’s coming back?”
“She left a note asking you to be moved out when she returned, didn’t she? She’s not running away forever, Sam. She thought she was giving you space to move out.”
After Chloe’s mom hung up, I sat at the kitchen table feeling like I’d just been given a roadmap for fixing the biggest mistake of my life.
At least I knew where to start. I called Jenna and arranged to meet her at 9:30 AM.
“I’m coming with you,” Harper said immediately when I told her what I’d done.
You shouldn’t face this alone, and you need a witness to whatever conversation you’re about to have.
” Harper was already reaching for her purse.
“Plus, someone needs to be thinking clearly about Leo’s wellbeing in all this.
” She pulled out her phone and typed quickly, then looked up.
“Just letting Jack know where we’re going and why. ”
She was right. I had no idea how Jenna would react to what I had to say, and having a third party present — someone calm and thinking clearly — made sense.
“Thank you,” I said. “For staying here last night, for helping me think through this, for–”
“For doing what friends do when someone they care about is in crisis,” Harper finished.
“That’s what people who love you do, Sam.
They show up. They help carry the weight.
They don’t let you handle the hard stuff alone.
You were there for me during the viper years when I needed someone. Now it’s my turn.”
They don’t let you handle the hard stuff alone.
I thought about those last two months of Harper’s pregnancy when Jack had completely disappeared to spend time with the viper.
I’d been the one Harper called when the contractions started.
I’d driven her to the hospital, held her hand through labor, and cut Emma’s cord.
I’d helped Harper navigate those early weeks of new motherhood while Jack figured out how to be the man his family needed.
I’d also been there for Jack, helping steer him back to his family.
If I’d remembered those lessons weeks ago, if I’d trusted Chloe enough to include her in the crisis from the beginning, none of this would have happened.
But I could do it now. Starting with accepting Harper’s help and Erin Parker’s guidance about how to prove myself worthy of her daughter’s love.
“Let’s go see my son,” I said.
Leo was watching cartoons on the TV when Jenna opened the door, and his face lit up when he saw me.
“Sam-Sam! Mommy said you were coming today!” He bounced off the bed and ran to hug my legs, but then hesitated halfway across the room, his eyes darting to Harper. “Who’s that?”
“This is my friend Harper,” I said gently, crouching down to his level. “She’s really nice. She has a little girl named Emma who’s four, just like you.”
Leo studied Harper for a long moment, then looked back at me. “Is she staying?”
“Just for a little bit. I brought you something.” I held up a small gift bag.
Leo’s eyes went wide. “For me?”
“For you.” I pulled out the bright red toy truck I’d picked up on the way over. “I thought you might like it.”
Leo’s face lit up completely, and for a moment, I saw pure, uninhibited joy. Then something shifted — a wariness creeping in as he looked from the truck to me to his mother.
“It’s yours, buddy.” I handed him the truck. “You can play with it whenever you want.”
Leo took it carefully, holding it like it might disappear if he wasn’t careful enough. “Thank you, Sam-Sam,” he whispered, then looked at Jenna. “Can I play with it now, Mommy?”
“Of course, sweetheart.” Jenna’s voice was warm, but I caught something in her expression — guilt, maybe.
I ruffled his hair, that familiar surge of protectiveness now tinged with anger at what he’d been through. This kid was innocent in all of this, caught between adults making bad decisions about his future.
“Leo, can you watch your show for a few minutes while the grown-ups talk?” Jenna asked, settling onto the edge of the bed.
“Okay, Mommy.” Leo clutched his new truck and returned to the bed, sitting cross-legged as he rolled it back and forth on the bedspread, his movements careful and controlled.
As Harper and I moved toward the chairs by the window, Jenna’s eyes followed Harper with obvious curiosity. “I’m sorry, I don’t think we’ve been introduced.”
“This is Harper,” I said quickly. “My friend. I brought her in case you wanted someone to watch Leo while we talked.”
I could see Jenna visibly relax, the tension leaving her shoulders. “Oh, that’s thoughtful, but there’s no need. Leo’s perfectly happy with his cartoons and new truck. He can entertain himself while we talk.”
I studied Jenna’s face, trying to see past the careful composure to understand what she was really thinking. “Chloe’s gone,” I said quietly, watching Jenna’s reaction carefully.
A flicker of satisfaction crossed her face before she could hide it, and I saw her lips part as if she was about to say something. I held up a hand to cut her off. “I know you had something to do with it.”
Jenna’s expression shifted to something that was probably meant to look surprised. “Sam, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
So that’s how she was going to play it. “You went to see her yesterday. At the clinic.” I kept my voice low, glancing over at Leo to make sure he was still absorbed in his cartoon.
He was sitting very still, the truck motionless in his hands, his eyes on the TV, but his body language tense.
Not oblivious at all — hyperaware of the adults talking.
Jenna’s composure slipped slightly. “I… We went to the clinic. I thought she should know about Leo.”
“And what exactly did you tell her?”
“Just that Leo needed stability. That you were figuring out how to be a father.” Her voice was careful, measured.
“Bullshit.” I leaned forward. “Chloe left me a note saying she understands that I want to end our relationship because of Leo. The only way she could think that is if you lied to her.”
Jenna’s mask finally dropped, and I could see the calculation in her eyes. “I told her you were trying to figure out how to restructure your life around Leo’s needs. If she interpreted that as you wanting to end things with her, maybe that says something about how she felt about your relationship.”
The manipulation was so smooth, so reasonable-sounding, that for a moment I almost doubted my own understanding of what had happened. Then I remembered what Chloe’s mother said to me earlier: “You’d been planning to end your relationship, so she was leaving for a few days while you moved out.”
“You wanted her gone,” I said flatly. “You saw an opportunity to get rid of what you saw as competition, and you took it.”
“I want what’s best for Leo. And what’s best for him is having his parents together, focused on giving him the stability he needs.”
“His parents?” Harper spoke for the first time since we’d arrived. “Jenna, you and Sam aren’t together. You were never together in any meaningful way.”
“We have a child together. That’s the most meaningful connection two people can have.”
Harper scoffed. “Having a child together doesn’t mean you have to live together. There are co-parenting apps, shared custody schedules, family counselors who specialize in helping separated parents work together for their children’s benefit.”
“Those things don’t work,” Jenna said dismissively. “Not really. Children need consistency, routine, both parents under the same roof.”
“I’m speaking from experience,” Harper said firmly. “They can and do work if both parents are prepared to put the effort in and prioritize the child’s wellbeing over their own wants.”
Jenna turned back to me, her voice becoming more desperate. “That’s not what Leo needs, Sam. He needs both his parents living together to give him the stability he’s craving.”
“No,” I said firmly. “Love is the most meaningful connection two people can have. And I don’t love you, Jenna. I love Chloe. I want to marry Chloe.”
Jenna’s careful composure finally cracked. “She left you, Sam. She made her choice.”
“Because you lied to her about what my choices were.” I leaned forward. “But here’s what’s going to happen now. You’re going to tell me exactly what you said to Chloe, word for word, so I can fix the damage you’ve done.”
Jenna’s eyes flicked to Leo, now absorbed in his cartoons, then back to me. “You wouldn’t take him away from me.”
“I don’t want to. But I also won’t let you use him as a weapon to get what you want from me. Leo deserves better than that. He deserves parents who put his needs first, not parents who use him to manipulate each other.”
Half an hour later, Harper and I were on the way back to Willowbrook, Harper driving as I processed everything Jenna had told me.
She’d admitted it all — researching us online, finding out about the bar and my finances, deliberately timing her first text about Leo to arrive on Chloe’s birthday because we lived our lives online, and it made it easy for her to know exactly when to strike.
Going to Chloe’s clinic, telling Chloe I was planning to leave her and move in with them.
Everything was designed to push Chloe out so Jenna could have the life she wanted.
I was quiet, my mind cycling through Jenna’s words and what they meant for getting Chloe back.
“You did well in there,” Harper said eventually as we were near Willowbrook. “You were direct, you set boundaries, you didn’t let her manipulate you. That’s the Sam who should have shown up six days ago when Jenna first texted. Better late than never.”
Back at the house, Harper made coffee while I called Arthur. He answered on the second ring, despite it being a Saturday afternoon.
“Sam. I was wondering when I’d hear from you. Got the paternity results?”
“99.9%. Leo’s mine.” I took a breath. “But there’s more. Jenna went to see Chloe and lied to her - told her I was planning to move out and be with them. Convinced her I was choosing them over her. Chloe left. Jenna just admitted to all of it.”
There was a pause. “Do you have a witness to this conversation?”
“Yes. Harper was there. Jenna admitted everything - that she researched us, found out about the bar and my finances, saw me as a way to get the security she lost when her marriage ended.”
“That’s useful. Shows motive for manipulation.” I heard Arthur typing. “Sam, I’m going to call a PI I work with. I need background on Jenna and her ex-husband. Something doesn’t add up here.”
“What do you mean?”
“If she’s willing to lie to your girlfriend to manipulate the situation, I want to know what else she might be lying about.
” More typing. “The PI can dig into the divorce, David’s side of things.
If she’s using Leo as a pawn, I need to know the full picture before we set up any custody arrangement. ”
Relief flooded through me. “Thank you, Arthur.”
“This is going to take a few days, maybe a week. In the meantime, keep documenting everything - every interaction with Jenna, every expense you’ve paid, every conversation about Leo.
Call me immediately if she contacts you again.
No agreements, no promises, nothing without me reviewing it first.” Arthur paused.
“And based on how things are going, it’s probably best if you don’t meet with Jenna in person again.
Any future discussions should be in writing or with me present. Understood?”
“Understood.”
After I hung up, Harper looked at me questioningly.
“Arthur’s hiring a PI to look into Jenna and David’s divorce. He thinks something doesn’t add up.”
“Smart,” Harper said. “The ‘real Sam’ would have done that from the beginning.”
She was right. The panic had made me reactive instead of strategic. But I was thinking clearly now.
I sat at the kitchen table where Chloe had left her note. I read it again, seeing her pain in every word, her belief that I was choosing Leo and Jenna over her.
I pulled out my phone and typed a text to Chloe, knowing she probably wouldn’t read it anytime soon, but needing to say it anyway. I hit send, knowing she’d turned off her phone, knowing it might be days before she saw it. But I’d said what I needed to say.
Now I just had to wait for her to come home.