Chapter 11 Sharp Enough To Cut #3
Lana wasn’t sure what to say to her, and before she could reply, the phone went silent.
She sank to the bed in the room, her mind spinning.
What is this woman up to now, she thought as she sat there twirling the thin phone around in her hands?
She knew when Maureen arrived, it would be with her mini entourage.
This was a game to her, and it was apparent she wasn’t near ready to end it.
Dropping the jeans and the rest of the clothing she had, she left the room, preparing to give Kayden the bad news.
When Lana got downstairs, Maureen was already in the living room, removing her white leather gloves.
She was so conniving that she actually answered her from right inside the house.
Keeping her head held high and her eyes on Kim, who was watching her like a hawk, Lana entered the living room ready to face the music.
Kayden was now chopping wood outside, and she could see Heathcliff with him, the glass doors pulled closed.
How long was I upstairs, she thought, since it wasn’t that long ago he was sitting at the table on the phone.
Maureen smiled un-genuinely and motioned for Lana to sit next to her.
She thought about sitting as far away as possible, but opted not to give in to those thoughts and sat right next to her.
Sitting this close to someone so cruel made her skin crawl, and she couldn’t believe Kayden was produced by this woman.
Kim sat across from them with a grin on her face, revealing she knew something Lana obviously did not.
She thinks she’s won. It’s like Kayden is a trophy to her, Lana thought as she rolled her eyes, waiting for Maureen to speak.
She watched Kayden swinging the ax outside as Heathcliff appeared to keep him distracted.
It was all so calculated, and from the look of it, she doubted Kayden knew what was about to transpire.
“Lana,” Maureen said evenly and slowly. “There’s been some interesting developments lately regarding the accident on February twenty-first.”
Lana’s eyebrow raised, her physical manifestation of what stage her patience was at.
“And what would that be?” Lana asked, crossing her arms over her chest, waiting for a reply.
“Before I get into that, I want to clear up one thing first.” She stood from the couch and started her circling act again.
Kim kept her eyes on her, the smile on her face widening. It was like she was a hungry hyena waiting for prey to finally die so she could take a bite.
“I love my son. More than you could ever understand.”
Lana scoffed.
“I would do anything for him—anything. No matter how much he’s disappointed me.” She stopped and looked at him through the glass as he chopped wood, his back still facing the door, then she spun around and faced Lana again.
“But there is no one, and I mean no one, I would allow to take him from me,” she finished, her stare burning through Lana’s corneas.
“Do you have a point you’re trying to get to? What does this have to do with the state pressing charges against him?” Lana asked.
This time, Kim scoffed and crossed her legs, keeping her eyes on Lana, waiting and watching.
“I never said the state would press charges on him,” Maureen replied, the big smile on her face revealing dimples that were quite pretty, but showed just how maleficent she was.
At first, Lana was confused and furrowed her brows, not quite getting it.
“Take your time, dear,” she said, stalking around the living room and finally sitting next to Kim.
“What, you mean me?”
“Yes, dear.”
“That’s ridiculous!”
Lana felt the blood drain from her face. Surely she wasn’t serious—no reasonable person would think that accusation could survive a courtroom.
“Is it?” Maureen asked, leaning forward across the coffee table like a predator closing in.
“You see, one could argue that you were practicing outside your scope of medicine, and in providing those services, you contributed to the embolism that claimed poor Rachel’s life.
You’re not licensed in the state of Georgia, are you?
So, providing any medical service under the title of Nurse makes you liable to any outcome therein. ”
Maureen’s eyes flashed with excitement as she said this, never taking them off Lana. Instantaneously, the room felt like it was devoid of oxygen, and Lana couldn’t breathe. How could this be happening? Why? Why was this woman hell-bent on ruining not only her son’s life but now hers?!
“I’m an ER Nurse, so of course trauma is within my scope of practice,” Lana said, weaker than she intended.
“True, but that’s in the state of Florida. See here in little old Georgia, your Florida license means shit.”
It was like a wave of evil crossed her face when she said it, and Lana knew she was right. The state could press charges, she could go to jail, and with a powerful enemy like Maureen, she wouldn’t stand a chance in a courtroom.
“I told you to walk away, bitch,” Kim chimed, winking at her.
Lana just rolled her eyes; she didn’t have the energy to deal with her just then.
“Why are you doing this?” Lana asked, the tears welling in her eyes.
“Because I know my son. He would fight tooth and nail for you and spend every last dime he had making sure you had the best legal team, and trust me, honey, he would need every penny to come up against me.”
Lana could only listen as the tears fell down her face. In this moment, she had never felt more hopeless and defeated in her entire life.
“After all of his money is gone, of which he will eventually lose his company, the properties he owns, and the house he’s building—what will he have then?”
She stood up now and looked down at Lana. From this angle, Maureen looked like the sea witch in the mermaid fairy tale, towering over her. She had never felt so small.
“He will resort to his old behavior again and probably end up doing something foolish because of it. And for what? You?” she asked, pointing at her.
“Forget your nursing career because you’d never practice in that field again, either,” Kim chimed in.
“At least I went to school and got a degree in something important.” Lana managed to say.
“So did I, honey.”
“I didn’t know they gave degrees for fellatio,” Lana retorted matter-of-factly.
Kim’s mouth dropped open, but she didn’t say anything.
“Let’s be a little more respectful here, ladies,” Maureen interjected. Lana just smiled at her, her face full of tears.
“So this is your ultimatum to me, otherwise I’d be in handcuffs already?”
“Yes, and it's simple. Leave Hamby and go home. Don’t leave him a note or an explanation—nothing. Just disappear into the night the way you arrived and move on with your life.” Maureen deadpanned.
“You’re truly a monster,” Lana said and stood from the couch.
She turned her back, not wanting to give them the satisfaction of seeing more of her tears, but mostly she wanted to run outside to the man she loved and tell him everything that had just happened. But she knew she couldn’t.
“You have three days. The plow trucks will be arriving just in time for you to be able to get back on the road,” Maureen said, “If you contact him after the fact in any way, you’ll live to regret it.”
“That’s a promise,” Kim finished.
Lana’s shoulders heaved as the pain she was feeling was too great. It was just all too much, but she turned and faced them anyway.
“How am I supposed to get home? My car is ruined.” Lana managed to say evenly, as she took slow, even breaths.
“I’ll make the arrangements, don’t worry about it. You call me and I’ll have the Captain collect you and your things.” Maureen replied.
Lana nodded her head, turned around, and walked slowly up the stairs. With each step, the tears streamed faster. She placed her hand over her mouth, this time, to stop the scream she felt bubbling up inside of her. She was losing him now, no matter what she did.
Maureen and Kim looked at each other after Lana disappeared on the landing.
“You think she’ll tell him?” Kim asked.
“No, I think she actually cares about him enough not to. She knows he’d ruin himself, and she couldn’t live with that. It’s a done deal,” Maureen replied and winked at Kim.
Heathcliff and Kayden came back inside, and Maureen handed him a large manila envelope.
“I should have known,” he said, glaring at Heathcliff. “What, were you both hiding outside when I let him in?” he asked as he tore open the envelope.
He looked at the contents, and it contained his contract for Aunt Mae’s.
“What’s this?” he asked, confused.
“That’s Capshaw Realty backing off our offer and allowing KND Properties to continue with your original plan,” Maureen exclaimed.
Kayden dropped the envelope on the dining room table. “Why? What’s your angle, mom?”
“No angle. I heard you the other night, is all. It’s time I backed off a bit and let you handle things your way,” she lied.
Maureen walked over to him with her arms outstretched and gave him a hug. He looked over at Kim, who smiled and shrugged her shoulders as if she was unsure of what was happening. He hugged her back, not sure what to think.
Is this real? He thought to himself as she kissed him on the forehead.
“Come on, Captain, let’s go back to the hotel. Give my son the chance to share his news with his fiancé.”
Heathcliff tipped his hat, and the four of them walked down the foyer. When they stepped outside, Kayden grabbed Maureen’s arm.
“Thank you. You don’t know what this means to me.”
“Yes, I do,” she replied and walked towards the snowmobile.
Kayden shut the door and spun on his heels, yelling, “Baby! You won’t believe what just happened.”
He ran through the house and up the stairs, still not sure of what made his mother change her mind. Things were getting better, but they still had a lot of work left to do.