Chapter 78 Annabelle
Annabelle
James had been gone for two days and despite his pleas, Annabelle refused to see him.
He’d begged and cried, swearing he had no idea what had happened to him to make him put his hands on her.
But it had scared the hell out of her. She had no idea who he really was.
How had she lived with him for all these years oblivious to his duplicity?
She had already contacted a lawyer and asked him to draw up a separation agreement.
She was going to use the threat of turning him in for kidnapping as leverage to get full custody.
There was no way she was going to allow him to be alone with their children until she could be sure he wasn’t dangerous.
She could still feel his hands on her neck.
It was surreal! She hadn’t told the girls the truth, but they knew that something terrible had happened between their parents.
The atmosphere at their house was somber.
Chase’s wife was on her way over to talk to Annabelle. She had called Annabelle last night, and they’d talked for over an hour on the phone. Chase was out on bail, and Tara had told Annabelle she’d asked him to move out.
The doorbell rang. Annabelle took a deep breath and walked into the hallway.
She opened the door and looked at the woman standing there.
Tara’s pictures hadn’t done her justice.
She was stunning and exuded an effortless elegance.
Silky blond hair framed her face in loose waves down to her shoulders.
The stylish black frames she wore only accented her cornflower-blue eyes.
Clad in dark jeans and a form-fitting top, Tara looked like she could grace the cover of a fashion magazine.
“Come in,” Annabelle said, not sure how to greet this woman who had been raising her son.
Tara held out a slender hand, and Annabelle gave it an awkward shake. “Shall we go to the kitchen? I made a pot of coffee.”
“Sure,” Tara said, following her.
“Thank you for coming over,” Annabelle started. “I know this is a difficult situation for everyone. I don’t quite know where to begin.” She brought a tray over with the coffee, cream, and sugar and poured a cup for Tara.
Tara pursed her lips. “It’s been a nightmare. I haven’t told Lucas the truth yet. It’s been enough trying to deal with Chase being arrested and—” She pulled a tissue from her purse and dabbed her eyes, sniffing. “I’m sorry. I’m still grappling with all this myself.”
“Of course. Did Chase say why he hit Scarlett? What did he hope to gain?” Annabelle still couldn’t understand how he could have done it. “Was it intentional?”
Tara put the tissue back in her purse and leveled a stare at Annabelle. “My husband is not a good man.”
Annabelle’s eyebrows shot up.
Tara shook her head. “I really thought he had changed. I’ll bet he charmed you. Made you feel like he understood you like no one else. He’s good at that.”
“Well, I—” Annabelle didn’t know how to respond.
Tara put her hand up. “It’s okay. It’s not your fault.
He’s a master manipulator. He’s done it before, with another woman he worked with a few years back.
We almost split up, but he swore he would devote himself to Lucas and to me.
In my line of work, I see what divorce does to families.
” She took a sip of her coffee. “Were you in love with him?”
Annabelle was taken aback. Had she been? “I don’t know. I mean, nothing happened. We were just friends, but I felt like he understood me in a way no one has in a long time.”
“Emotional affair?”
“Does it matter now? The man almost killed my daughter.” Annabelle felt herself getting angry.
“I didn’t have an affair with your husband, okay?
I never would have. We bonded over our shared grief.
Losing children.” She shook her head. “Or at least I thought we had. Now I know he’s a con man.
Is it even true that you had those late pregnancy losses? ”
Tara bit her lip and looked down at the table.
“He was telling the truth about that. But I don’t think he really cared.
I went through the grieving process with no support from him.
” Annabelle wanted to ask her how she could have stayed with a man like that, but she refrained.
“You have a family law practice, right?” Annabelle asked instead, even though she had looked her up and knew she did.
Tara nodded. “Yes. I only represent women. I’ve got a reputation for making men pay.
So, Chase knew that. I will say, the only thing he cares about is Lucas.
He said that your daughter was going to ruin everything.
His plan was to seduce you into being with him, and then disclose the truth.
That way he could keep Lucas. He wouldn’t have to worry about me fighting for custody.
Since Lucas is your biological child, you’d have the right to custody.
Chase was trying to string Scarlett along to keep her quiet until he made you fall for him.
But Scarlett kept texting that she wanted to ask you about it.
He was afraid she would tell you everything before he had time to fully work his charm on you. ”
Annabelle was aghast. “He admitted that to you?”
“Our marriage is over. And he doesn’t care about me. I see now that the only reason he stayed was because of Lucas.”
Then Tara went on. “He claims that he didn’t mean to hit Scarlett—he was going after her to try to convince her to keep his secret. But I mean, the fact that he just left her there—”
Annabelle felt her rage bubble up again. “He left her to die. What if no one had seen her and called 911? He’s a monster.” She found it hard to believe that Tara could have no idea what kind of man Chase was. “You must have seen signs. A normal person doesn’t behave that way.”
“It was hard to live with the cheating, but I loved him. He’s got this ability to make you feel like you’re the most important person in the world.
I’ve known him since college, and he’s always been able to charm his way out of anything.
I had no idea he was capable of this kind of subterfuge.
Pretending to be someone else, stringing your poor daughter along. ”
“Where is he now?” Annabelle asked.
“I would have let him rot in jail, but my parents insisted on paying the bail for Lucas’s sake. He’s staying at a hotel for now.”
“I hate the fact that he’s out there.”
“Well, the reason I wanted to come over is about Lucas. I know you want to meet him, but for his sake, I’m asking you to give me some time to break this to him.”
“Yes, of course. I want only what’s best for him. But you have to understand how hard this is for me. How long are you thinking?”
“I don’t know, Annabelle. I really need to talk to his therapist first. He’s already traumatized by his father’s arrest. I’m sure you don’t want him to have a breakdown. Lucas suffers from anxiety already.”
“He’s in therapy?”
“Yes, as I said, for anxiety. It’s very common with young people these days. Anyway, I need to find the right time and the right way. You’re a mother; you understand.”
“Are you sure keeping him in the dark is the right approach? I would think explaining the reason why his father did what he did would make things a bit easier for him, rather than thinking his dad tried to hurt some random girl. How have you explained it to him?”
Tara pursed her lips. “I haven’t really. I take your point. Give me a day or two. Can you do that?”
“Yes, of course.”
Tara stood up. “One more thing. Lucas’s biological father. Do you know where he is?”
Randy. She hadn’t spoken to him since the day she found him in bed with that woman. He had no right to Lucas, had bowed out when she was pregnant. If he had any desire to see his child, he would have gotten in touch a long time ago.
“The father’s not an issue. He didn’t want to be involved.”
“Well, that’s something at least. Have you told your daughters that James switched our babies, speaking of disclosing the truth to our children?”
“No. I—we, I guess—have to figure out what we’re going to do. If I report him, then of course I need to tell them. But I need a little time to figure it all out.”
“I’ll follow your lead. You’re the more injured party. As devastating as this is, if James hadn’t done it, I wouldn’t have had these years with Lucas.”
It hit Annabelle again. How much she’d missed.
How different her life was from how it should have been.
She began to cry. What a mess this all was.
Thinking about telling her own children the truth shone a light on Tara’s concerns.
And poor Tara, she couldn’t even imagine how she must be feeling.
She was Lucas’s mother. Just because he wasn’t biologically hers, she was no less of a mother to Lucas than Annabelle was to Scarlett and Olivia.
Even so, Annabelle had mourned her son all these years and knowing he was alive and well, there was nothing that could keep her from wanting to know him.
“I think you’re right. We all need some time.
I want you to know that I have no intention of trying to take Lucas from you.
When you’re ready to tell him, I don’t want him to be afraid to meet me.
You can let him know how much I’ve missed him, and that I just want to meet him and hopefully forge a relationship.
I’m not going to do anything to hurt him. Or you,” she added.
Tara blinked away tears. “The courts will likely agree that he’s old enough to make a custody decision on his own. He’s thriving and happy with us and they’d be reluctant to uproot him. But I’m happy to hear that you’re not thinking of a legal battle. I can’t tell you how much that means to me.”
Annabelle was taken aback. So Tara had already thought this all through.
And being a family attorney, who would know better?
Annabelle had no intention of fighting for custody but she didn’t like the way Tara made it sound like she had no rights at all.
She couldn’t bear the thought that now that she had found out her son was actually alive, she could lose him all over again.