Chapter 89 The Wife—Tara
The Wife—Tara
They don’t want to give me bail. The judge said I was manipulative and cunning and couldn’t be trusted.
My parents are flying in tomorrow. I’m sure they’ll get this sorted; they always do.
The judge doesn’t understand what true love is.
To know that someone is the only one for you and that no matter what it takes, you have to be with them.
I’ve made too many sacrifices for my marriage to let it all go up in smoke.
I’ve been vigilant over the years, so careful, and one blood drive undid it all.
If only Chase had come to me first instead of going all investigative journalist. I could have figured out some explanation.
And now I’ve lost it all. My husband. My reputation. My family.
A guard comes to my cell and opens it. “Your pastor is here. I’ll escort you to a private room.”
I follow him down the hallway until we reach the tiny, windowless room and sit. He shuts the door and locks it while I wait. A few minutes later, the door opens and he escorts the man in, then withdraws.
“Nice of you to come visit,” I say. “Are you the one who screwed me over?”
“Are we being monitored?” he asks.
I give him a cold smile. “No, Pastor. Meetings between pastor and congregant are confidential.”
James leans forward and glares at me. “You bitch. You put my daughter in a coma! That wasn’t what we agreed to.”
I shrug. “I modified the plan.”
He grabs me by the collar. “I should kill you.” His face is red, and his breath comes in short gasps.
“You know it wasn’t supposed to go down this way.
You were just supposed to make it look like Chase was a bad guy, so Annabelle would drop him and that would be the end of things.
Make it seem like he was grooming Scarlett. She was never supposed to get hurt!”
I push his hands away from me. “Scarlett knew she had a brother. She wouldn’t have believed me. I couldn’t risk it. Getting rid of Chase wasn’t enough.”
“None of this would have been necessary at all if you had moved away like I asked you that night. Chase and Annabelle never would have met.”
“What do you mean?” I ask, even though I know full well what he’s talking about.
He shakes his head. “The night I switched the babies. You promised me that you’d move to another state. You lied to me.”
“I like it here. I had a practice established. There was no reason for anyone to know that you changed my dead baby for Annabelle’s live one. Everything would have been fine if Lucas hadn’t given blood.”
“Scarlett would have believed you if you had stuck to the lie we agreed on. That her brother was dead. She wouldn’t have been a threat. Why did you have to hurt her?”
“Maybe she would have believed me or maybe not. But Saint Chase was going to spill the beans. He thinks it’s a moral obligation to reunite Lucas and Annabelle.
So the truth was going to come out eventually.
” I’m getting angry again just thinking about the two of them.
I glare at James. “If your wife hadn’t been trying to steal my husband, I could have let it go.
But I knew eventually Chase would tell her the truth and then he and Lucas would leave me forever.
I couldn’t let that happen. I had to discredit Chase and how better than by setting him up to catfish Scarlett and then try to get rid of her.
At least that way I could keep Lucas to myself. Why should I be left with nothing?”
“What makes you think Annabelle would ever leave me for Chase?”
“All their flirty little texts to each other. It was just a matter of time. But now she’ll never have him. And she won’t trust you anymore either. Not after my gift in the mail.”
“You’re the one who sent the motel receipt to Annabelle?”
I smile. “I wanted her to believe her husband was stepping out on her. To see what it feels like. I figured, What could you tell her? That you and I used it as a meeting place to put our plan together? Were you able to convince her of your fidelity?”
He glares at me. “Never mind that. You almost killed my daughter! How can you justify that?”
“I already told you. I wasn’t going to lose everything.
If I was going to lose Lucas, why shouldn’t Annabelle lose one of her children?
I wanted her to see what it was like to have your child snatched away!
I didn’t plan to hurt Scarlett at first, but when I saw the email from Scarlett to Chase, I knew I had to do something.
So I pretended to be her brother and began texting her.
I was going to frame Chase, then use that evidence to make him forget about ever telling anyone the truth about Lucas.
I never intended for him to actually go to jail.
I just wanted leverage to make him stay with me and keep our family intact.
But then he hired Annabelle and they started going away together.
And I could see from their texts that they were getting close.
I had to stop him before he told her the truth.
But then you tracked me down when you realized who Chase was and I only disclosed part of my plan to you.
But Annabelle had to suffer. It wouldn’t be fair for me to be the only one. ”
James gives me a withering look. “How did I not see what a psycho you are?”
“Oh please. Don’t try to act so innocent.
You were more than happy to go along with my plan to discredit Chase so you could hold on to your darling wife even though she was trying to steal my husband.
Despite my best efforts, the truth came out because you couldn’t keep your mouth shut.
” I watch as his face contorts into a mask of rage.
I can see it’s taking everything in him not to grab me.
“I didn’t tell anyone what you did! I don’t know how the police found out, but I’m glad they did. I hope you rot in here. I would never have given you Annabelle’s baby if I’d known what a terrible person you truly are.”
The door opens, and the original detective on the case walks in.
“James Reynolds, you are under arrest for the kidnapping of Lucas Sommers.”
His eyes widen in shock. “I thought you said this was—”
I pull a wire from under my jumpsuit.
“Surprise.”