Chapter 46 Gwendolyn #2
“Don’t look so shocked, sweetie. I might have a Bachelors of Fine Arts degree, but there is a reason I didn’t do anything with it. Though, maybe after all the years of acting like I give a shit about my husband, I should pat myself on the back for still having some skill.”
My mouth gapes a few times until I find my voice again. “You’re the informant? But why?”
She takes a sip of her wine, humming her enjoyment. “Oh, you do have good taste,” she says before setting her glass back down. Interlocking her fingers on the table, Margot leans forward. “I guess I need to give you a little backstory so you can understand the why.”
“Richard and I haven’t always had a rocky relationship.
The problems really started around the time Jake passed.
Granted, he was never the easiest person to get along with, especially when it came to our sons, but it came from a place of love.
He only wanted the best for all of us. But, after Jake passed and Richard was solid in his seat with the town, he turned his anger and frustration into something toxic.
Nothing physical, not really. Mostly just using his words as a weapon.
He placed such a weight on Logan that there was no way for him to get out from under it, no matter how hard I tried to alleviate the pressure. ”
“Did you try?”
Margot pops an eyebrow at me and I wish I could walk back my question, it wasn’t my place to ask it. I fully expect her to lash out, tell me I’m in the wrong, but she doesn’t. Instead, she lifts one side of her mouth up in a sad smile.
“More than you could ever imagine, Gwen. It haunted me every day to see my son struggle with reaching the heights his father wanted him to be at. Richard didn’t want Logan to be Logan, he wanted him to be an enhanced version of himself.
And we both know how much of a wedge that has placed between all of us. ”
I shake my head in confusion. “What does that have to do with what is happening now? With this deal your husband is forcing us to make. Which is more money than anyone could ever need, by the way.”
“When Richard started rubbing elbows with men like Marcus Antonio, he got a taste of more power. Of what more money brings to the table. How a well-known name can open doors that would otherwise stay sealed shut to regular people. He hated not being part of the inner circle. The first time Marcus showed him how much money they could get from buying land from farmers for cheap and reselling for a bigger profit, Richard realized how much more they could do as a team. It snowballed from there until he met Triton Resorts. They flashed a pretty idea with a ton of zeros behind it and unfortunately my husband lost his mind to greed.”
I’m quiet as she tells her story, taking small sips of my wine to keep my mouth busy so I didn’t interrupt her. Margot’s eyes were slightly unfocused as she recounted the past, and I could see the pain in them as she talked.
“I tried my hardest to talk him down from the dangerous ledge he was hurdling toward. I begged him not to get into something that would change the fabric of our home forever. But he wouldn’t listen to me.
Said that I was determined to make him fail.
I learned pretty quickly to keep my mouth shut.
Then he brought Logan back into the fold. ”
She takes a sip from her glass, spinning it around in her fingers by the stem as she blinks back into the present.
“That brings us to now,” she smiles softly.
“I wasn’t sure what to do or how to get my husband to see rationally.
He just kept talking about how Logan was finally going to step in and he would get to live the life he deserved.
Even if that meant changing Willow Grove as we know it.
Even when I reminded him Logan would have to pick up the pieces he shattered. ”
As she continued talking, I realized how lost she looked. The haunted look in her eyes of a tired woman at her breaking point stared back at me.
“You called Mitch when you felt you couldn’t do any more to stop him,” I whispered.
Margo nods. “I had hoped that if someone could expose him, it would at least slow him down. I figured that if the public knew what was happening behind closed doors, they would be able to speak up and get him to listen. But it was too late. I think he knew there was a leak, so he rushed the contracts.”
That would explain a little bit as to why they were so sloppy.
“Why didn’t you just come out and tell everyone yourself?”
Eyes cast down, she draws a picture with her fingernail along the fabric of the table cloth.
“Truthfully, I was afraid of what he would do. I still am. But I am realizing my fear is nothing compared to what would happen to the town that I love and the people in it that I care about if this continues. Even if nothing bad comes from the resort coming in and Triton taking over, I can’t live myself for simply hurting everyone. ”
A single tear slides down her face and she swipes under her eyes quickly.
“Did Mitch tell you what we found in the contract?”
“He mentioned you needed dirt to expose my husband, right?”
I nod and she leans back to fish into her purse that she has placed on the edge of her chair. Producing a manila folder, she traces the edges as she lays it in front of her.
“This should be enough. I was saving it for a rainy day. I guess now is as good a time as any.” Sliding over the folder, she places her hand over mine when I start to grab it.
“I didn’t mean to drag you into this, Gwen.
When I chose you for the event, I just wanted to give you a chance one last time, seeing as I wasn’t sure what Willow Grove would even become next year.
I see a lot of myself in you. At least the part of me from before I got married.
You are a wonderful girl, bright and beautiful.
And I have to say if you ever forgive Logan for not being truthful, he would be lucky to have you at his side. ”
My mouth parts with shock at her words, not expecting to hear them from her. “You know about us?”
“Of course I do.” The sadness that was previously etched on her face starts to melt away as she smiles at me.
“I don’t think I’ve seen my son as happy as he was when you two were planning the festival.
I might not have planned for that partnership to happen, but I can’t say I’m not thrilled that it did. ”
“What about Camila? I thought you wanted them to be together?”
Margot blanches. “If I never see that girl another day in my life, it’ll be too soon.”
My brows furrow in confusion and she taps her long fingernail on the manila folder. “You wanted something to taint Richard Spencer’s name, how about an affair with his closest friend’s daughter.”