44.
Chapter forty-four
Kameron
Igot to the city in record time—even though I definitely should’ve been pulled over for speeding.
It didn’t matter how much deep breathing I did; my anger felt like it was slowly taking me over.
By the time I got to Jack’s penthouse, I wanted to get in, find his electronics, and get out.
I’d be done with this, and be able to go back home and clean up the pieces of this mess.
But the moment I walked in, I knew it wasn’t going to happen. Jack warned me how the place would be a mess, and I hadn’t been thrilled to see how bad rock bottom looked for my brother. But the place was perfectly clean. Suspiciously clean.
“Hello?” I called into the house, putting my coat on the hook by the door.
The apartment was full of signs it was currently being lived in: from fresh groceries in the fridge, to the washing machine running a load of laundry.
I’d expected to find Stef had stolen Jack’s stuff, but instead it looked like she’d taken advantage of his absence and moved back in.
I wasn’t sure how she’d managed that when the locks had been changed, but it was the only explanation.
The second floor was as lived in as the first, though I clocked the sounds of a hookup happening in the master bedroom, and I immediately regretted coming. It explained why nobody’d noticed me come in, but I still had to suppress a gag as I loudly knocked on the door.
“Stef!” I yelled, “And I’m assuming Matt? You have about ten minutes to leave before I call the police!” I heard a loud scramble in the bedroom, the face of my ex-sister-in-law peaking out as she cracked the door open, thankfully having put on a t-shirt so I didn’t have to see her naked.
“What. Are. You. Doing. Here. Kameron?” Stef asked through gritted teeth, glaring at me with ice blue eyes that could probably freeze the sun.
“Could ask you the same thing,” I pointed out, “Jack asked me to pick up some of his things, and you’re not supposed to be here.”
“I live here,” Stef scoffed, as if it were obvious.
“Jack says otherwise, especially when the apartment is in his name,” I pointed out, “And he changed the locks when you broke up in August.”
“Well, I got half of everything, and that includes…” she started.
“The prenup says otherwise,” I deadpanned, even though I wasn’t entirely sure there was one. I didn’t think Jack was stupid enough to get married without one again, not after everything that happened with Natalie. Stef pouted, crossing her arms in front of her.
“Considering he,” I said, nudging the door open to reveal the man I assumed was Matt, “screwed Jack over so badly the first time, I’m pretty sure you don’t have any claim to the penthouse.
Plus,” I said, turning to the man, “does Natalie know you’re here, Matt?
Or should I tell your wife you’re sleeping with her ex-husband’s ex-wife?
Jack did you both a favor by not telling her, but I’ve had a really bad day, and I’m not afraid to. So, try me.”
“You wouldn’t do that,” Stef said, rolling her eyes. “You’re too nice. Plus Matt’s leaving…”
“How much?” Matt asked, getting his wallet as Stef’s jaw dropped. “Nat doesn’t need to know anything.”
“Are you KIDDING ME?!“ Stef screamed, spinning to look at him. The two immediately started yelling at each other, and I didn’t have time to play these games.
“Ten. Minutes!” I yelled over both of them, “Get out. Don’t even think of taking Jack’s electronics; I know you’ve been leaking things to the press.” Stef mumbled something about it being Jack’s fault for having easy passwords, but the two of them at least scrambled to leave.
Meanwhile, I worked on changing all of Jack’s passwords, and poked through to see if Stef had left any kind of digital trail.
She hadn’t been smart — she was logged into all of her socials, and had clearly been sending everything to her friends.
Multiple conversations about how she’d been ruining Jack’s dreams as he had ruined hers.
But what surprised me the most were the messages Stef was getting from Maya.
Maya Phillips
So Nalini knows I gave you those pictures.
I might lose my job. And you promised to help me.
You still haven’t paid me. I need that money.
And why was she saying you were trying to stop RaineFall from happening? You told me you were working to make sure she was out of the way, so we could get new music.
Should I have looked at Stef’s messages?
Probably not. But I hadn’t been digging through them; they were already open on the computer — which in my eyes made them fair game.
I hadn’t thought I’d find this sort of information on Maya, but it made sense — and I took a screenshot just to be on the safe side.
I wanted her to leave my family and me alone, and if it came to needing a restraining order, I wanted to have all the evidence I needed to make sure it went through.
Mel arrived minutes after I’d finished kicking them out, followed closely by Noah. She told me she was already talking to lawyers, so I figured I’d let her handle it. I was still angry, but I had finally gotten to the point I no longer felt out of control.
The irony of this mess was even though Stef clearly had been trying to drive a wedge between us, she’d helped reforge the bond with my brothers.
But it didn’t mean I was going to let Stef or Matt get away with this.
I pulled up a number I'd forgotten to delete during Jack’s first divorce, knowing it was petty, but doing it anyway.
“Why are you calling me?” Natalie asked, not exactly mad I'd reached out, but definitely wary.
“I just thought you needed to know something,” I said, telling her the entire story of how I’d found Matt and Stef.
Because I needed to know he’d face some consequences, and this was the only thing I had control over.
Was the little piece of revenge worth it?
I wasn’t sure yet, but I had a feeling it would be.