42. Chapter 41
Siobhan
W alking out of the police interview room, I smiled seeing Stephanie crashed out in Carter’s arms. It made me realize just how much of a family the three of us had become.
It was still such a relief to have her back and to know that she was safe.
By the time I was done with the police, all I wanted to do was crawl into bed and avoid life for the next few days. Coming off the adrenaline rush and overall anxiety about Stephanie’s well-being was no joke, and I could feel the crash coming.
Upon seeing me, Carter pulled me into a hug. I melted into his strong body. He shifted Stephanie’s body slightly, and I realized we needed to go. Looking around, I didn’t see his teammate. “What happened to Coop?” I asked.
“Most likely afternoon practice. That’s if the Legacy doesn’t have him doing all sorts of crisis management meetings. They scheduled mine for tomorrow, but PR is already working on the spin.”
I felt like shit at that moment. I had gotten both of them into trouble with the team, although I was glad he was there with me.
As we walked out to the car, he said, “Let’s get something to eat.”
Food was the last thing on my mind. It might have been mid-afternoon, but I was exhausted. “Can’t we just go home and go to sleep?”
“You need to feed your body. It helps with the recovery process. Why do you think there’s a post-game meal or that the Avengers movies always end at a gyro shop? We don’t have to do anything crazy, but we need to get something.”
I sighed, but he was right. That’s when several flashbulbs went off in our faces. I tried not to react, but in my head, I was just screaming out curse words at the twats.
I wanted my privacy, but it was always going to be international news. I couldn’t even process that Russell would try to kidnap his own daughter and was the one behind this whole terror campaign.
I opened the car door and moved the car seat buckles before moving out of the way so Carter could place Stephanie in her car seat. Due to her weight, she still didn’t qualify to be in a regular seat. We got her latched up and then got into the front seats.
I looked at my phone, dreading to see what it said. It was flooded with messages and alerts. Thankfully, I saw one from Natalie.
So glad everyone is okay. Doing as much damage control as possible. Spence rented a room over at the Douglas for you. The paparazzi are staked out at Carter’s place and ours.
Thanks
I felt awful knowing Russell brought the paparazzi to Natalie and Spencer’s place. The worst thing was that Spencer was enough of a hot head that he might end up exploding at the press if they messed with Natalie or Carter’s life too much.
Looking up, I realized we weren’t on the way to either of our two places. “I take it you already know about the plan to go to the Douglas?”
His head bobbed up and down as he said, “Yup. Nat’s going to meet us there with clothes and some disguises.”
I should have known Carter talked with his sister, and they had things worked out. It was a relief that there was a plan in place. It was almost a shame we were going to meet her with disguises. I just wanted to be anonymous.
Then I had the worst idea. If the paparazzi followed our car from the police station, although it didn’t seem like there was anyone following too close to us, they would try to make it sound so much worse than just getting something to eat.
So I had to ask, “Should I text her for dinner too? That way we don’t have to worry about the paps trying to make it sound like we don’t care about Russell’s misdeeds? ”
“Not a bad idea. I vote for gyros or sushi. It’s the protein that we really need.”
The idea of a gyro just didn’t do it for me. They got cold too quickly, and the textures became all weird when they were cold. Besides, they were so heavy. The only thing I thought I might be able to get down was some sushi. Thankfully, Stephanie liked sushi too.
I texted Natalie.
Any chance you could also come bearing sushi?. Your brother wants to make sure we eat.
Of course. Typical order?
For me, yes. Need me to ask your brother?
Nope. See you soon.
In the penthouse of the Douglas, I sat down in my brown wig and oversized sunglasses. I finally could breathe and relax a little bit. The moment I took off the stupid sunglasses, it seemed like everything hit me all at once.
Russell had tried to take Stephanie away again, but this time without my permission.
It’s not like I wouldn’t let him see Stephanie.
I made sure she went to every single date when he had custody and would even let him spend time with her when he wanted to see her.
It wasn’t like I kept her from him. But he always seemed so damn jealous of my daughter.
Was he that jealous of my feelings for her?
Why was it he could date people, but the moment I started to date someone, he pulled this shit?
He confessed to hiring someone to paint my house with those heinous messages on a bimonthly basis. And that he got his girlfriend to leave the bomb at my place.
For what? Because I was dating a new man?
I just sobbed since it was too much to compute. I never imagined a man could hate me enough to do so much psychological damage to me and his own daughter. And for what? Love?
Russell couldn’t give anyone true love. He was a cheating piece of shit before all this happened. Now I didn’t know what I wanted to do.
If it wouldn't be so cruel to Stephanie, I would terminate Russell’s parental rights. Instead, we would deal with what happened next with the court system. If there came a point where she didn’t want to communicate or deal with him, I would support that.
The crazy thing was that the only thing all of Russell’s antics did was drive me closer to Carter and make me really appreciate the nature of true love. He never pulled stunts like that. No, he just gave me his unwavering attention. He gave me a safe space when my home was under attack.
Even right now, Carter’s embrace was everything I needed. He didn’t care that I had to get my emotions out. He wasn’t afraid of my tears.
As my weeping subsided, he kissed my forehead and whispered, “We’re nearly done with this nightmare of a year.”
He was right. The police had him, and now the justice system would do what they willed. It sounded like they wanted to move quickly enough. But given the money Russell had, he could hire a legal dream team to keep him out of jail.
“I hope you’re right," I muttered.
He pulled me close and whispered into my ear, “I’ll keep you safe.”
“I know.” It was quiet but true. It wasn’t my safety that had me worried.
It was something else. Something I couldn’t quite vocalize.
But I had to at least try, for Carter’s sake.
“You’ve always kept me safe in your own way.
I love that you’ve done it by being strong and a leader without having to raise a fist.”