Chapter 28 #2
She flashed me a guilty look. “First, I had to dress up like Savannah, in a wig with a belly pad under my dress. She told me to go into the city, go to a couple shops and buy some stuff—crazy, gross stuff—and then go to a liquor store and buy a case of booze. She had me use a credit card she loaded into my Apple Pay. Then I had to pose as the DCS investigator and use a photo of me as Savannah, buying the booze, as evidence against her. She paid me half up front, and said she’d pay me the other half once the situation turned in her favor. ”
“What did she mean by that?”
“All I know is, the whole idea was to scare Savannah. Freak her out, drive her crazy, so she looks totally unfit to be a mother. That way, everyone would think that Madison and Max should clearly be the ones to raise the baby. I don’t know …
I’m starting to suspect that maybe the surrogacy agreement between them wasn’t totally on the up-and-up.
Otherwise, I wouldn’t think there would be any question about who will raise the child—it would be in the agreement, right? ”
My God. I’d suspected some of this, but still. This family—they’re total monsters.
I swallowed and looked back at Melanie. “What else?”
“Well, she wanted information on everyone close to Savannah. So I conducted ‘character witness interviews.’ ” Melanie made air quotes with her fingers.
“She seemed especially interested in Savannah’s best friend, Ellie.
She wanted to know where she lived, where she worked, how often they saw each other, all of that. ”
“So … what’s next? Are you done? Is there anything else she wants you to do?” I asked.
“I haven’t heard from her in a week or two. She still owes me the other half of the money. So I’m not sure what’s going on. I want to get in touch, but she told me not to. She reaches out to me. Sometimes she texts me, but usually she just shows up at the coffee shop.”
A plan began to take shape in my mind.
“Alright, Melanie—here’s what we’re going to do.
You’re going to get in touch with her now and tell her you need to meet with her.
Say there’s been an emergency and you need the other half of your money.
Say your dog is sick and you need it to pay for the vet, or whatever—I don’t care.
Just come up with something. And then you’re going to tell me when and where you’re meeting her. ”
Melanie grimaced. “Look, if she finds out I’m talking to you, that I’ve told you any of this, I’m dead. She’ll send my family that photo, and who knows what else she might do?”
“Well, let’s not forget that I have this photo of you,” I held up my phone, “and if you don’t do this, I’m going to turn you into the authorities. Got it?”
Melanie scowled. “You have no idea what you’re doing. You do not want to mess with Nora and Madison. You’re not only going to get me screwed, you’re going to get yourself screwed. And probably your friend too. Is that what you want?”
“Look, Savannah doesn’t deserve this. She was never their surrogate, Melanie—she dated Max and got pregnant.
She didn’t know he was married. She has no idea that they’ve targeted her, and are scheming behind her back to steal her baby.
She just thought she was having an innocent fling with a cute guy.
I’m not going to let the Clarks take away her child.
So either you help me, or I’m turning you in for fraud and impersonating a government employee. ”
Melanie was stunned. She turned away for a moment, and I heard her swearing under her breath. Finally, she turned back to me, shaking her head, a disgusted look on her face. “Fine.”
“Good—now get out your phone, and send Nora a message.”
I told my mom I was on my way back to her place and would stay at least another day, maybe a couple of days.
When I got Melanie’s text on the way back, I smiled.
Robin Sweeny Park at 3. Picnic tables behind the basketball court.
Using talk-to-text, I replied: Good. Go meet her as if everything is normal.
I’d be watching.
That night, I lay awake in my childhood bedroom, adrenaline pumping furiously through my veins.
Of course, I was exhilarated to have finally learned the truth about Melanie Daniels, Max, and the Clarks—but I was also solidly freaking out about the meetup I’d orchestrated between Nora and Melanie the next day.
What’s your brilliant plan, Jenna?
Also, was it time to clue in Savannah? At some point, she needed to know all of it. And she should probably find herself a new lawyer, because this had the potential to turn very ugly very quickly, once all the blackmail and fraud came out.
Many had warned me that the Clarks were powerful. But at the end of the day, how far would they go to get this baby? To protect their family’s reputation? Not to mention, to stay out of jail? I twisted my blankets into a tangled mess as I agonized.
I’ll wait, I finally decided. I’d fill Savannah in after tomorrow’s meetup. Hopefully then, I’ll have proof.
The more I lay there, going over and over the whole sordid mess, the angrier I got.
Who the hell does this family think they are?
How dare they mess with people’s lives like this?
And to think I’d actually started falling for Max in the beginning!
But I was just a distraction from the woman he really loved—his wife. That spoiled, evil, manipulative woman.
I couldn’t wait to see the look in their eyes when they finally learned it was over—that they were finished, that I had done it. That their plan would not succeed. Savannah and I would have justice.
I swiped away a stray tear. For the first time in a year, I felt a tiny seed of hope, deep in my core. I finally have answers. I finally know why this happened to me—and to Savannah. Now it’s time to finish this.
Maybe, when this was all over, I could meet someone new—someone who would actually love me. Then, maybe, I could have a family of my own.
Tomorrow. Three o’clock. Robin Sweeny Park. That’s when it ends—and when the new me begins.