Chapter 32
Chapter Thirty-Two
S carlett sipped her latte as she gazed around the mall’s food court. Seemed like it had been forever since she and Bella had a girls’ day of shopping. It was needed. At least for Scarlett. The last few weeks had been a little stressful with work and coming to grips with Cynthia’s death. She didn’t realize how much she’d miss the outspoken woman.
That last thought brought a smile to her face, and she glanced across the table at Bella. Her sweet daughter had only agreed to spend this Saturday shopping with her because Antonio was hanging out with some of his cousins this afternoon. Normally, he would be doing the dad thing, shuttling Bella around to dance class or gymnastics, but they had a weekend off. So, she suggested he hang with the guys while she and Bella indulged in a little retail therapy.
“Where should we go next? I was thinking maybe we could find a birthday present for grandma Amelia,” she said to Bella, who was sitting across the table from her eating chicken nuggets and watching a group of girls at a nearby table.
Soon that would be her little girl hanging out with friends at the mall. Scarlett knew she had to let her grow up, but she wasn’t looking forward to the teenage years. Bella was already showing some independence. Soon, she’d be a moody teenager who wanted nothing to do with her old mom.
Scarlett grimaced at the thought. In the meantime, she would take every opportunity for them to hang out.
“Grandma has everything,” Bella finally said. “What could we get her?”
“Good question. At first, I was thinking we could buy her a new handbag and matching shoes, but the last time we did that, she said it was a waste of money.”
Her mother insisted she didn’t need to keep up with the latest fashions. That her handbags and shoes were still in good shape and in style. Scarlett on the other hand didn’t think there was such a thing as too many shoes and purses.
“What about a spa day?” Bella suggested. “She likes getting her nails done. We could get her a gift card or something.”
“You’re brilliant! Maybe we all can go somewhere together for a spa day. Oh, we can plan a girls’ weekend away and invite your Aunt Momo too.”
“Yes! That would be fun.”
Her daughter still didn’t know she was a multimillionaire. Scarlett had told her about Cynthia’s death, and Bella had been shocked, saying she’d just seen her great-grandmother not too long ago.
“I’m sad she’s gone,” Bella had said. “But maybe she’ll see my other dad, Ezra, while she’s in heaven.”
It was a sweet thing to say, and Cynthia would’ve loved the sentiment. The woman adored Bella. Not only had she left her a huge inheritance, but she had also left a ton of money to Scarlett and Antonio, as well as the mansion, which blew their minds. That meant she hadn’t left it to Alberta. Scarlett didn’t want it. She had decided to sell it and split the proceeds with Cynthia’s staff.
But Makena, Antonio’s stepmother, who was an estate planning attorney, suggested she think about it for a while before making any final decisions. In the meantime, Makena had moved the property to a trust, and the staff would be able to live in the home rent free for another six months. That would give Scarlett and Antonio time to decide what to do with the place.
After doing a little more shopping, and accumulating more shopping bags full of stuff, Scarlett and Bella decided to head home.
“I really like my new shoes,” Bella said of her high-top yellow Converses as she jogged to keep up with Scarlett.
“I’m glad, baby. Does that mean you have a new favorite color?” Scarlett led the way to the exit leading to the parking garage. “You have a lot of pink in your… Bella, watch where you’re going,” she said when Bella, who wasn’t paying attention, almost ran into a lady and her kids.
“Oops, sorry,” she said to the woman who was pushing a baby stroller that was the size of a small boat. “Oh, you have two babies.”
The woman slowed and smiled at Bella and Scarlett. “Yes, they’re twins.”
“They are precious,” Scarlett said as she looked into the stroller that held baby boys who couldn’t have been more than three months old. Her heart melted when the smallest of the two smiled at them. “Oh, my goodness, they are too cute,” she cooed, and a sudden twinge of longing seized her. Though she’d love to have a couple of more kids, she hadn’t thought much about it, until now.
She chatted with the woman for a few minutes while Bella baby talked with the two cuties. When they started back on their way to the garage, Scarlett was still thinking about babies.
“I wouldn’t mind having two little brothers,” Bella said, surprising Scarlett. She never mentioned wanting a sibling.
“Really? You wouldn’t want a little sister?”
“Well, maybe I can get a brother and a sister. Maybe we can ask Daddy.” Bella grinned up at Scarlett, knowing she’d said the right thing. Antonio insisted on giving their daughter everything she wanted, and Scarlett already knew he wanted more kids.
“Maybe,” she said noncommittal as she readjusted the bags in her hand to dig for her keys. “But if that happens, you’re going to be a big sister, which is a huge responsibility. Are you sure—”
“Scarlett? Bella?” Someone called out, and Scarlett glanced to her left and saw a man smiling at them. He was around her age and walking toward them.
He didn’t look familiar, but the way he was grinning at her made it clear he knew her.
“I’m sorry. Do I know you?” she asked as he approached. Even from several feet away, Scarlett could smell cigarette smoke on him that was masked beneath cheap cologne, and she subconsciously took a step back.
“Yeah, I’m Jake, Ezra’s friend.” The mention of Ezra’s name relaxed her a bit, but she searched her memory and still came up blank. She knew all of Ezra’s closest friends. Maybe this guy was an acquaintance.
“You and I met at a frat party during me and Ezra’s junior year at the University of Miami. Then we met again when a group of us had dinner and shot darts one night in South Beach. You look exactly the same. How’ve you been?”
An unexpected dread slithered through Scarlett. Something wasn’t right. Something felt off, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it. Yeah, she and Ezra had gone to their share of parties and hung out, but still he didn’t look familiar.
Then something else came to mind. What was a friend of Ezra’s doing in Cincinnati? More importantly, how’d this guy know Bella? Ezra never knew he had fathered a child.
Warning bells blared through Scarlett’s mind. “I’m sorry. We really need to be going. Take care of yourself,” she said, and started backing away.
Her car was across the aisle and three cars over, and she mentally kicked herself for having her hands full of bags.
“Hey, I’m not trying to make you uncomfortable,” the guy said with his hands out in front of him. “I was surprised to see you is all. I was sorry to hear about what happened to Ezra.”
When he started moving forward, Scarlett managed to tug on Bella’s shirt, trying to keep her close.
“Jake, I need you to stop right there,” Scarlett said, trying to sound normal despite the fear clawing through her. “I need to get my daughter in the car.”
“Mommy, who is that?”
“Hey Bella, I was a friend of your dad’s.”
Scarlett pushed her car remote and unlocked the doors as she approached the front of the car. “Come on, Bella, get in the car.”
“Ezra’s not my real daddy,” Bella said.
The words had barely left her child’s mouth when the guy charged toward them and snatched Bella’s arm.
“Ahhh! Mommy!” Bella shrieked, and her bags fell to the ground when the man picked her up and took off. “Mommy!” she screamed, the sound cutting through Scarlett like a serrated knife plunging into her heart.
She didn’t think. She dropped her bags and ran after them. “Let her go!” she yelled and then lunged. She went for the man’s face, clawing at his skin with everything in her.
He cried out, twisting and turning, trying to shake her off him while still holding on to Bella. He swung her daughter to the right, then the left, hitting Scarlett and knocking her off-balance.
Her heart lodged in her throat when she hit the ground hard, falling onto her hands and knees, but she popped back up and chased after him. “Stop!” Tears blurred her vision, but she grabbed the back of his shirt and pulled, barely slowing him down as her arms screamed in pain, and she struggled to hang on.
Don’t let go. Don’t let go .
The words blared through her mind. She couldn’t let go. She couldn’t let him take her child.
The guy stopped abruptly, and Scarlett slammed into him.
“Get off me, bitch!” he roared and backhanded her.
An explosion of pain burst through her face, her head snapped back, and her sight blurred. But she shook her head, fighting to stay upright as she charged after him again. Once she was close, she threw herself at the man’s retreating back and grabbed his waistband.
The guy growled, swinging Bella back and forth while dragging Scarlett along. She kept screaming.
“Hey! What’s going on over there!” someone yelled in the distance, and footsteps ran toward them.
“Help! Please! Help me!” Scarlett’s arms were burning with pain as the man continued dragging her. This time when she slipped, he stumbled and almost went down, losing his grip on Bella.
“Bella, run, baby! Run!”
The man cursed and kicked out, almost catching the side of Scarlett’s head, but she let go of him in time to protect her face.
“Hey! Get away from her,” someone yelled, sounding as if they were closer.
The attacker took off down the garage, and Scarlett lost sight of him when he cut through parked cars.
She scrambled to her feet and looked around frantically. “Bella!”
“Mommy,” she cried, running toward her with a woman hurrying behind her.
Scarlett grabbed her child and cried. She barely noticed the pain pulsing throughout her body as she held her baby girl. “Ohmigod. Ohmigod.”
A couple of people surrounded them, saying that security was coming. Others promised everything was going to be all right. But there was only one person who could make her feel everything would truly be okay.
Still holding on to Bella, Scarlett pulled her cell phone from the back pocket of her jeans. Her hand was shaking, and she barely managed to speed dial her husband.
Antonio answered on the first ring. “Hey, baby,” he said, and at the sound of his voice, Scarlett burst into tears.
Deep sobs racked her body, and she shook violently as tears blinded her eyes and choked her voice. A heaviness clogged her chest, and she was barely aware of someone taking the phone from her. Bella’s cries stabbed through Scarlett, but still, she couldn’t pull herself together.
Someone put their arms around her. “It’s okay, honey. You’re safe now.”
“Her husband said he’s on his way,” someone else said.
My husband .
All she needed was her husband.