Chapter 25
“What do you mean, a joke? I filed the paperwork myself. The child’s name is Clara Simmons.”
“Please, don’t tell anyone.”
At that answer, Blanche’s phone slipped from her palm and clattered to the ground.
“Blanche, did you hear me?”
“Hello?”
“Blanche?”
Blanche was reeling, unable to calm down. “Eddy doesn’t even like kids. There’s no way he could have another child.”
A flood of memories crashed through her mind.
After losing her mother, she’d longed for a family of her own.
When she first married, urged on by Loraine’s hopes, she started trying for a baby.
“Isn’t it nice, just the two of us?”
“Getting married isn’t just about having kids.”
“Then what is it about?”
Back then, she laughed with him, argued with him. Life was sweet.
“It’s so I’ll never have to say goodbye to you. So you’ll always belong to me, and me alone,” he’d confessed, eyes full of devotion.
When she gave birth to Healy, the labor lasted through the night. Eddy had knelt outside the delivery room the entire time.
But after Healy was born, complications sent her to intensive care.
Eddy refused to even hold Healy, wouldn’t spare the baby a single glance. He’d even sworn, “If anything happens to Blanche because of him, he’s out of the Simmons family.”
The Simmons family, with their wealth and influence, and Loraine pushing for more grandchildren, both openly and behind closed doors.
Blanche wanted another child too-hopefully a little girl.
She started trying again.
But this time, no matter what she said, Eddy wouldn’t allow it.
“Honey, your health is fragile. No child is worth you risking yourself.”
“One good, loving child is enough. If they’re ungrateful, a whole football team of kids won’t make a difference.”
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She insisted anyway, and all he could do was find her the best obstetrician in the city to watch over her.
A year later, she was pregnant.
She’d nestled in his arms, his hand gently resting on her belly, as he’d sternly warned their unborn child, “If you team up with your brother to give your mom a hard time, I’ll give you a spanking the moment you’re born.”
Those days, she’d felt truly happy. Everything seemed perfect.
“Let’s pick a name for the baby,” she’d said.
“Laney Simmons. How about that?” he blurted.
The name filled Blanche with a honeyed joy. She teased him, “I’m Laney, and now she’d be Laney too? Mother and daughter with the same name?”
“Then let’s pick another.”
He’d gazed at her, his fingers tracing her brow, before kissing her lips. “I hope this child is as clever and quick-witted as my Laney. Let’s call her Clara.”
Their kiss deepened, and she had fallen hopelessly, blissfully in love with him.
Names can be similar, people can share the same one.
But the father’s name and the child’s matched exactly. That couldn’t be a coincidence.
Eddy had another child.
Blanche’s head pounded; the world seemed to collapse beneath her feet.
The basketball court, the shrubs, the sight of two figures-one tall, one small-running toward her. Everything spun.
She crumpled, falling into a pair of strong, warm arms.
Blinking up in a daze, she thought she heard someone call her-“Sister.”
Her consciousness faded into darkness, and for the first time, she wished she’d never wake up to face any of this.
The man lifted Blanche into his arms.
The first time he’d found her hurt, it was a coincidence. The second time, it could only mean those around her weren’t looking after her as they should.
He took in her pale face, his brow furrowing in concern.
Eddy. What did you do to Laney?
“Dad, that’s the pretty lady we saw at lunch.”
“She looked so sad.”
Chapter 25
“Dad, can we take her home?”
Beside the man was a boy, about Healy’s age, his innocent face full of worry.
The man wanted to take her home, too. But he couldn’t. They were strangers-he couldn’t get involved.
“Terrell, I’ll take your aunt to the security office. Someone there will help her.”
“And don’t tell anyone about this, not even her.”
“But why, Dad?”
“For her safety-and ours.”
Terrell didn’t understand, but he knew his father’s decisions were never wrong.
He wanted to be friends with the pretty lady, but he couldn’t make things difficult for his father or put her at risk.
Terrell nodded solemnly. “Okay, Dad.”
“I’ll carry her phone for her.”
He picked up the phone from the ground and followed as they headed for the security office.
When Blanche woke up, she was in the security office. Her rescuer was already gone.
She barely took time to thank the officers, instead asking to use a computer to book a plane ticket. Using the digital ID on her phone, she requested a temporary ID card.
She tossed her phone into a nearby man-made lake.
No car with tracking, no phone with GPS. Even if Eddy had eyes everywhere, he wouldn’t find her so quickly.
Blanche hailed a cab and headed straight for the airport.
She didn’t care about anything else now. All she wanted was to get away.
Half an hour later, Eddy’s phone rang.
He watched as the little red dot on his screen moved steadily out of town-toward the airport.
When Blanche reached the terminal, boarding had already begun.
She merged into the crowd, and once she finally sat on the plane, her nerves started to unclench.
Suddenly, she remembered something. She borrowed a phone from a flight attendant. To avoid being traced by Eddy, she ran her message through hundreds-maybe thousands-of signal towers before sending it.
“I know about your five-year affair with Jeannette and your illegitimate daughter.”
“I will never forgive you, Eddy.”
“I’m giving up custody of Healy. I don’t want a cent of your money. I want a divorce!”
After sending her three messages, Blanche returned the phone to the attendant.
Ten years ago, she’d come to Novandria with her mother-never imagining she’d leave like this.
Her husband, her son, her mother-in-law, even her best friend had betrayed her.
She was utterly alone.
As the plane’s wheels tucked into the fuselage and turbulence rocked her world, the aircraft soared into the blue.
Breaking through the clouds, a brilliant rainbow bloomed before her.
Blanche laughed-then, just as suddenly, she began to cry.
Goodbye, Eddy.
Goodbye, Healy.
She was free at last.
