Chapter 4
The calls didn’t stop.
All day.
All night.
Texts poured in, hundreds of them.
At first, they were apologetic.
I’m sorry, I was stressed, I love you, take me back.
Then they got angry.
You’ll regret this. You’ll never work again. Everyone will know what a terrible father you are.
Then they got ugly.
That maid is a whore. She’s using you. She’ll take all your money and leave you with that brat.
I blocked her number.
She called from new ones.
I turned the phone off.
Two days later, my mom showed up at the door.
She had that look on her face.
The one that said she knew better than me.
“Can I come in?”
I stepped aside.
Ethan was in the living room playing with Legos, Lena sitting on the floor next to him, helping him build a castle.
My mom’s eyes flicked to Lena.
Cold.
Judging.
She followed me into the kitchen.
Lowered her voice.
“What on earth are you doing? Victoria called me yesterday, crying her eyes out. She said you threw her out on your wedding day for no reason. That you’re having an affair with the maid. That you’re not thinking straight.”
I stared at her.
“You believe her? After what you heard at the house? After what Ethan said?”
My mom sighed, rubbing her temples.
“Children get confused, honey. They make things up when they’re jealous. And Lena… she’s young. She works for you. People talk. Victoria says she’s been stealing from you. That she has a criminal record.”
I felt my blood boil.
“Victoria is lying. All of it. Lena has been with Ethan every day for six months. She’s the only one who protected him. And Ethan didn’t make anything up. Lena heard every word. I saw the fear in his eyes, Mom. I saw it.”
My mom shook her head.
“I just don’t want you to make a mistake you’ll regret. Victoria comes from a good family. She’s beautiful, she’s smart—”
“I don’t care if she’s the queen of England.”
My voice was loud.
Too loud.
I glanced toward the living room, making sure Ethan hadn’t heard.
“She hurt my son. She told him his dead mom didn’t matter. That he didn’t matter. And you’re standing here defending her?”
My mom’s face softened.
“I’m not defending her. I’m just saying… maybe we should all sit down and talk. Work this out. For the family.”
“There is no family with her. Not anymore. And if you’re going to keep taking her side, you can leave.”
She stared at me.
Shocked.
I’d never talked to her like that before.
But I didn’t care.
Not anymore.
She stood up, grabbing her purse.
“Fine. But when this all blows up in your face, don’t come crying to me. That girl is trouble. Mark my words.”
She walked out.
Slammed the door behind her.
I leaned against the counter, my head in my hands.
Then I felt a small hand on my arm.
Ethan.
He looked up at me, his eyes big.
“Is Grandma mad at us?”
I knelt down, pulling him close.
“No, buddy. She’s just confused. That’s all. She’ll come around.”
He nodded, but I saw the doubt in his eyes.
Lena stood in the doorway, her face tight.
“I can leave if you want. If it’s causing problems with your family—”
“No.”
I cut her off.
“You’re not going anywhere. You’re part of this family now. Whatever they say, whatever Victoria does, we stick together. Okay?”
She nodded, her eyes glistening.
“Okay.”
That night, the doorbell rang at 11:30.
I looked through the peephole.
It was Victoria.
Drunk.
Her hair a mess, her wedding dress still on, stained and wrinkled.
She banged on the door.
“Let me in! I know you’re in there! You can’t do this to me! I gave you everything!”
I heard Ethan whimper from his room.
Lena ran down the hall, closing his door, staying with him.
I unlocked the deadbolt but kept the chain on.
“Go home, Victoria. It’s over.”
She laughed, a sharp, ugly sound.
“Over? Nothing is over until I say it is. You think you can just throw me away like trash? For a maid and a little retard? I’ll destroy you. I’ll tell everyone you hit me. I’ll tell the police you abuse that kid. You’ll never see him again. I’ll make sure of it.”
My blood ran cold.
“You wouldn’t dare.”
She leaned closer, her breath reeking of wine.
“Try me. You have three days. Take me back, apologize publicly, fire that little whore, and I’ll forget all of this. If not… you lose everything. Your son. Your job. Your reputation. All of it.”
She turned and stumbled down the walkway to her car.
I closed the door.
Slid the deadbolt home.
Leaned against the wood, my heart hammering.
She wasn’t going to go away.
She was going to fight.
And she was going to play dirty.
I walked down the hall to Ethan’s room.
He was curled up in Lena’s arms, both of them sitting on the bed, his face buried in her neck.
Lena looked up at me, scared.
“We heard everything. What are we going to do?”
I looked at my son.
At the only thing that mattered.
May you like
I took a deep breath.
“We fight back. And we win.”
