Tangled Lives

by Stephanie Harte

  ‘What the hell are you talking about?’ A nervous laugh escaped from my lips before I could stop it. ‘Luca’s not your son,’ I blurted out after I managed to compose myself. The room suddenly felt stifling.

  Needless to say, Alfie found my comment hilarious and having closed the gap between us, he laughed in my face. ‘You can say what you like, Gemma, but a blind man could see he’s my child.’

  My heart began pounding in my chest. ‘If you believe that, you’re more deluded than I ever imagined, or gave you credit for.’

  ‘He looks exactly like me, Gemma.’

  ‘Don’t be so ridiculous. Of course he doesn’t.’ I couldn’t hide the furious tone in my voice.

  ‘Correct me if I’m wrong, but neither you nor Nathan have blond hair and blue eyes, do you?’ Alfie’s face broke into a huge smile, exposing his perfect white teeth.

  ‘No, but my mum and sister do.’ I came from a long line of brunettes, but Alfie didn’t need to know that. ‘Listen to yourself, Alfie. Just because Nathan and I don’t have the same colouring as our son doesn’t mean we’re not his parents.’ I shook my head to belittle his ludicrous suggestion. ‘Anyway, a baby’s hair and eye colour can change from birth, sometimes several times before their first birthday. Luca could end up with dark hair and dark eyes like his father.’ I spoke with confidence, but I’d just spouted some information I’d read in my pregnancy and birth book. I had no idea whether that was possible, but surely they wouldn’t be able to publish information like that if it wasn’t true.

  ‘But Nathan’s not his father, I am,’ Alfie insisted. ‘You can say what you like, Gemma, but I know Luca is my child.’ Alfie looked over my shoulder and scrutinised the baby’s face.

  I rolled my eyes and let out a long breath. This conversation was becoming incredibly draining. ‘You’re very much mistaken. Luca is Nathan’s and my son,’ I repeated, hoping that Alfie would let the matter drop. He was like a dog with a bone. No matter how many times I told him Nathan was Luca’s father, he wouldn’t listen. I felt like I was banging my head against a brick wall.

  ‘Nathan might have fallen for that, but I’m afraid I’m not quite so gullible.’ Alfie flashed me a confident smile.

  ‘Well, you’d better believe it, because it’s the truth.’ I stared into Alfie’s blue eyes to reinforce my point.

  ‘Deny it all you like, but the Watson family are known for their strong resemblance to each other. It’s good to see the likeness has carried on for another generation.’

  I felt like screaming. Alfie appeared to have tuned out to what I was saying. Every time I tried to reinforce the fact that Nathan was Luca’s father, he ignored me.

  ‘I look nothing like my parents or my sister for that matter, but that doesn’t mean we don’t share the same gene pool. Genes are passed down from many generations.’ I knew my GCSE Biology course would come in useful at some point. I’m glad I took an interest in this topic now.

  ‘OK, Gemma, I have a question for you. If Luca isn’t my son, why is he the image of me? How old did you say he was?’

  ‘For the last time, Alfie, there isn’t the slightest possibility that Luca is your child.’ I couldn’t keep the frustration out of my voice.

  ‘You seemed to have conveniently forgotten about the night we slept together, Gemma. Whereas I can recall it in great detail.’

  I could feel Alfie undressing me with his eyes. He was giving me a strong non-verbal message that he still found me attractive. The way his blue eyes watched me like a hunter watching his prey was unnerving, so I glanced back at Luca to break eye contact with him.

  Alfie reached forward and touched the side of my arm to get my attention. As his fingertips made contact with me, they made me jump. ‘You do remember having sex with me, don’t you?’

  I felt my head begin to spin. As if that was something I could ever forget. It was one of the worst decisions I’d ever made, and I’d made some pretty terrible ones over the years.

  Alfie took my silence as confirmation. ‘That’s good, so now you can stop all the bullshit.’

  Alfie’s tall, broad-shouldered frame loomed over me. The smug look on his face was making anger build up inside me. I couldn’t hide the fury in my glare. Alfie took a closer look at Luca, and I felt perspiration break out on my upper lip.

  ‘You know I fathered that baby.’

  I shook my head and let out an audible sigh. ‘On the one occasion I slept with you, you used a condom, remember?’

  ‘So what.’

  ‘How could I have become pregnant with your child if we used contraception?’

  ‘That’s the biggest load of bollocks I’ve ever heard.’ Alfie threw his head back and laughed. ‘If that were true, Gemma, I wouldn’t be standing where I am right now. No form of contraception is one hundred per cent reliable.’

  ‘I didn’t notice the condom was damaged after we had sex.’

  ‘That doesn’t surprise me. You were in such a hurry to leave my room and scurry back to your husband before he realised you were missing, weren’t you?’

  Panic began rising within me, so I made a conscious effort to look as if the conversation wasn’t fazing me. But as the drama unfolded around me, I struggled to keep my head and not react to the situation. I could feel myself shaking in my shoes as a wave of fear washed over me and threatened to drag me under. Alfie had walked back into my life and instantly turned my world upside down.

  ‘The condom was intact, Alfie. Luca isn’t your son,’ I insisted, hoping he would let the matter drop.

  ‘Looks like history has just repeated itself then. That’s exactly what happened to my parents. I am also the product of a faulty condom. Contraception is powerless to stop the next generation of Watsons being conceived,’ Alfie said before laughing in my face. The idea that the men in his family possessed some kind of super sperm clearly delighted him and boosted his already enormous ego.

  I could feel my temples begin to pulsate as an agonising silence stretched out between us. As Alfie’s words bombarded my brain, I couldn’t think straight, and I struggled to manage the powerful emotion that had suddenly surfaced within me. Fear. A fear so tangible, I could taste it, and as I tried to swallow down the bitter pill, the acrid taste lingered in my mouth. Alfie’s blue eyes bored into mine and made the hairs on the back of my neck rise and my heartbeat rapid.

  ‘Isn’t that a coincidence?’ Alfie smiled as I squirmed. ‘My mum was only eighteen when she had me.’

  Alfie told me his mum was six months pregnant by the time his parents tied the knot. It was a shotgun wedding. Alfie’s grandad insisted that Jethro marry Nora having got her in the family way. Leaving the young woman, who was pregnant with his first grandchild, as an unmarried mother was not an option as far as he was concerned. Jethro had to man up and do the right thing. Even though he protested that he didn’t love Nora, his objections fell on deaf ears.

  *

  Knuckles and Nathan walked into the kitchen, and I made eye contact with my husband. He could tell by the look on my face that something was wrong, even before Alfie spoke.

  ‘Enjoy the time you’ve got with Luca while it lasts.’

  ‘What’s that supposed to mean?’ Nathan asked the question I’d been dreading, and a deafening silence followed.

  ‘Pretty soon I’m going to take him away from you.’

  ‘As if I’m going to let you take my son.’ Nathan straightened his posture. His words were laced with fury.

  ‘Gemma and I have finished our little chat now, so I’ll get Knuckles to drive you home. Then your wife will be able to fill you in on what we’ve been talking about.’ Alfie smiled and slipped his hands into the trouser pockets of his expensive suit.

  Adrenaline coursed through my body and sent my pulse racing again. The stress of the situation intensified when I realised Alfie and Nathan were waiting for me to speak, but I couldn’t get my words out. My mouth was so dry when I attempted to clear my throat, I found myself gasping for air instead. I t
ook a deep breath and tried to compose myself, but the silence dragged on.

  46

  Nathan

  ‘Have you got a minute?’ Dad said when he walked into the kitchen and saw I was sitting at the table alone.

  ‘Yeah, of course. Is everything all right?’

  Dad looked like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. ‘I’m really worried. I’ve been thinking about Alfie. You know he said he was going to take Luca away…’ Dad broke eye contact with me and looked down at the floor before he finished his sentence. I could see he was distraught, so I wanted to put his mind at rest.

  ‘It’s OK. You don’t need to worry. If Alfie thinks he’s going to take my son in lieu of the money, he’s got another thing coming.’

  ‘I need to tell you something, Nathan. Alfie’s threat might not be about the money.’ Dad turned his troubled face towards me and looked at me with haunted eyes.

  I bit the side of my lip; I didn’t understand where we were going with this conversation. Dad wasn’t making any sense. ‘Trust me, it is. I know what he’s like. Alfie won’t go through with it, but he’s threatening me to make sure I do what he wants. While his guys are in prison, he’s short-staffed, so he needs me to work for him. That’s all it is. Don’t read too much into it.’

  ‘Unless there’s another reason you don’t know about.’ Dad pulled out a chair, so we were on eye level.

  ‘Like what?’

  ‘An eye for an eye,’ Dad replied, before dropping his head in his hands.

  My brows knitted together. Dad had lost me. ‘What are you talking about?’

  Dad looked up and let out a slow breath. ‘Jethro had an older brother called Levi.’

  I remembered Levi’s name being mentioned a while ago when we were at Darkwood Manor, but so much had happened since then I’d put it out of my mind.

  ‘He died a long time ago. He was killed in an accident,’ Dad continued.

  There was something my dad wasn’t telling me about Levi’s death. I could sense it. ‘But what’s that got to do with Luca?’ I shrugged.

  ‘Levi and I used to be friends. We went to school together. I was with him on the night he died, so Jethro and his parents blamed me for his death.’ Dad suddenly revealed the cards he’d been keeping close to his chest.

  Oh shit! I bit down hard on the side of my lip while I digested my father’s words.

  ‘I’m worried the Watsons are going to take Luca as payback for the family losing Levi. I couldn’t bear it if something happened to the baby because of me.’

  I knew there had been a bitter feud between the Stones and the Watsons for years. But up until now, I hadn’t understood the reason. ‘I’m not going to let the Watsons come anywhere near my son. I’ll make sure he doesn’t come to any harm.’

  ‘I’m sorry, Nathan.’ Dad’s steely blue eyes were glistening with unshed tears.

  ‘You’ve got nothing to apologise for. I’m glad you told me, but do me a favour, please don’t mention this to Gemma. She’ll only get stressed about it.’

  My dad nodded before he walked out of the kitchen. He appeared to have aged ten years since we’d started our conversation. His words played over and over in my head. I hadn’t considered Alfie taking Luca as anything more than an idle threat. I thought he just wanted to flex his muscles to scare us, but I hadn’t known about Levi at the time. Men like Alfie were renowned for holding a grudge. Dad could be right. The Watsons might try to use Luca to bridge the gap between the past and the present.

  Perhaps I should have taken Gemma’s concerns more seriously. Since the day Luca had been born she’d been terrified that something bad was going to happen to him and no matter how many times I tried to put her mind at rest, I wasn’t able to convince her. I’d considered her thoughts irrational; they would come out of nowhere and wake her in the middle of the night. She was exhausted, so I’d blamed her behaviour on her raging hormones and lack of sleep. If I was honest about it, the longer it went on, the less sympathetic I was being. No wonder she was sometimes short-tempered with me.

  I felt guilty that I hadn’t been more supportive. I wanted to make it up to Gemma, so I decided to phone Mum to ask her advice, but before I had a chance to get any words out, Mum launched into an angry spiel about my dad. She wasn’t happy, and wouldn’t let me get a word in. Mum was very open about how much it hurt her that I was spending time with my father. I didn’t understand why it bothered her so much. Mum was worried that my dad would be a bad influence on me.

  The more she’d tried to poison me against my dad, the more she pushed me to fight his corner. The last thing I wanted was one of my parents suffering at the hands of the other. I wasn’t going to be pressured to choose sides.

  I’d finally found my dad, and all I wanted was for my mother to be as happy about the situation as I was, but instead, I felt this creeping sense of disapproval radiating down the phone line from her. I wasn’t about to let her burst my bubble. No matter what she thought of Dad, the man was my father, and nothing could change that. She needed to get over the issues she had with him. They were nothing to do with me, and I wouldn’t be drawn into it. But Mum’s unmetabolised feelings kept coming out as barbs at my dad.

  I couldn’t take any more of the ear-bashing, so I reluctantly put an end to our conversation. Before I could hang up, my mum’s voice broke with emotion. She was worried that I would end up having a closer relationship with my dad than her, and that would make her feel shut out. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. That was exactly what she did to Dad three decades ago when she cut him out of our lives.

  *

  An hour later, my mobile rang.

  ‘I owe you an apology. I’m sorry about my outburst earlier. I don’t know what came over me,’ Mum said. ‘We always used to be so close, but now you spend all your time with your dad, so I’ve been feeling a bit left out.’

  I was glad she’d taken a step back. I didn’t want us to be on bad terms again. ‘I’m sorry too.’

  I hadn’t intended to make her jealous and felt a pang of guilt. I didn’t want my mum to feel excluded. I’d struggled to cope with the collapse of our relationship more than I’d cared to admit. Her absence from my life had left a gaping hole behind. I wanted her to share this next chapter. This was such a special time for all of us.

  ‘I had no right to say the things I did. I want you to know I’m happy that you and your dad are getting along and I promise I won’t try to come between you.’

  47

  Nathan

  Days had passed since Zamir had accused Alfie of roughing him up. Although Alfie had nothing to do with the beating the Albanian had received, the Watsons were convinced he would come after them to settle the score. Knuckles and I had been instructed to take up position at a discreet distance to keep watch on the warehouse.

  There was little to do to occupy ourselves during the endless hours we’d sat inside the Mercedes, so I found myself mulling over my current situation. The amount of time Alfie was spending with my wife and child was really pissing me off. He saw more of them than I did, and silent resentment was building up inside me.

  Luca was almost six months old now and seemed to reach a new milestone daily. I felt bitter that I was missing stages of his development because of Alfie. I was used to spending all day, every day with my wife and son and that suited me down to the ground. I loved being a dad and hated being separated from my family.

  Gemma and I wanted to give Luca the kind of childhood we’d never had. We’d agreed to try and strike the right balance between showering him with love and material things, and not allowing him to become spoiled.

  Gemma and I had mapped out our future together, and everything was on course until Alfie came back into our lives and put a spanner in the works. We were meant to be trying for another baby, but that was impossible due to the lack of time we spent together. I was adamant that Luca shouldn’t be an only child. I’d always been desperate to have a sibling and felt cheated that my
parents divorced before that became possible.

  Gemma, on the other hand, reckoned she would rather not have endured the hostile, conflict-ridden interactions she’d had with her sister. She’d always maintained her run-ins with Rebecca had helped to destroy her self-esteem. My wife thought I had a rose-tinted idea of what it would be like to have brothers and sisters. I’d missed out on nothing, in her opinion. Gemma had said on more than one occasion that having a sister had only brought her heartache and drama. She used to joke that Mum and Dad had spared me from a horrible experience, and I should be forever grateful to them.

  *

  We’d already been in the car for several hours carrying out surveillance, and the boredom had well and truly set in, when Zamir, Dren, Esad and some other members of the gang came out of unit twenty-two. His men surrounded Zamir, while he locked up for the night. Out of nowhere shots rang out into the darkness as a man on the back of a motorbike wielding an automatic weapon sprayed bullets past their heads. Forming a human shield around their boss, they ran for their lives down the deserted alleyway.

  Knuckles and I ducked down when the gunfire started, then peered over the dashboard to see how the events panned out. After only a few minutes, the bike roared off. The man riding pillion pointed his weapon behind him to cover any potential retaliation that might be about to come from the alleyway until they were out of sight. But there was no sign of Zamir and his gang, so whoever had carried out the hit had nothing to worry about.

  48

  Gemma

  ‘Well, you couldn’t expect me to stay away after I discovered your little secret, could you?’ Alfie threw his head back and laughed. He was backing me into a corner. ‘You have something that belongs to me.’

  ‘If we give you back the money, will you let us go?’ I said through gritted teeth. I didn’t know how we were going to raise the funds, but we’d think of something.