Anything But Mine

by Justice, Barbara

  “I don’t understand, Mrs. Moscolo.”

  “I know, Lucy, but I don’t have time to explain,” Jen replied, while looking at her watch, distracted. “I have to go,” she said, as she hugged her housekeeper.

  As Jen walked down the hall, she called her mother, and was relieved to find out she was in Southampton village picking up dinner at Catena’s Market. Without getting into details, Jen asked, “Can I stay overnight at the farm with you and dad tonight?”

  “Of course you can. Are you okay, Jen? You sound a little strange, like something is wrong,” Grace prodded her daughter.

  Jen deflected her mother’s question. “I’ll see you in a little while at home, mom,” she said, her voice cracking.

  Sensing her daughter’s distress, Grace insisted on driving over to Fair Fields. “I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

  “Okay,” Jen said, reluctantly agreeing to let her mother come over. After ending the phone call, she went upstairs and began packing up as much clothing as she could fit into her suitcases. She dragged her luggage down to the foyer, and had returned upstairs to finish packing when she heard the doorbell ring.

  A moment later, Lucy knocked on master suite door. “Excuse me, Mrs. Moscolo, I’m sorry to bother you, but the police are here to see you.”

  “The police?”

  “Yes, the police are downstairs. They said they wanted to speak with you, that it was important,” Lucy answered, nervously wringing her hands.

  “Okay, Lucy. Show them into the library, and offer them something to drink, please. I’ll be right there.”

  When Jen entered the library a few minutes later, she found two state troopers, who quickly rose to their feet when she introduced herself. “What can I do for you, gentlemen?”

  “Mrs. Moscolo, I’m afraid we have some bad news. There’s been an accident,” the older of the two answered.

  Jen’s eyes darted back and forth between the two troopers. “What do you mean?”

  “Was your husband operating a black Lamborghini tonight?”

  When Jen nodded in reply, the trooper continued, “He was involved in an accident on the entrance ramp to Route 27 from Route 111 in Manorville about an hour ago.” He paused and swallowed hard before continuing, “I’m very sorry, Mrs. Moscolo. The paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY SEVEN

  Despite having not slept for days, Jen felt as though she was unable to wake up from the nightmare she was living. She blamed herself for Vince’s death, and she couldn’t help but wonder whether he would still be alive today if she had waited to confront him about his secrets until he had arrived in Southampton.

  Jen welcomed the emotional support from her friends and family, especially her parents and Vince’s best friend, Seth, as she somehow managed to get through the difficult days immediately following her husband’s death. The worst part – identifying Vince’s body – was behind her, and she just had to find a way to get through his funeral Mass, burial and the luncheon for the mourners following his internment at Green-Wood Cemetery.

  Through it all, Jen had managed to remain stoic, until she entered the vestibule of St. Ignatius Loyola for the funeral Mass. The finality of the ritual – the priest blessing the coffin, the somber music, the procession up the aisle – caused Jen to double over in hysterical tears for the first time since the state troopers told her that Vince was dead. Her father and Seth held her upright, while her mother whispered some words of encouragement in her ear, and she managed to compose herself enough to make her way down the aisle to the first pew in front of the altar.

  By rote, Jen followed along with the familiar rituals of the Mass, until after communion, when she squirmed as she watched Seth rise to eulogize Vince, not knowing what he would say about her husband and his best friend. Hearing Seth speak about their college days and long friendship made Jen realize, not for the first time, that she didn’t know her husband as well as she thought she did. Turning her head to look at his casket, she silently asked, how did this all go so horribly wrong, Vince?

  Lost in her thoughts, Jen was startled when everyone around her rose for the final blessing at the end of the Mass. Making the sign of the cross and genuflecting, Jen smoothed her black knit dress before stepping out into the aisle and following the priest and her husband’s casket towards the doors. She kept her eyes lowered, unable to look in the eyes of the mourners as they slowly walked up the church aisle.

  As she neared the rear of the church, she finally looked up and felt her stomach drop as she saw Drew standing all by himself in the last pew.

  The apartment on Fifth Avenue was packed with people who had arrived for the luncheon following Vince’s burial. Pushing aside her grief and guilt, Jen did her best to be a gracious hostess, greeting everyone who was there, and thanking them for their expressions of sympathy and concern. She purposely waited until most of the guests left before making her way to the corner of the dining room where Catherine, Luke and Drew were huddled together. Jen first hugged Luke and Catherine, before turning to Drew, who enveloped her in his strong arms, holding her close and smoothing her hair when tears began to roll down her cheeks. “Thank you so much for being here,” Jen said, wiping away her tears with the back of her hand. “You have no idea how much it means to me. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw you at the back of church.”

  “When Luke called and told me what happened, I couldn’t get here fast enough. I’m so sorry for your loss, Jen,” Drew said, as he handed her his handkerchief. “Vince was a good man.”

  No, he wasn’t, Jen thought. If you only knew what he did to us, you would never say that. Choosing to ignore Drew’s comment, she asked, “How long will you be in town?”

  “A few more days.” Noticing that Catherine and Luke had drifted away from them, Drew leaned in towards Jen and asked, “Is there someplace we can go and talk?”

  Glancing around the room at the remaining guests, Jen replied, “I really want to talk to you, too, but privately, and this isn’t the best time. Can you come by for lunch tomorrow instead?”

  The following morning, Jen sat at the dining room table with Seth and her parents, trying to digest the news. “Are you sure, Seth?”

  “Yes, absolutely sure. I just drafted these updates with Vince two weeks ago. Look,” he said, pointing to the date next to Vince’s signature. “Other than the bequest to the Wharton School of Business, he left everything to you.”

  “But what about the pre-nup?”

  “That only applied in the event of a divorce,” he explained. “It was Vince’s intention to leave you everything in the event of his death. He loved you that much. There’s only one condition.”

  Peter snapped to attention. “What’s that?”

  Seth swallowed hard. “I advised Vince not to do it, but he insisted, and he is…he was not only my friend, but also my client. He conditioned your inheritance on your never marrying again.”

  “What? That’s crazy! You can’t be serious,” she said, snatching the will from Seth’s hands.

  “Read it if you don’t trust me, but that’s what it says,” Seth said.

  “But I’m only 26 years old. He can’t expect that I’ll never…,” her voice trailed off. “He has to try to control me, even after he’s dead,” she said, as a single tear rolled down her cheek.

  “Not necessarily,” Seth replied. “As the surviving spouse, under New York law, you are entitled to something called an elective share, which is one-third of his estate. After the one billion dollars he left to Wharton, his estate is approximately twenty four billion dollars. One third of that is eight billion, which you would be entitled to, even if you decide to marry again.”

  “What happens to the rest of the money, then?”

  “It will go into a trust, and if you choose to marry again, then it will be used to establish a foundation for charities, tha
t you and I would administer, together.” Seth stood, and said, “I have to get to my office, but call me if you need to talk. Remember, you don’t have to make any decisions about anything just yet, but you do have to meet with the board of directors at Penn Worldwide tomorrow afternoon. I’ll be there to walk you through it.”

  “Seth,” Jen said, rising to her feet. “You know, as well as I do, that Vince wasn’t in his right mind. I have all the evidence I need to prove it, and set aside the will, in that box,” she said, gesturing to the white box on dining room table.

  “You wouldn’t do that, though.”

  Jen sighed, and shook her head. “You’re right. I wouldn’t. I wouldn’t want the publicity a court fight would bring, and wouldn’t want to cause any harm to Penn Worldwide by ruining Vince’s reputation.”

  “Vince knew that, I think, which is why he insisted on putting that clause in the will.”

  “You know, Seth, I never cared about the money.”

  “I know that,” Seth replied, as he gave Jen a kiss on the cheek. As he headed towards the door, he added, “Vince knew that, too.”

  After Seth left, Peter and Grace lingered behind, leaving Peter to explain, “I’m not sure you fully understand what this means for you, Jen. By inheriting Vince’s fortune, you’ve become one of the wealthiest people in the world.”

  She closed her eyes and nodded her head. “I know. It’s really incomprehensible. I never wanted any of this. I was content with the way my life was, before I met Vince. I had everything I wanted already.” Except love, she thought. And I believed it was true love with Vince. What did I know?

  “You have a lot to think about,” Peter said. “It has to be overwhelming, having so many decisions to make about Vince’s company, his staff, and all the investments. How are you feeling? Are you up to dealing with all of this?”

  “I’m okay, I guess, considering how much I have on my plate at the moment.”

  Peter draped an arm around his daughter’s shoulder. “If you need anything, you know your mother and I are here for you.”

  “I know. Thanks, dad.”

  “One more thing, Jen. With all this money, you know, you have the power to do a great deal of good.”

  Jen nodded her head. “I know. You’re right, dad. It’s a lot to think about.” Gesturing towards the box containing all of Vince’s secrets, she said, “I’m so haunted by the argument we had before he crashed his car, and I feel so guilty about everything that happened.”

  Grace, who had remained silent the entire morning, finally spoke. “Jen, honey, it isn’t your fault that Vince was obsessed with you. We now know that he was a deeply disturbed man. We just didn’t know the depth of his problems until Seth told us this morning that you weren’t the first woman he was obsessed with, that you weren’t the first woman he stalked.” They sat silently for a minute, until Grace concluded, “He made the choice to speed on an icy road. It wasn’t your fault.”

  After her parents left, Jen had some time to compose herself before Drew arrived, and retreated into the master suite to freshen up. How am I going to explain all of this to Drew? Vince manipulated his life too. God, please give me strength. She began to pray, and was startled when Mary knocked on her door to announce that Drew was waiting for her in the living room.

  Bracing herself, Jen took a deep breath before entering the living room, where Drew was standing at the window, looking out at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

  Jen’s voice was soft as she greeted him. “Hi, Drew,” was all she could manage to say.

  He turned around, and smiled. “Hi, Jen,” he responded, as he walked towards her and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

  “I’m glad you were able to come over. We have a lot to talk about.”

  “Yes, we do,” Drew agreed. “Want to go first?”

  “Not really. I think it would be better for you to go first, and tell me what’s on your mind. Sit,” she said, gesturing towards one of the overstuffed sofas by a coffee table where Mary had left a pitcher of lemon water and two glasses.

  Jen poured a glass of water and handed it to Drew, who took a sip before speaking. “First, I have some good news. I was offered a morning anchor job at SNN. The show goes into pre-production at the beginning of January, and we go on air at the beginning of February. I’m moving back here to New York right after Christmas.”

  Drew’s news brought a smile to Jen’s face. “I’m so happy for you, Drew. I know how much you wanted this job,” she said. “And I’m really glad you’re moving back to New York.”

  “My other news is that Collette and I broke up.”

  Jen closed her eyes and slowly nodded her head. “I had a feeling that was what you were going to tell me. Let me guess – she broke up with you? And she did it right after you got the news that Vince was dead, right?”

  Drew’s hazel eyes grew wide. “Yes, that’s exactly what happened. How did you know?”

  “Things aren’t always what they seem to be.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I’ll show you. Come with me,” Jen said, as she stood up and ushered Drew towards the dining room.

  “What’s all this?” Drew asked, surprised to see a portion of the dining room table covered with documents, photos, a checkbook and an open computer. As Jen took him through the timeline she had pieced together based on Vince’s journal entries, e-mails, the checks he had written, and the reports and photos from the private investigators, Drew’s hands began to shake and all color drained from his face. He pulled out a chair, sat down, and buried his head in his hands. “So Vince was your stalker? He orchestrated the attack on you?”

  “Yes,” Jen replied, simply.

  “And everything between Collette and me, these past couple of years, was a lie?”

  “Yes.”

  Turning towards Jennifer, Drew asked, “And Vince did all of this to keep us apart?”

  Jen sank down into the chair next to Drew. “Yes, Drew, he apparently did. Vince clearly had to have me at all costs, and he wasn’t going to let you, or my fantasizing about the idea of you, stand in his way. He hired a thug to attack me so I’d move in with him, and then he hired Collette to seduce you so we would both give up on the dream of being together,” Jen said, softly, as she reached out and tentatively placed an arm around Drew’s shoulders. “He even bought enough shares of SNN in order to take over the board of directors, just so he could keep the network from hiring you. He was a very sick man.”

  Drew put his head down, sitting silently as he digested the information. When he finally looked up, he shook his head and said, “So much wasted time, Jen. So much wasted time. And it’s all my fault. I never should have pushed you away. Even though Vince played a part in keeping us apart, I still blame myself. I should have fought for you, and never let you go in the first place.”

  Jen sat silently, not knowing what to say, as Drew stood up and again looked through the all the evidence spread out on the dining room table. She watched as he flipped through the checkbook and the folders containing the surveillance photos of him and Jen. “Unbelievable. So much wasted time,” he repeated over and over.

  Drew returned to where Jen had remained seated. “This may not be the right time, but I don’t want to ever lose you again,” he said, as he dropped to one knee and took her hands in his. “Jen, I love you and want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?”

  CHAPTER THIRTY EIGHT

  “What?” Jen’s head spun, not sure she heard Drew correctly. “I’m sorry, Drew, can you repeat that?”

  Still on one knee, he repeated, “Will you marry me?”

  Jen took a deep breath, before answering, “No.”

  Drew recoiled as if he had been slapped across the face. “What?”

  Jen abruptly stood up and walked toward the other end of the room. “Drew, I just buried my husband yester
day. Your timing is, umm,” Jen hesitated, searching for the right words.

  “My timing stinks, I know,” Drew replied, with a lopsided grin, as he picked himself up from the floor and walked across the room to where Jen stood. “But I love you and can’t take the chance of losing you again.”

  “I get it, but…,” Jen’s voice trailed off. She took a deep breath, trying to steady herself. “Growing up, I was Peter and Grace’s daughter. Then I went away to college and was Taylor’s girlfriend. I came home to focus on my career and became Chris’s girlfriend, your best friend, and then Vince’s wife. I need time to just be me, and to take back control of my life.”

  “Okay,” Drew said, tentatively taking Jen into his arms. “I understand.”

  Jen began to shake. “No! You don’t understand,” she cried. “You don’t understand at all. I loved him. I loved Vince. I loved my husband,” she wailed, uncontrollably.