The police narrowed it down to him when they called the gas company and was told that no contractors were sent to the area today, and the dead giveaway was that the room Mrs. Donaldson told them he went to happened to be the perfect, perfect spot to get a full view of Regina and Brian in their kitchen.
The whole investigation took the whole day and after she was left feeling like a rag doll that had been wrung dry of its essence.
She sat in the sitting room by the long glass window, looking through to the hanging roses in the side garden that held the coy carp pond. The sun was just going down and the soft colors of sunset cast a warm glow over the whole area.
What was she going to do? What was any of them going to do? She was happy Wade managed to get away with Chloe. They needed the break. He deserved to have a break from this madness and it was a pity that they couldn’t just stay in Hawaii, or go somewhere far away. It might not stop Aaron, but it would give them more time. They’ be safe just for a little longer.
She supposed neither Wade nor Chloe would agree to that, though. Taylor, too. She wouldn’t leave. Taylor told her yesterday that she and Wes were seeing each other. The news was refreshing and welcomed.
Brian came into the room with an uneasy expression on his face.
“What’s happened? Are you okay?”
“Ben’s here. He wants to see you.” He bit the inside of his lip and sighed.
Ben.
She didn’t want to see him. Not one bit. Actually, she didn’t care if she never saw him again. The man was pure evil. A murderer who she’d lived with all these years and never knew. So, no, she would rather not see him.
But maybe he had information he wanted to share that would be useful to them.
“It’s okay. Send him in.” She sighed with frustration as Brian left and got Ben.
He walked in holding a large carrier bag and an envelope tucked under his arm.
With that haggard look he’d been sporting these past weeks he looked at her. She rose from the chair in one fluid motion and walked to the center of the room to face him.
“What do you want Ben?” The time for pleasantries was past.
“The divorce papers came a few days ago.”
“Days?” It was amazing, she’d actually forgotten. The minute she’d signed them she’d written him off as her legal husband in her mind. This was the official stuff that didn’t matter. To her she was no longer Regina Vanderville, and as soon as she could, she would change her name.
“Yeah. I’m sorry for the delay. But, here they are.” He rested the bag down next to him and handed her the envelope he’d carried.
She took it, opened it, and pulled out the divorce petition. She flicked through, making sure he had, indeed, signed in all the places he needed to. He did.
“You signed it,” she stated, looking at him.
“Yeah. In light of recent events, I took the liberty of arranging the court hearing for next week. Nine a.m. sharp on Wednesday. Is that okay?”
She nodded, one more week and she’d be free of him. Regina didn’t expect to feel numb. She always imagined that this would be a joyous day for her, where she’d run into the street shouting for joy. But she had imagined it would happen under different circumstances. Like not being toyed with by a psychopath who threatened to kill her and her family because of her association with Ben.
“Good, because after that I’ll be in prison.”
“Prison?” She kept her focus on him.
“I spoke to Detective Fray. I told him everything. I confessed to the crimes that have been alleged against me. I’ve been allowed eight days to sort everything out.”
She blinked several times, wondering what she should say. It was good that he turned himself in and confessed. But what it was for wasn’t good.
The years of her tortuous marriage with him flashed before her eyes and some memories made her feel sick.
“I’m glad you turned yourself in and kept your word. Is that all?”
She was trying to find a way to hurry him. Better if he left, because she didn’t know what to say to him and didn’t feel like talking much more.
“One last thing.”
She sighed again, this time to relieve the tension in her neck and shoulders as she slumped. “What, what more could there be?”
“This.” He raised the bag.
“What is that?” It looked like paperwork. She didn’t want to do any form of paperwork tonight and she didn’t want to talk about it either.
“Everything I own,” he replied.
She wasn’t quite understanding what he was talking about. “What do you mean?”
“These are all the company registration documents, title deeds to the house and all assets I own, contact details for all the company investors, licenses, and passwords to get into the computer systems.”
“Why are you walking around with a bag containing all that?”
“For God sakes, Regina, can’t you see I’m here to give you control of everything?” he answered on a strained breath.
Again, she looked at him, not understanding. Not accepting. “You’re giving me everything?”
“Yeah. I figured you could distribute what you want to the kids, depending on their needs. It’s yours to decide.”
“Why are you doing this?” He could have just given Wade control, or someone else.
“It seemed like the right thing to do.”
“Why now? Couldn’t you have done the right thing twenty years ago and spared Rachel’s life?” She couldn’t help her outburst. It was just that his response seemed so out of place for him.
It seemed like the right thing to do. There were so many times when Ben could have done the right thing. Aaron had revealed so many terrible things that this man had done. Too many terrible things, and a lot of people had suffered because of him. There was nothing he could do to make up for any of the wrong he did.
“I was selfish and power hungry. That’s me. I don’t know any other way. It made me hard hearted and did what I had to, to protect what I had. I didn’t care that I hurt people. Until now. Aaron knew exactly how to get to me. He came at me through my family.”
She assumed his way of thinking seemed logical and reasonable to him, but it wasn’t acceptable to her. There was, however, nothing further that she could expect from him. He was right; selfish and power hungry was him. His family were all like that and he was that way too.
“I hope that we all make it through this.” She hoped that Detective Fray could catch Aaron before any more damage could be done. That would be ideal. However, that was proving to be near impossible.
“Me too. Anyway. I should go. I’ll see you at the divorce hearing.” He gave her a curt nod and pushed the carrier bag over to the wall and left.
She stared after him thinking about her years with him again. Over 35 years. It was a lot of time. Too much time and a life wasted without Brian. In her heart, she was still that nineteen-year-old girl who was so in love with him, heartbroken she couldn’t marry him and distraught that she had to marry Ben.
Brian walked inside and rolled up the sleeves of his shirt, revealing his thick forearms. He ran his hands through his curls and offered a small smile. “You okay?”
“Yeah.” She held out the envelope to him as he walked up to her.
“What’s this?”
“The divorce petition. Ben signed it. We have court next Wednesday to finalize it.”
“Really?”
“Yes, I’m free.”
“Free.”
She could see that he was trying hard not to smile but failing, and the small smile he had turned into a bright one.
“Come here,” she said, beckoning him with the crook of her finger. He leaned forward and she kissed him. Really kissed him, to the point where butterflies soared through her stomach and curled her toes.
“Is it highly inappropriate to ask you to be mine?” he asked against her lips.
“I was always yours.”
“Well, I feel like it’s my official duty to cheer you up. End this horrible day better than it started.”
“I’d love you even more if you did that.” She laughed. Actually laughed. Earlier she was so drained out that she felt she’d never smile again.
“Okay, how about this, you know our talk about Italy?”
Weeks ago they had talked about it. About going there for awhile. “Yes, and yes.”
“Yes to what?”
“Let’s go. Let’s just go when you’re ready. On your word, let’s go. Let’s move there.” Her heart was speaking words it longed to. She surprised him.
“Move there?”
“Yes. Let’s move there. You want that, right?”
He nodded. “What about the kids? And Runway?”
She raised her shoulders. “Well, in case you didn’t notice, our kids aren’t exactly kids anymore. They’re well into their thirties. They really don’t need us anymore. They don’t need me. And Runway…”
God, what did she say about Runway?
“Fashion Week?” He smiled.
“Yeah. I want to see that. After that it won’t need me, either. In the meantime, I’ll come up with something for Runway.”
She’d miss Runway a lot, but there was a time for various things in life. She had her time at Runway and it made her very successful. It was now time for her and Brian.
He brought her hand up to his lips to kiss, looking at her with so much love in his eyes she almost forgot the horrible situation they were in.
Chapter 11
Wade
She was the first girl he ever fantasized about kissing.
At twelve years old Wade had already had his first kiss, but it wasn’t with Chloe. It was a girl named Marcy. He couldn’t remember her surname. What he did remember was that when he kissed her, he imagined himself kissing Chloe and he felt real guilty because, not only was Chloe nine years old, but poor Marcy thought that meant they’d be together forever. She hated him after with a vengeance when he told her it was just a kiss.
Years later, the Chloe fantasies continued and he thought that was all they could be, just fantasies of a girl he shouldn’t have.
He remembered occasions when he found himself carelessly staring at her, getting lost in her beauty. From time to time she’d look back all starry eyed that he was looking at her, but he’d always discourage anything further. The last stunt he pulled was turning her away when she went to him when she was eighteen, practically offering herself on that magical plate of temptation.
Now here she was. Twirling around in the sunlight with her golden hair sparkling against its rays. She wore a dark pink summer dress that stood out against her tanned skin and vibrant autumn-colored eyes.
They were on Lanikai Beach enjoying their last full day in Hawaii. They’d be leaving in the morning, going back to L.A. Going back to the lair of danger.
Maybe they were crazy. Maybe.
He’d told her to go to France again, just until things blew over and settled down. He couldn’t leave his mother and Taylor, and truth be told, he was anxious to see what was going to happen to his father.
All things aside, Wade was nervous for a whole other reason right now, and his nerves spiked the more he watched Chloe.
He felt like when he first got back to L.A. and wondered if he should just leave her alone. Each time the thought crossed his mind, he realized he couldn’t do that. His need for her in his life overwhelmed him, and the idea of not having her made him feel like…
Well, that was just it. He couldn’t live without her.
He’d been sitting in the sand watching her and waiting for the right moment to approach her. The moment was now. He got up and made his way over to her, taking her hand.
“Baby, how much of that ice cream did you have?” he chuckled. He swore she’d eaten two tubs today. She’d started the day with it, too, and ended up eating so much it made her sick. Then like it hadn’t affected her, he saw her reach for the next tub, giving him the excuse that maybe too much of one flavor wasn’t good. Sugar made her hyper and today she was high on it.
“Enough. Wade you can never have too much ice cream.” She giggled.
“Okay, baby, but if you don’t stop twirling around like that you’re going to be sick again.”
“I had too much strawberry ice cream. I told you I normally alternate between chocolate, mint, and minimal strawberry. It’s funny, though, because I can eat as much of the chocolate ice cream as I want.”
He just looked at her, wondering how she could think that made sense, but at the same time loving everything that made her her. The quirkiness, the creativity, the warmth, comfort, determination, and so much more.
“Okay.” She could think whatever she wanted. It would always be good in his books, because from where he stood, he was looking at one hell of a woman, who’d stood by him during one of the hardest moments of his life.
“I’m just happy.” She smiled. “I’m just pretending that this is our life. Exactly like this and there isn’t anything to worry about.”
He reached out and stroked her chin. “Me, too, baby.” He looked into her eyes and nerves filled him again as he thought of what he was about to do. “Can I interrupt your twirling for two seconds?”
Her sweet smile brightened as she slipped her arms around him. “Yes you may.”
He kissed the top of her nose and took a step back so he could look at his beautiful girl properly. Wade held onto her hands, both of them, and gazed at her.
“Chloe.” He pulled in a deep breath.
“Yes, Wade.”
“Do you love me?”
She started to laugh, which didn’t help his nerves at all.
“Baby what’s funny? I’m serious.”
“How can you ask me that? You know I love you. I love you, Wade.”
“How much?”
“This much,” she declared proudly, making a circle, or it could have been a zero, with her thumb and index finger. He hoped it wasn’t a zero.
“A circle?” He narrowed his eyes at her.
“Infinity. A circle has no beginning and no end. It goes on and on, around and around forever.”
He couldn’t help it. A feeling of contentment settled over him, making him appreciate her even more.
“You love me that much?” he asked.
She nodded confidently and smiled.
“I love you that much, too, and I was wondering…” Pulling in a deep breath to clear his mind he felt for the little box in his side pocket that contained the engagement ring he’d bought before they left L.A.
“What?” She searched his eyes.
He wanted to do this exactly like how he imagined, but nerves were getting the better of him. Wade didn’t think he’d ever felt nervous around a woman in his life, but this was the one that mattered.
So he reached for the box, took her hand, and when he lowered in the sand to one knee, she brought her free hand to her chest and looked at him completely stunned.
“What are you doing Wade?” Her voice was low, just above a whisper.
“Proposing.” He could barely get the word out.
She drew in a sharp breath when he flicked the delicate pink box open, revealing the diamond ring inside that took him hours to choose, even with Wes’ help. Yes, he’d asked Wesley, Wes, to go with him to choose her ring. Taylor was the first person that popped into his head, but he knew that somehow she’d manage to tell Chloe and ruin the surprise. He could have asked Kelly, too, but Wes seemed to be the right person. Wade was terrible with choosing anything of sentimental value, and since this was important, he knew he’d need help. This ring he picked because it reminded him of her. Delicate, but strong and beautiful. It was an oval cut set in the center of an extra-thin band for more effect. He could tell from the look on her face that he’d made an excellent choice.
“Beautiful Chloe, I look at you and I see everything I want. Everything. There is no one else like you, and there is no one else
for me except you. I want to spend the rest of eternity with you, making you happy and trying to be what you are to me.” It was so good that his heart was taking over like he hoped it would. It was important to him that he did this part right. He wanted her to always remember. “Chloe, will you marry me and be my wife?”
Tears were streaming down her cheeks as she gazed down at him. “Yes.” She nodded.
She said yes! It took him a few seconds to register that she had and he was momentarily stunned. He forgot he held the ring and was supposed to put it on her finger. It was as he was about to get up that he remembered and snapped out of his reverie.
Wade took the ring out and slipped it on her finger, prompting more tears from her. It looked perfect on her finger, just as she was. Perfect.
Instinct and a rush of adrenaline then took over and he swooped her up into his arms, spinning her around as they hugged and laughed.
Chloe
She couldn’t help it.
Her eyes were permanently attached to her ring. She’d gotten lost in just looking at it. It was overly beautiful and beamed in any light, like it had a life of its own. But that wasn’t why she was so fascinated with it. It was the meaning. It was what it represented. Wade asked her to marry him.
As a little girl she’d dreamt of that and obsessed over him asking her. It was just a dream and she was having a hard time believing it came true.
She’d called everyone and told them, starting with her parents, who both confessed that the news didn’t surprise them. She was actually thinking that her mom might have had a few words of caution for her, only because of the talk they had before her mother left to go back to France. But, no. Her mother was thrilled and happy for them. Her excitement made Chloe hope she would have the kind of marriage that her parents have, where they were perpetually in love.
When they got back, everyone had come by to congratulate them. That was nice, and it felt unreal.
The day after they returned she thought she’d go to the beach house to spend some time with the girls.
Into The Rabbit Hole Page 14