Bastards and Scapegoats (Twisted Legacy Duet #1) - CoraLee June Page 0,91
Joseph’s abuse.
When I saw the Beauregard’s home, I pulled out my cell, fully prepared to call an Uber to my apartment so I could pack a bag and take the train to DC. I didn’t exactly know what I’d do once I got there, but I had to convince my mother to leave Joseph. No amount of financial security was worth being with a monster.
“The guards told me you were here,” Jack said. I hadn’t even noticed him sitting on his back porch. He was clutching a glass full of amber liquid in his palm and staring out across his property at the tree line. I’d never seen him dressed so casually, with a black shirt and sweatpants; he looked normal, almost. “Is Hamilton at the sycamore tree? He always loved it there.”
I debated on ignoring him. Jack had a role to play in all of this. He supported a monster. But my need for answers outweighed my sense of self-preservation. “Did you know?” I asked while marching up the steps. “Did you know that Joseph is a psychopath? Did you know that my mother showed up on Hamilton’s doorstep yesterday bruised and bloodied? You’re a hypocrite, Jack,” I added before sitting down in the chair beside him. I didn’t want to look at him—I couldn’t. So instead, I stared out over the swaying blades of grass while finding my bearings. Ten more minutes couldn’t hurt. Ten minutes of sitting and searching for answers before I’d figure out what the fuck my mother and I were going to do.
“I’m the worst kind of hypocrite,” he admitted. I didn’t have to pull the admission out of him. He readily agreed, like it was a plague on his mind he needed to sweat out with a fever. “I did you and your mother a disservice. I sat there, pretending that it was my son who needed protecting from your mother, when in fact it was the other way around.”
“He beat the shit out of her, Jack. How can you just sit there, knowing what he’s capable of, and still support him?”
“I suppose the same reason you still love a woman who lied about her pregnancy so she could marry into my family for money.”
I sputtered. “It’s not the same.”
“No. I suppose it’s not. Yet here we are. Stuck.” Jack lifted his drink and took a sip. “I learned to prioritize from my father. The day I started working for him, he told me that every thriving business has a million problems under its belt. The key to success is finding the biggest one and focusing on it. And if it isn’t fixable, you move onto the next.”
“Is that how you approach your family, Jack? You treat your children like problems you can’t fix?”
Jack smiled. “You’re a smart woman, Vera. I can see why Hamilton is so fixated on you.” I bit my tongue. “I’m a bit wiser now, though. Nikki and I realized something was wrong with Joseph when he was three. He used to break every single toy we ever gave him. He was attracted to dangerous things. Fire. Needles. Electrical sockets. Nikki blamed herself. I suppose Joseph’s problems started her spiral. We went to therapists, but he outsmarted them. He learned how to appear normal. He mimicked empathy, wore kindness like a mask. I ignored the deeper problem because it was easier.
“Nikki then became my bigger problem. I’d catch her staring at Joseph with her fists clenched. She feared him. I couldn’t understand why she wouldn’t just let it go. My wife and I grew apart. And by the time I told Nikki about my affair and Hamilton, I’d lost her completely. No amount of therapy, antidepressants, or help could save her. So I treated her like I treated my business. I focused on the other problem.”
I swallowed and turned to look at Jack. Hearing his version of events added a sense of clarity to the story that I’d been craving. “If you can’t fix it, move on,” I echoed his earlier sentiment.
“Hamilton was like a Band-Aid. He won’t believe me, but she loved him. In fact, she probably loved him more than she loved Joseph. She resented me, but oh, she loved Hamilton. He was a second chance. He breathed new life into her. She took him in as her own. Our only rule was that he could never know of his birth mother. It was an easy enough agreement. I was happy to forget about the one-night stand.