finally experienced the extent of her mental illness and discovered the truth about Amber’s and your father’s deaths.”
Hayle’s body jolted at his father’s final words. “Are you saying you knew this whole time that she started the fire that killed my father? Because I never told you what she said to me that day at the facility.”
“No, though I’d suspected. And only after I began to understand that something was wrong after she threatened harm to me as well as self-harm during our marriage.” Vincent released a ragged sigh. “I know now because I went to see her the day after you did. She’d asked me to come, and when I got there, she admitted to knowing all about Glinda. Apparently, she’d managed to follow me on one of my trips to Atlanta, though I’m not sure how she pulled it off. She used to stalk me during our marriage and after the divorce, but only around Moss Harbor, as far as I know.
“Anyway, she seemed to believe Thea was going to turn her over to the police and wanted me to stop her. She threw all kinds of threats at me, but she was most adamant that she would contact Glinda and tell her my real identity.
“In the midst of all of that, she told me what happened with your father. According to Lily, he’d discovered that she’d been cheating on him and was going to file for divorce and seek full custody of you. To keep you from him, she drugged him before he got in the bath and then started the fire, knowing he would be too out of it to escape.”
Bile rose as I imagined the scene playing out in my head, little Hayle having no idea that his mother had set the fire that still haunted his nightmares. It was unthinkable. And, yet, I shouldn’t have been surprised. Not after everything else Lily had done.
Hayle didn’t visibly react to the story, but I still slid as close to him as possible, wrapping my hands around his arm and laying my head against his shoulder. It was the only thing I could think to do, because there was absolutely nothing I could say.
“I don’t know why she confessed everything,” Vincent said after a minute of silence. “Maybe because she wanted me to know that she truly would go to any length to get her way.”
“So, how did you keep your real identity a secret for all of this time?” Leo asked, blessedly changing the subject. “Where did your new wife think you were going, since you still spent more time in Moss Harbor than away?”
“I’ll answer this one,” Glinda said with a sad smile. “The truth was, I was blinded by my love for him. He told me that he worked for a shipping company out of Seattle, and though he had freedom to travel and visit me often, he’d put too much time in at his job to walk away without finding something comparable. Since I’d just made tenure at Emory University, where I’m a professor of English literature, moving wasn’t an option for me. And I never visited him in Seattle, since I refuse to fly.”
“What was the plan, then?” Tristin asked his father. “Were you going to keep this ruse up forever until you realized Glinda might already be in danger from Lily?”
“Actually, no.” Vincent settled farther back into his chair. “I’ve been making plans to move to Atlanta ever since we got married.” He looked at Hayle, who barely seemed to be paying attention, at this point. “Most importantly, I’ve been quietly making arrangements to sell Sharpe Shipping to Green Industries. The patent I’d wanted all of those years ago has turned things around for the company, and they can now afford to buy me out.”
Hayle jerked his head back. “Please tell me you’re joking.”
“I’m not.” He crossed one leg over the other and smoothed the hem of his slacks with his fingers. “After Amber died, I threw myself into work until the point I became obsessed. But finding Glinda has changed everything for me. I don’t want to spend the rest of my life working, and I don’t want to watch you become a workaholic just like me.”
“What about all of those times you told me I wasn’t strong enough or ruthless enough to take over?” Hayle asked angrily. “What was that about?”
“I was encouraging you to re-think your plans to run the business. You’re brilliant, Hayle, and you can do