indignantly.
Shelby ignored her accusation. She knew it was wrong, and completely unprofessional, for Chloe to do that, but it couldn’t compare to Lianna’s deception.
‘You had a secret. You wanted to keep it a secret.’
‘Yes, I had a secret. Now the whole world knows about it.’
‘You didn’t want Rob to know. You were desperate for him not to know. Desperate to keep Chloe from telling him.’
Lianna recoiled and shook her head. ‘Desperate? Are you kidding? We’re not even married anymore. Get a hold of yourself.’
‘You never told him,’ Shelby said accusingly.
‘I wanted to spare him the unhappiness. And Molly. I wanted to spare them both.’
‘How badly did you want to silence my daughter?’
Lianna’s mouth dropped open. ‘What the hell are you saying?’ She took a deep breath as if she were trying to control her response. ‘Are you suggesting that I had something to do with Chloe’s death? Because of this?’
Shelby stared back at her without replying.
‘Look, Shelby, I know you’re grieving, but get a grip. For one thing, I wasn’t even on that cruise. I was here, as you well know. I took care of Jeremy for you, remember?’
‘It’s possible to hire someone.’
‘Hire someone? You mean . . . a hit man? Yeah. I must have one or two of those in my phone book,’ she said sarcastically.
‘I’m not joking about this,’ said Shelby.
‘Neither am I,’ said Lianna. ‘This is about the most insulting accusation I’ve ever heard. Especially since your daughter was the one who violated my privacy, and my rights as a patient.’
Shelby didn’t care if Lianna was insulted. ‘What about Harris? Does he know about Molly? And Rob?’
‘Yes. I told him long ago. He always wanted me to tell Rob. I kept thinking I would choose the right moment. But then Chloe took it out of my hands. Apparently she shared my most personal secret with some friend of hers, who decided to tell Rob last night. Rob came over here in a rage. I was blindsided by the whole thing.’
A friend of hers. Shelby thought of Barbara, and instantly realized that Rob had been deliberately vague with Lianna. He was keeping secret the fact that Chloe was in AA.
Just then the front door opened and a voice called out, ‘Hey, I’m home.’
‘We’re in the sunroom,’ Lianna called out.
Harris came into the sunroom, carrying his briefcase and loosening his tie. ‘I have to go to the hospital later,’ he said. ‘This is just a breather. Hi Shelby,’ he said, and then put his arm around Lianna’s shoulders, kissed her forehead and patted her belly. ‘How’s junior?’ he said.
Lianna looked up at Shelby with narrowed eyes. ‘A little agitated if you want to know the truth. Shelby’s here hurling all kinds of accusations. She knows about Rob’s visit here last night. And about Molly’s real father.’
Harris immediately looked guiltily at Shelby. ‘We probably should have told you last night. But it was awkward. We didn’t want to make things worse with Rob.’
‘That’s not all,’ said Lianna. ‘She thinks I might have hired someone to kill Chloe. To keep it quiet.’
Harris laughed. ‘Oh come on, honey,’ he said. ‘She didn’t mean that. You’re being overly sensitive.’
‘That’s what she said,’ Lianna cried.
Harris frowned. ‘All right. All right. Let’s climb in off the ledge, ladies. We’re all stressed out these days.’ He turned to Shelby. ‘Tell me, how is Rob? Is he awake?’
‘Not yet,’ said Shelby, somewhat shaken by his matter-of-fact response to her earth-shattering news.
Harris sighed. ‘I felt so badly for him last night. When he came over I think he was really hoping to hear that it wasn’t true.’
‘I’m sure,’ said Shelby stiffly. ‘He loves Molly.’
‘And he’s been a wonderful father to her. I’m sure he would have been a wonderful father even if he had known the truth,’ Harris said, frowning at Lianna. ‘You should have had a little faith in him.’
‘OK. I know. I should have told him,’ said Lianna irritably, raising her hands as if in surrender. ‘I should have, but I didn’t. I was having an affair with a married man before I started seeing Rob. A man who was incapable of being a father to Molly.
‘Whereas Rob . . . well, he was so proud of her. I let him believe that Molly was his. I’m a bad person. I admit it. Believe me, I paid for it last night when Molly found out. She was furious with me,’ said Lianna.
‘Darling, with all due respect, you deserved it,’ said Harris.
Lianna raised her chin defiantly.