ever want to leave Cliffside, ever? I mean, how could Juan have trusted her to hand the house over when the triplets turned eighteen?”
“They drew up an airtight contract. Like I said, all he wanted was out. He had no desire to be a father to children he never wanted in the first place.”
“Yes, but knowing what she was like, how could he trust her not to pull some clever number on him?” I held Pippa’s gaze, but she looked away and stared at the floor. I sensed there was something else she wasn’t telling me.
Silence. Pippa was deep in her own thoughts, standing there, staring into space.
Sinking further into the sofa, with my arms around Beanie and tears still spilling down my cheeks, I absorbed all this bizarre information. Accepting it was like trying to chew on glass.
“Why?” I pushed on. “I mean, I understand how upset Juan must’ve been, but still, he could’ve contributed to the triplets’ upbringing, could have been part of their lives, even if just seeing them for the odd weekend, or for holidays. For better or worse, they were still his flesh and blood.”
Pippa kicked off her shoes and finally sat down, shoulders curling over her chest, her knees up, feet up on the sofa, jiggling her toes back and forth in agitation. “Lee was a nightmare. A real bitch. Dealing with her was impossible. Trust me, I know, I worked for her. Asking a man to be father to one child he didn’t ask for would be bad enough, but three? Can you imagine? Juan wanted a fresh start. Didn’t want to be dragged down by Lee and her manipulative ways. She was devious and calculating. Violent too. He didn’t want to deal with her on any level and would’ve had to if they’d shared the children. And if he’d dragged her through the courts, he could’ve lost everything. So he let her have Cliffside, gave her a chunk of money and called it quits, knowing that one day he’d get his beloved house back.”
It was falling into place… Watch me make an offer they can’t refuse. I’ll get you that house.
If only I’d known the true price attached.
“Didn’t he have any empathy for his children though? For how those kids would feel one day when they found out about him?”
“That was part of their contract too. The triplets would never know. They’d believe their father was… I can’t remember what lie Lee cooked up.”
“A war hero,” I mumbled. A fresh bout of weeping put a stop to my onslaught of questions. I pinched myself to make sure this wasn’t one of my pill-induced dreams; that I wasn’t drunk, that this was really, truly happening. Pippa laid her arm around my shoulder again and gave it a squeeze.
I shook her off. “Get off, Pippa! You pretend to be my friend? You could have told me all this. The triplets nearly killed me!”
“Killed you? Come on, darling, that’s an exaggeration, isn’t it? I’m sure they—”
“They locked me up, Pippa! They were going to forge my will! It’s their fault I got hooked on those pills.”
“You have proof of this?”
“What the hell, Pippa! You saw my bruises!” I clenched my jaw to the point of pain and felt my fingernails dig into my palms. If Pippa doubted me, knowing the state I was in when she rescued me, I had no chance getting anyone else to believe me. “Forget it, if you don’t—”
“Look! I tried to get you away from them, darling! I drove to your house, but they told me you were in England. You’d given them full reign of Cliffside, handed them money and credit cards, even allowed them to bring a dog into the house when you’re allergic. Of course they took advantage. You let them. Honestly, darling, what did you expect?” Then she said more softly, “But you’re right, you need to stay well away from them and get help from the authorities; they sound bloody dangerous.”
Truth thudded in my ears. I had given them full reign of Cliffside. “They’re malicious,” I heaved, on a sob. “They want Cliffside back and will do anything to get it. Anything. Now it all makes sense.”
“I should’ve warned you, I’m so sorry.”
“You knew? You knew they had a plan?”
“Of course not. But I guessed something wasn’t right. And they are their mother’s children, after all. Bad blood. But you seemed so happy with them, there was only so much I could do. Besides, as