the threat in my voice, but I didn’t even care. I wasn’t going to coddle her anymore.
Mom must have realized the same, because she stared down at the table and began speaking. “I knew she was having her final dress fitting that day, so I got there early and watched her from across the street. When I saw the bodyguard that had been following her around leave, I took advantage of the opportunity. I ran across the street and knocked on her window right before she got ready to pull out of her parking spot.”
She paused, and just when I thought I was going to have to push her again, she continued her story. “I gave her the silver shoes as a fake peace offering and suggested she might like to wear them for the wedding. We talked for a few minutes, but it wasn’t anything important. Awkward small talk. I noticed she’d been crying, and that’s when I offered her a bottle of water…that I’d laced with cyanide. I left, and the next thing I knew, she’d supposedly died in an accident. I assumed Vincent covered it up, but I didn’t dare ask him why.”
My knees weakened, and I dropped back in my chair to keep from sinking to the ground. She’d really done it. She’d murdered Amber Gale and been the cause of Thea leaving me. Leaving all of us.
Maybe I’d known all along, but I hadn’t been willing to accept it. Now, I had no choice. I was the son of a murderer. And the girl I loved was probably going to despise me forever because of it.
Movement snapped me out of my mental pity party, and I looked to my side to find Thea standing, a hand over her mouth and tears filling her beautiful brown eyes. I reached for her other hand, but she shook her head and walked away.
She disappeared back inside the building, and I wanted nothing more than to follow her. To console her. But I couldn’t leave yet. I wasn’t finished with my mother.
Forcing my attention back to the woman who now seemed like nothing but a stranger, I was unmoved by the sight of her hunched shoulders, shaking hands, and trembling chin. Maybe someday I’d be able to feel compassion for her again, but today would not be that day.
“For the record, I’d like you to confirm that you stole Thea’s hoodie and wore it to tamper with Bodie’s car.”
She nodded.
“Why?”
“He’d threatened you and your brothers. I did it for you.” She reached for my hand again, but I yanked it out of reach. “I followed you and Leo that night and heard everything that happened in the bar. After you left, I heard that Mark guy say that they’d have to come up with a plan when Bodie arrived, so I waited in an alley until he got there.”
“Were you trying to kill him?”
She shrugged. “I just wanted him to hurt for hurting you.”
“God, Mom. What the hell is wrong with you?” I knew it probably wasn’t a politically correct question to ask someone with mental health issues, but I could—would—never understand.
“Nothing,” she insisted. “I just wanted to keep you safe. That’s all I’ve ever wanted.”
“And, Thea? What excuse do you have for going after her with a knife?”
“I told you. She’s trying to take you away from me. I can’t have that, Hayle.” Mom began shaking even harder, and she pulled at the ends of her hair. “No one will take you away from me.” She stood, moving toward me, and I was too stunned to do anything but stare at her when she gripped my upper arms. “Your father tried, and I didn’t let him either.”
“Vincent?”
“No,” she spat. “Your real father. He was going to leave me and take you with him. So, I made sure he didn’t have the chance. It’s because I love you so much.” She stroked the side of my cheek, and bile rose in my throat at her touch and this newest revelation. “You’re my whole world, Hayle.”
Standing, I shoved her away from me. “You disgust me. I never want to see you again.”
“No.” She rushed forward and clung to my coat, her eyes wider than I’d ever seen them. “You can’t leave me. I’ll kill myself. I will.”
Icy fingers of dread slithered up my spine. “Mom, stop it. Don’t say that.”
“I’ll do it.” She abruptly let me go and climbed onto a chair and then the top of the table. “I’ll