A Life Unplanned (24 page)

"I didn't believe the crazy bitch would go through it with!" Trent shouted.

"Did you pay the witnesses to testify at the trial?" I asked.

I was surprised when Maylene was the one who looked guilty, not Roger. He noticed our focus change. "Maylene?"

"Did you pay them, Mom?" Trent asked.

"I knew you were innocent-" she started.

"Yeah, I was, and there were real witnesses! Were they at least the people who saw us?"

"Trent, you have to understand, there was underage drinking and drugs at that party. Everyone was afraid to get in trouble and lose their scholarships or go to jail."

"Were they at least the people who saw us?" he pushed again.

She sat down next to Roger, and he put his arm around her. I was surprised she let him. "Our investigator wasn't able to find the real witnesses. No one wanted to rat anyone else out."

"Oh, my God." Trent stood up and started pacing. "Did you know?" he asked Roger.

"No, I was positive you were innocent, so I didn't think there'd be any problem with getting the witnesses."

"Well, Mr. Hamilton thinks I'm guilty of rape and is coming after me, because you actually did pay off the witnesses!" Trent shouted.

"He's coming after you?" Roger sounded shocked.

"He was the one behind the website and has been arranging all of the bogus claims against Trent," I said bringing them up to speed.

"I thought that was Tiffany or Brittney?" Maylene said worried.

"No, after she died, we knew there was still someone else out there after me."

"If this guy knows mom bribed the witnesses, then how come he didn't come after her and Trent again?" Trevor asked.

I think we were surprised when Maylene answered. "Because the statute of limitation for bribing a witness is three years, he must've found out after the time was up."

"Three years?" Trent asked shocked.

"I knew what I was doing was illegal, Trent, but I was willing to risk it to save you."

"Jesus, Maylene, you should've told me. I could've done something, at the very least I would've done the bribing myself, so you wouldn't have been put at risk," Roger worried.

"It's over now, so it doesn't matter."

"Except it does, because Mr. Hamilton believes I raped his wife and is coming after me."

"But he's in jail now, right?" I asked.

"For now, but we don't know if he had others working with him," Trent said frowning.

"You said there were real witnesses, so find them," Meredith said matter-of-factly. "The statute of limitations would've run out by now if they did anything, and they shouldn't be at risk for losing a scholarship anymore. Find them and make them tell the truth to this Hamilton guy."

"He'll just think we bribed them again," Trent said dismissively.

"Then cop to the bribing and tell him to find the witnesses himself," Trevor snapped.

I didn't think it'd work, but it wouldn't hurt to give it a try.

"I'm so sorry, Trent. This is all my fault. I'll meet with Mr. Hamilton and set him straight myself. We can prove my story with Emily's DNA. I won't let him come after you anymore," Roger said firmly.

"That might work," I said taking Trent's hand. At least I hoped it would. Maybe the truth would finally set Trent free.

Chapter 29 – When it Rains it Pours…

I didn't think Trent would ever forgive Roger for the mess he had made of his life. Of course, no one would have ever thought Sabrina's husband would have been the one to come after Trent, over eight years after the trial. I think that was why no one made the connection, until we had talked to Caitlyn.

We were all sent to the kitchen to try and settled down. Trevor grabbed a beer and tossed one to Trent. He offered me one, and I passed, since I was breast feeding. Otherwise, I think I would've asked for some of the wine Meredith had pulled out. She split the bottle with Maylene, after Maylene had led Emily to the study, where Roger was waiting to talk to her.

Emily's initial reaction to finally meeting the family made me think things would go well for him, so we were all stunned when we heard something bang, and then the door opened and Emily shouted, "I'm not leaving her!" The door slammed, and then we all stepped into the foyer in time to see Emily run out of the front door.

"What happened?" Maylene asked.

Roger took a couple of steps toward the door, but I waved him off. The others were all a little buzzed, and he looked like he was still in pain when he moved, after the beating Trevor had given him.

I found Emily down the block, sitting on the corner and crying. I sat down next to her, and she peeked at me. "I don't want to stay here. I want to go home!"

I nodded. "Then we'll get you home. Do you know Aunt Katherine’s phone number?" I asked.

"Yeah, I know the house one," she said sniffling.

I handed her my phone, and when she called, her Aunt Katherine answered confused, not recognizing my number. "Mom?" Emily cried.

"Emily, where are you? Are you hurt? Did someone take you again? Where are you calling from?" Katherine sounded frantic.

"I'm okay, this is Clara's phone, she's Trent's girlfriend. Mom, Uncle Roger said he’s my dad," she cried.

Katherine was quiet.

"Please, tell me he's not. He wants me to live with him, but I don't want to. I just want to go home!" she wailed.

"I'm on my way now, sweetie. You caught me just before I headed out the door for the airport. I'll be there this evening. We'll figure it out then."

"I want to live with you," she fussed.

"I know, sweetheart, I'm sure we can work something out when I get there. Just hang on for me, okay?"

"Okay."

"I love you, I'll see you soon."

"I love you, too, bye," Emily said with a sniffle, but she seemed to be doing a little better.

"Are you ready to go back to the house?"

Her shoulders sagged, but she nodded her head yes. I put my arm around her for comfort. "You realize you're an aunt, don't you? You're Tyler, Katie and Charlotte's Aunt Emily. Even if you think everything else sucks, that's got to be kind of cool," I offered.

She smiled up at me. "Yeah, that is cool, and I have two big brothers."

"They're really nice big brothers."

"That would make Trevor's wife my sister-in-law, right?"

"Yup, that's right. You've got family all over now."

She smiled, but then it fell a little. "I don't want to leave my mom. She's always told me she was my aunt, but she let me call her mom, too. She's my mom, Clara."

I stopped and hugged her tightly. "They'll work it out. The older people have made a mess of things, and now they're trying to fix it all. We do want you close, but I think more than anything, we want you happy."

Her arms tightened around me. "Thank you."

"Are you ready to go back and see them?"

She let out a sigh. "Alright," she said, dragging out the word.

Roger was sitting on the porch and jumped to his feet when he saw us walking up the sidewalk. "Hey, button, I'm so sorry-" he started.

"No," she said cutting him off. "I'm not leaving my mom. I was nice to your wife, because I knew something was wrong. Now that the truth is out…" she shook her head and walked inside. I followed after, not saying anything.

This was such a mess, and I wasn't sure how Roger would clean it up. When it came time to leave, Emily asked to come home with Trent and me. I didn't know how he would take her asking. He had just found out that her mother and his father were the instigators of several costly lawsuits and investigations.

He looked over at Emily, who was leaning into my side, and then he looked over at his mother. I wasn't sure if Maylene wanted to try and get to know Emily better or let her come with us. Emotions were still running pretty high, but I'd told Emily I'd help get her back with Katherine, and I think that was why she wanted to stay with us.

Maylene conceded, when she saw the glare Emily was giving Roger. I think she realized she wasn't the only one who needed cooling down. Even if Maylene wanted to believe Roger had only done her wrong, his actions had affected us all, especially Trent.

We were given Katherine's flight information, and I promised to pick her up. I didn't know what she looked like, but I knew Emily would recognize her. Trent told me to do my best not to stare. I didn't know what he was talking about, until I saw her for myself.

Emily ran up to a woman who was half bald, with a severe burn scar down the left side of her face and neck. It looked like she was missing an ear. I did my best not to look startled, when Emily ran and practically jumped into her arms. She pulled her over to me with a wide smile. "This is my mom, Aunt Katherine. Mom, this is Clara, Trent's girlfriend. They have kids, and I got to hold her baby. She's tiny, and her name is Katherine, too, but they call her Katie!"

"From what I understand, I owe you a great deal. If it wasn't for you, I don't know what would've happened to my little girl," she said pulling me into a hug. "Is Trent here?" she asked hopeful.

"He's actually at home with the kids. I didn't know if you had hotel accommodations, but I have a twin bed and a couch."

"I slept on the couch last night. You can sleep on the bed," Emily smiled.

"That's very sweet of you. I think I'll take you up on it. I'm not sure how welcoming the others in the family will be."

I put her bag in the trunk and headed for my apartment.

"How is Trent really taking it?" she finally asked.

"Sabrina's husband has been coming after him for the last few years, trying to ruin his life and reputation. He was recently abducted along with our little boy and shot, because of the mess Roger started, so I wouldn't hold my breath."

"Oh, my heavens! I had no idea! Roger doesn't tell me anything. I had no idea what was going on over here."

"Well, hopefully with Mr. Hamilton in jail, things will calm down."

"I don't know how long that's going to last."

"What do you mean?"

"I've spoken with the police here. They said he had legitimate employment papers with the camp, and when I signed her camp admission papers, I did sign one for fieldtrips, which they're claiming she was on."

"Are you serious? Are they really going to let him go?"

"It's looking that way."

"That's insane! That's going to kill Trent. The only peace he had was knowing Hamilton was put away. I have to tell Trent's lawyer and private investigator. Maybe they can come up with something, some kind of proof of something!" I cried, exasperated. It looked like our reprieve would be over sooner rather than later.

"I'm definitely not letting it go, especially now that I know what he's done to Trent as well. It's obvious now that it wasn't some crazy fluke of coincidence that Emily was his wife's daughter."

"Daughter? My birth mother is somehow involved in this?" Emily asked from the back seat.

"Not her, dear, her husband. I think it's best if you stick with an adult at all times from here on out, until we can figure out what he's trying to accomplish. I don't want him trying to take you again." Emily looked worried, so Katherine tried to reassure her. "He may be married to your birth mother, but I'm your mom, and I'm not going to let anything happen to you."

That seemed to appease Emily for the time being. We pulled up in front of my building, and I could see Tyler looking out the front window, jumping on the couch.

"That's Tyler, I'm his aunt," Emily announced proudly.

"That's every exciting," Katherine answered with a genuine smile.

Trent opened the door before I could.

"I told you they were back!" Tyler squealed.

I took my baby girl from Trent and watched his expression, worried how he'd react to them staying here. I knew he was okay with Emily, but I didn't know if he blamed his aunt for the mess he was in as well.

"Aunt Katherine," he said with a curt nod.

She stepped forward with tears in her eyes and cupped his cheeks. I was surprised he didn't pull away. "I'm so sorry, sweetheart. I had no idea how this was effecting your life."

"It's not your fault. You were just cleaning up your little brother's messes like always." It sounded almost like he was letting her off the hook, but I could tell by the look in his eyes that he hadn't.

"What happened to your head?" Tyler asked and embarrassed me. He was still at that age where he would blurt out offensive questions without a second thought.

Katherine must have been used to it, because she sat on the couch with a smile and waved him over. "When I was much younger, a neighbor boy played with matches. He caught his house on fire, and it spread to my house. I couldn't get out fast enough. My parents were trapped, and I wanted to get them out, but I couldn't. I listened to my mom and saved my little brother, but not before the fire caught up with me. I was able to keep him safe, though. Now you know to never play with fire, right?" she asked in a kind voice.

Tyler's eyes were wide with promise when he nodded yes. "Does it hurt?" he asked with worry.

"No, would you like to touch it?"

He reached up and touched it gently. "It feels soft, Momma, feel."

"No, that's alright, I believe you."

"Do you want me to kiss it better?" he asked her.

"That would be very sweet. Your daddy used to kiss it better all the time, too," she said and winked at Trent. Tyler kissed her cheek lightly and then stepped back with a wide smile. "There, all better."

I showed Katherine to Tyler's room and shot off a text to Maylene that I had picked up her sister-in-law. I honestly didn't know how Maylene would react to seeing her again.

Once everyone was tucked in for the night, I found Trent sitting on the bed with his head in his hands. I climbed on the bed behind him and started to rub his shoulders.

"Seeing her…you know she and my dad were in foster care for six years. As soon as she turned eighteen, she took custody of my dad and raised him herself. They both received a huge settlement from the property owners of the apartment they'd lived in.

"The fire escapes weren't maintained, and my grandparents' window was painted shut. They'd smashed it, but had no place to go. My grandfather actually bled to death from the cut he sustained from breaking it. My grandmother was heavily pregnant at the time, and she couldn't get out of the third story window.

"When my aunt realized she couldn't get out with my dad, she went to the bathroom and broke the small window by the shower, trying to get air. She turned the water on, but that didn't stop the fire from reaching them. The fresh air from the busted window actually pulled the fire toward them faster. She hung a towel out the window, so the fire men knew where they were. My dad was only two. She held him out the window by a leg when it started getting too hot. She was holding onto him when she caught fire, but she didn't let go. They finally came to get them. She nearly died of smoke inhalation, and then from her burns. It was a miracle she survived at all."

He got up and climbed into bed next to me and pulled me into his arms. "You know, I shouldn't be surprised that she did what she thought she had to in order to save his ass. She's been doing it since he was two. She constantly babied him. There's ten years between them. He was only eight when she took custody of him. She was more of his mother than she was his sister. Because of the damage done to her body, she wasn't able to have kids.

"They did a bunch of reconstruction on her, but…well, you saw. Life wasn't kind to her. She has the one good side, though. I don't think I've ever seen a picture with her facing the other way, exposing the burnt side of her body. She used to wear scarfs a lot to cover her missing hair. She had a lot of plastic surgery to get to the point she's at now."

He was quiet for a bit. I could tell he was still stewing. He hopped out of bed and started pacing. "You know she's my only aunt? She just dropped off the face of the earth. I have no idea what she told my mother. They used to be best friends. The pair of them used to dote on my jackass of a father. I knew they were drifting apart before the move out here. I didn't see her for months at a time, even when we lived in the same town. I wonder if she knew then already what my bastard of a father was doing."

"Trent," I called him over to me again. He flopped on the bed, and I had him roll over so I could rub his back. "This is all going to be over soon, and then we'll moved into your little house and live happily ever after."