What if she wanted to come clean to her children about everything?
What right did Eric have to take that away from her?
Amy’s stomach tightened as she took another sip of her green tea. “Is he still refusing to budge on the NDA? I won’t talk to the press or anyone I don’t know, but I don’t think it’s fair that he’s making it so I can’t even discuss the truth with my family.”
Kate nodded and swatted at a flyaway hair. “I agree. That’s why we’re pushing back.”
Amy frowned at her drink. “What if he won’t budge?”
Kate leaned sideways and took a folder out of her purse. She threw it onto the table with a thud and flipped it open. “We’ll cross that bridge when we get there. In the meantime, let’s discuss the other points that were brought up. About the beach house—”
Amy’s phone rang, slicing through the air.
Her fingers were awkward and clumsy when she saw Eric’s name flash across the screen. Ice settled in her veins as she set the phone down on the table and placed him on speaker. “Hello?”
“How dare you? How dare you try and turn my daughter against me?”
Amy’s stomach dipped as she looked up and held Kate’s confused gaze. “Eric, what are you talking about? I haven’t told Sylvie anything.”
“You’re a liar,” Eric said, his voice climbing higher and higher. “I should’ve known you’d stoop this low. You always were jealous of my success, always trying to undercut me. Of course, you went to the children.”
“I haven’t done anything,” Amy maintained in a small voice. “It’s the opposite, actually. I’ve done everything I can not to bad-mouth you in front of the children because you’re still their father.”
Eric’s laugh was low and humorless. “Oh, and you expect me to believe that, do you? How naïve do you think I am, Amy? I know you and Lily have been in touch, and she filled your head with all sorts of ideas, but I really thought you were smarter than that.”
Fear slammed into Amy, hard enough to make her hide her trembling hands under the table. Something low and unpleasant unfurled in the center of her stomach. Her ears were ringing now, and she wanted to be sick.
She wanted to throw the phone at the nearest wall and watch it shatter into a million pieces, just to avoid dealing with Eric. Another smaller part of her wanted to reach into the phone and pull him out, so she could look him in the eye.
After all of their years together, he owed her at least that much.
But Amy knew she wasn’t going to get anything from him. She lowered her gaze and stared at the table, blinking back the tears of frustration and anger. “Lily hasn’t done anything. Neither have I.”
“I’ll give you this: You’re not as spineless as I thought you were. But you’re still nothing but a sad and pathetic little housewife who got bored. Hiring a private detective to look into me was the last mistake you’ll make. The first was leaving me.”
Amy’s mind spun, her thoughts tumbling one after the other. “What private detective?”
“You need to work on your act, Amy, because when I take you to court, I’m going to make sure everyone sees you for the fraud you are. I’m going to destroy you and make it so you’re never able to set foot in the city again without people talking about you.”
“I haven’t done anything,” Amy maintained in a stronger voice that still held a slight tremor. “You don’t have any proof. You’re just upset because you know you don’t have a case.”
“After everything I’ve done for you, I can’t believethisis how you’re going to treat me. When my lawyer is done with you, you’re going to wish you’d never betrayed me, you lying, thieving gold-digging little—”
“Mr. Taylor,” Kate interrupted in a sharp voice. “You are aware that you’re on speaker and that several witnesses can now testify to you repeatedly threatening my client?”
Silence met her statement.
“I have every intention of submitting this to the court should the need arise,” Kate continued in the same calm and measured tone. “We can add verbal abuse to the list of charges. Along with intent to harm and smear my client’s good name.”
“You have nothing that’ll stick,” Eric said in a deadly calm voice. “You’re as worthless as she is, Ms. Wentworth.”
Kate stood and braced her hands against the table. “I look forward to showing you just how worthless I am in court, Mr. Taylor.”
As soon as the line went dead, Amy slumped against the table and released a shaky breath. A loud cacophony of voices rose around her, but she couldn’t make out anything over the hammering of her heart. Eventually, Emily helped Amy to her feet and pulled her into the bathroom in her private office in the back. There, Emily lingered in the doorway while Amy washed her face and stared at her flushed reflection in the mirror.
“That was…intense. Are you okay?”
Amy gripped the sink and released another deep breath. “No, but I will be. I should get going. I’ve got my creative writing course in a few minutes. I’m sorry about the scene.”
