Allie

"You have five minutes to get whatever you need most, and then you are to leave with Theodore."

That's all we get. Vivian speaks like she's the queen of all the ice and every cold thing out there. I get she hates me, but is the gun in my back necessary? Or her sneer?

From what Lucas has said, she and Mark have an open marriage. I'm sensing that's not her choice, if that's the case.

I'm assuming Mark will show up at some point. Either he will be in on this little Vivian involvement, or he knows nothing about it. I can't imagine she casually mentioned it over her poached eggs and mimosa breakfast this morning while he probably scrolled through his Twitter or whatever people like Mark do at breakfast.

I don't waste time, though, following her demands. First, I am ninety-nine percent sure that is a legitimate weapon Ted has pressed against me. Second, she has this too-calm demeanor with an apathetic tone, so she's not just at the edge of whatever patience she may have had. She's already hit the bottom.

"Mommy?" Jadon tugs at my shirt while keeping an eye on Vivian. "Who is she?"

Ted pushes me forward down the hallway toward the bedrooms. We still have boxes everywhere, so I have to step around everything.

"Jadon, I need you to stay really quiet right now, okay?"

He ignores me and addresses Ted instead. "Ted, why are you here?"

Ted croons and my spine goes stiff. He pets Jadon's face with a false sincerity. "You, me, and your mom are going on that trip we talked about a few months ago. Remember, we talked about roller coasters and seeing the–"

"What about my daddy? Is he coming?"

I shudder. If he really was right behind me, he wouldn't get here in time. She's given us five minutes and Lucas is at least fifteen minutes behind us if they left when he said they would.

"No, my boy," Ted says sweetly. "He has to stay here for work, but he wants you to have a good time and said you should be happy that we can be a family again. Isn't that exciting?"

Family.

"Ted," I say in a low voice. "You don't have to do this." I turn around so I can face him and so Jadon won't see him. "Whatever this is, you can walk away from it right now, and I won't say anything."

I have no control over whatever Lucas might do, though.

"See," he caresses my cheek with his head tilted to the side. "That won't work for me, Al. That's the job here. Take the unwanted child far enough away that people won't recognize the bastard child's eyes. Mark wants Lucas. Vivian wants you gone, so she doesn't need to be reminded of her husband's infidelities, and you and I are going to be set for life. Don't you get it? He's going to pay for us to live however we want. I just fix some books for him every few months, and then Mark pays for us to live wherever. It's win-win, Allie, and Jadon gets to go to the best schools."

My eye twitches while I try to understand why he's like this. "This is about money?"

Ted shrugs and holds my chin. "I fucked up, okay? I should have taken my shot with you when I had it. Instead, I fucked around, and then you went and gave it up to Lucas." His eyes darken and Ted's smile drops when he says Lucas' name. "Lucas was never supposed to figure it out, and honestly, I didn't even know that part. I just knew you got pregnant and Mark wanted the foundations set for us. I mean, small world, right? You got pregnant on your father's property while I tried to get into your half-sister's pants. It's all so flipped. Now, she's going to be with Lucas, and you and I will be what we were always supposed to be."

Ted grins. "It's almost like fate, Allie."

The color draining from my face is something I don't need to see in order to feel.

"Four minutes!" Vivian calls out from the front of the house.

I don't even know what to grab and I don't know how to handle this. I make tarts and asparagus wraps with seasonal flowers as garnish on plates, not deal with demented people with guns.

Ted pushes me into the bedroom and leers at the bed when I set Jadon down to grab my suitcase.

"Allie, I know it's hard right now, but once we get past all of this, and you remember how things were before, it will all be better between us. I promise. We had fun together and we'll make new memories. I'm sure you're ready to be a big brother now, too."

I don't know what I'm grabbing. I'm just trying to look busy in hopes Lucas will show up sooner. "Ted, how many times did you cheat on me in the last year?"

His half smile fades. "Never."

Lie. I just know it by now, and maybe I always did. I soften my voice while shoving Lucas' t-shirts into the suitcase. "Ted, please. You can be honest with me."

He sighs and leans against the door, checking his watch. "Allie, you never wanted to give it up for whatever reason. I didn't want to end up losing me temper or something because you're a fucking prude."

He gestures to the bed and scoffs. "Of course, Lucas-fucking-Kennedy comes to town, crooks his finger, and suddenly you're his whore."

My jaw drops to the floor. "You can't say that in front of Jadon, Ted."

He rolls his eyes while Jadon watches our exchange. I feel ashamed he's hearing all of this. I tried to set good examples for him, and Ted's unraveling it all in the span of two minutes.

Ted glowers at the suitcase and sighs. "You're done here, Allie. Mark will get whatever we need."

"What? No!"

"Yeah, come on, babe. We have a drive tonight, and I'm taking what's mine."

"What's yours? I don't understand what you mean."

"You." He pushes off the wall, storming toward me while I walk backwards. Ted grabs my hair and pulls while I fail to push him off. "We're done. Jadon, let's go."

Jadon screams and kicks at Ted, and I try to reach for him while Ted pulls me down the hallway.

"Let go of her!"

"Jadon, stop!" I reach for him while tripping over my own feet, hitting the ground. Ted still has my hair in his fist.

"Mommy!"

"What the hell is going on?" Vivian asks. Both hands on her hips, she scowls down at me in her fancy ladies' suit. Power suit, I guess. "Ted, get the kid in the car."

Ted drops me and Vivian takes his gun, pointing it at me.

"Jadon!"

Jadon screams and reaches for me, but Ted pushes me down while he carries a kicking Jadon out. Vivian is still pointing that gun, but my heart is out the front door now.

"We have done everything in our power to do this nicely, Allison. Mr. Vandenberg and I have ensured you will be cared for. This isn't some naïve scheme here. We have plans and priorities, dear, and you keep managing to get in the way. All you need to do is back off. What part of that don't you understand?"

"I've never done anything to you. Why do you even care?"

Vivian sighs and shakes her head. "Because, doll face, just like we told Tom when he came sniffing around, we don't need the trouble. My husband has his affairs, and just because he made one mistake with your mother doesn't mean you need to tarnish his future and our family's future. Your parents took the money, and this was a done deal. You are the one that got in the way when you got pregnant. Just like your mother."

I didn't know my mom well, and I really only know what my dad tells me about her. What I know is that Mark is slimy, and he didn't tell her he was married.

"You hit me, didn't you?" I already know. She's the coldest one of them all. "You tried to kill me."

Vivian shrugs. "Necessary maneuver. Couldn't help Theodore drove a piece of shit back then."

I swallow and stare at the door. "Why did you use Ted's car?"

"In case you remembered," she says with that same air of nonchalance. "In the event you both lived, and you remembered the car, it needed to be his. He agreed to it, and guess who fixed it, covering up all the evidence?"

My stomach drops. "You used Lucas' dad to fix his car?" What a way to keep all of us close together, and under their thumbs.

Vivian shrugs again. "It doesn't even matter. Now get up." She steps forward, yanking me up to my feet. "Hand me your cellphone."

She takes it from my pocket and shoves it into hers. I notice something, but Vivian shoves me out the front door. "Get in the car, Allison. I won't hesitate to demonstrate on the kid first."