Page 63 of Bombshell

I expect this. It’s one of the reasons I left when I did. The longer I had before he found out, the more time I would have to get things in order. I’d planned to put some money aside, pay my rent in advance, do whatever I had to do to get by until I found a job. I thought I had more time. “I guess I am.”

“How noble of you.” His mouth twists, and I know exactly what he thinks of my decision. “Take the high road, will you?”

“If I had wanted an…” I can’t bring myself to use the word. “I could have done that back home.”

“Instead, you ran away like a child. Do you really think you have what it takes to be a mother? A single mother? A poor mother? No education. No means. You can’t afford this place.”

“There are other hospitals.”

“Yes, there are other hospitals for citizens.”

“I have a study visa,” I say defiantly. “I paid the healthcare surcharge and—”

“You do not have a visa as you dropped out of the program,” he interrupts me. “Did you think I wouldn’t find out? You’ve been lying and stealing from me for months.”

“Stealing?”

“The funds for your apartment, for your classes…”

“I paid for those things,” I say, but even as I speak I feel everything unraveling. No matter how hard I try to stop it, I can’t get a hold on the situation.

“And how will you pay for them in the future? Will you stay in the country illegally?”

“Dr. Thompson wants me to stay. I’m sure she can help me.”

“Likely,” he admits to my shock. He never likes to admit that anyone else can be right. “You’ll incur medical bills for your treatment here. They told me you would need monitoring following the accident. Those kinds of bills add up.”

“I’ll get a job.”

“Even if you could, it won’t pay for this hospital,” he points out. “And I doubt they’ll be willing to issue a work visa to someone who lied about her intentions for coming here.”

“Plans change,” I say flatly, but reality is wrapping itself around my heart and squeezing until I feel like I can’t breathe.

“Obviously.” He stands, giving me a nod, as he plants his cane on the tile. “I wish you luck with those plans. I will pay this bill and see that you have through the end of the month at your apartment. After that, you will need a better plan. Perhaps, one that doesn’t change.”

“You’re just going…” He’d threatened me with this since I was old enough to drive. I’d always suspected it was a way to make sure that I came home.

“This is your choice,” he says, starting toward the door. “I am not the villain of this story. I offered you my help. I offered you solutions. You chose to refuse that help. I’m just glad that your mother isn’t alive to see this. It would kill her.”

“No, it wouldn’t. But I guess we’ll never know since you killed her.”

He turns sharply, nearly stumbling from the effort. “Keep your voice down. People will hear you.

“I hope they hear me in the hallway. I hope someone sells the story to the tabloids.”

“Why not you?” he says in disgust. “Pay for your bastard.”

“I would never disrespect my mother’s memory that way.” I can’t believe he’d accuse me of selling out the family. Not after I’d covered up what he did. I’m just as complicit as he is. But, more than that, I can’t stand the idea of my mother being remembered as the heart of a scandal instead of for the amazing person she was. “And you’re wrong. Mom would say to turn this into a diamond. She’d be there for me. She’d find a way to help me. Because she knew how to love unlike you. I wish you’d been the one to die that night. I wish she was here now.”

“Do you think I feel any differently?” he roars. “I can’t change what happened.”

“You could learn from it!” And that’s the real issue. It’s not that he made a mistake. It’s that he can’t admit it. “You call me a whore, but you’re a murderer. What choices did you have? Go to jail? Lie? Pay people to turn a blind eye to what really happened? Who cut you off? Who took away all your power when you made a mistake? No one. No one ever takes anything from Angus MacLaine.”

“Money is power, Adair. Money buys second chances.”

I shake my head. “Don’t you see? You can’t buy a second chance. Second chances are given. And you’ll never get one, because you killed the only person who would ever consider it.”

He bangs his cane on the floor. “This is not about me.”