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“It’s best that I stay away and out of contact,” she goes on. “He’s tried calling me a few times, but I don’t answer.”
I nod. That was good to hear, at least. But how long will it last before she caves? Dominic has a way of making people lower their guard for him.
“Anyway,” Michelle says, shifting forward and digging into her back pocket. She drops a folded sheet of paper on the table and slides it toward me. Elijah glances at it but returns his attention to the more interesting view on the phone screen. “I really wanted you to meet me here so I could give you this. It’s a check that I hope covers some of what he took from you. My dad helped me with some of it, and I had some cash saved for emergencies.”
I stare down at the paper. It’s ten thousand dollars. I should take it all. I should put it back into my account and walk away, but I look at her son again and sigh, then slide the paper back to her.
Michelle’s eyebrows incline.
“Keep your money, Michelle. Sure, he may have been giving it to you without my knowledge, but this helped you take care of your son. It helped you create what has clearly been a good life for you.” I pause, studying her face. “How was he with Elijah, anyway?” I ask, gesturing to her son.
“Oh, he was really good, surprisingly. He didn’t visit much, but when he did, he spoiled Elijah rotten. Elijah loves books so he bought him a lot of them, read with him, took him to the park. He always made it his mission to get Lijah out of my hands for a bit so I could relax.” She huffs a sorrowful laugh and I hate that I feel guilty for obliterating her peace. “I know Domin—he did a lot of bad things, and sure our son was a surprise, but I think being a dad was the one thing he wanted to be good at. The one thing he hoped to keep pure.”
“I see,” I murmur.
Michelle sighs and shrugs and I can’t be here anymore. Hearing how he was with them has lit a fire under me and the last thing I want is for Elijah to see me, this random woman, start bawling her eyes out in front of him, nor do I want to feel sympathy for Dominic.
I collect my purse and stand. “There will be a final deposit that you can withdraw from the bank account he opened within the next week. It should total to six hundred thousand dollars. I hope that’s enough for you to invest in Elijah’s future, in yourself, and to make sure he turns out to be nothing like his dad.”
Michelle’s eyes fill with tears as she gapes at me. “Jolene, that’s—you really don’t have to do that.”
“I want to.” And it’s true. I do want to. All these years, I’ve felt awful about what Boaz did to her. In my head, I wanted him to rough her up and scare her a little bit, not disable her. At the end of the day, she was a human and I tried to do what Dominic did: play God. I know money won’t make up for what I did but I hope it helps. We’re all imperfect. We all make mistakes. You don’t realize how badly your mistakes will rip you in half until you’re facing them.
“And as long as you don’t give any of that money to the man who shall not be named or ever speak to him again, we’re good. I’ll know if you contact him.” I wink and Michelle forces a smile and averts her gaze to Elijah. I realize that’s a bad joke to make right now, considering how she was once terrified to even look at me, but I go on with, “I appreciate your apology. That takes a lot from someone, to realize their own errors.” I want to tell her I’m sorry for sending my mysterious goon after her, but then I’d be confessing to a crime, and she could use that against me. Regardless, she knows I was behind it deep down, and every time she looks at her leg, she’ll know.
I bid her and Elijah farewell and leave the café. When I’m inside my car, I check my phone and there’s a text from Sam: Hotel room is ready.
I start the vehicle so I can make the two-hour drive back to Raleigh, emotional but also hopeful.
SIXTY-NINE
BRYNN
Samuel pours champagne into my glass as I sit at the same table we all gathered around over a year and a half ago. I’m in the hotel room with Shavonne, only I’m not here with anxiety or trepidation. I’m here anchored in peace. Samuel fills Shavonne’s glass too and she guzzles some down, just as a knock comes to the door.
Samuel heads over to open it, and in walks Jolene. She’s wearing a white business suit with a satin peach shirt beneath, her hair in Fulani braids and her gold jewelry adding a luxurious pop. Sunglasses cover her eyes, but she pulls them off, revealing beautifully set eye makeup with lengthy lashes. She’s always been an impressive dresser, but she took it up a notch after Dominic was arrested. I suppose that was what she needed to thrive.
Her lashes flutter as she peers up at Samuel, and he places a kiss on her lips after shutting the door.
“Hi baby,” he croons.
“Hey my love,” she whispers.
I sip my wine, still unsure how they’ve gotten so deep into a relationship. Oddly enough, no one has questioned why Jolene and Samuel are together. No one has even leaned toward the idea of them conspiring to take Dominic down so Samuel could become the new state governor. Jolene and Samuel were smart. In public, they were very open without being too touchy. When Dominic had campaigns, Samuel would appear for her, he’d have conversations, and he often bragged about how he supported her tea shop to their colleagues.
When Jolene finalized her divorce in between the trials, it only took two weeks for Samuel and Jolene to be seen together in public. To everyone looking in from the outside, they were simply friends supporting one another from the beginning, and that relationship blossomed to more the night of the cabin. It only makes sense that they grew closer after everything. Many people bond through trauma. Shavonne and I did and look at us now, closer than ever.
The public takes one look at Jolene and Samuel, and they have stars in their eyes. They’re survivors. Samuel is strong and wonderful for taking initiative and trusting his gut (as a governor should do) and Jolene is a powerhouse for facing her husband, despite possibly being hurt or even killed in the process. Sure, the story makes us look like saplings, but Dominic is in jail, and everyone hates him and that’s all I ever wanted. Well, that and to shoot him. Yes, I know it’s over with but still. Just one little bullet would’ve satisfied me.
“You must have another interview lined up,” I say as Jolene approaches the table. “You look really nice.”
She sets her purse down in front of one of the chairs, then rests a hand on her hip. “Actually, no. I had one this morning but haven’t gotten the chance to change. I had things to do before coming here.” She and Samuel pass a knowing glance.
I sit up straighter in my chair.
“Anyway,” Jolene says, “There’s a reason I wanted all of us to gather in this room again. The last time we were here, we were all a bit down, right? We felt hopeless or useless, but I promised that was going to change.”
Shavonne sips her drink, eyeing Jolene who digs into her purse and pulls out two white envelopes. She slides them across the table, to me and Shavonne. Both are labeled in her cursive handwriting with our names on them.
