Chapter 34 Tomorrow I'll Know
Lara's pov
As I entered the lobby room as soon as the elevator dropped me, I saw Natasha and Veronica waiting for me. Both of them were sitting on the leather chairs near the reception desk.
They looked so terrible.
Veronica's designer bag had a broken strap. Natasha's expensive highlights were growing out, dark roots showing.
They both wore clothes that probably cost thousands of dollars. But now they just looked old and tired.
James, the security guard, rushed over to me.
"Ms. Otto, I'm so sorry. They've been here for three hours. I told them to leave but they refused."
"It's fine, James. I'll handle it."
Veronica stood up when she saw me while Natasha followed her.
"Lara, please. Just five minutes."
I walked toward the doors. Tried to go around them.
"I gave you your five miutes when your mother was dying. That was generous enough."
"We have nowhere else to go," Natasha said.
"That's not my problem."
I walked pass them.
Veronica grabbed my arm.
I pulled away immediately. "Do not touch me."
People now started staring at us. Other employees trying to go home for the day and some few reporters who always hung around and thought they would get a story from me.
"Please!" Veronica's voice was getting louder. "Our trust funds are frozen. The lawyers took everything. We have nothing!"
"Lower your voice."
"Why? Are you embarrassed? You know what embarrassment feels like now? We've lost everything because of you!"
That made me stop.
I turned around slowly to them.
"Because of me? I wasn't the one who helped poison my father."
"We didn't know!" Natasha was crying now. "We swear we didn't know what Mom was doing!"
"We were just following orders," Veronica said. "She was our mother. What were we supposed to do?"
Everyone in the lobby was watching.
My employees, the security man and random people picking up visitors' passes.
This was going to be all over the news by tonight.
Then , I said,
"Follow me. We'll talk upstairs."
\---
I took them to a conference room on the forty-third floor, I sat on one side of the long table. They sat across from me.
The room felt too big and empty.
Veronica set her broken bag on the table. Natasha kept twisting her hands together.
Neither of them wore jewelry. They'd probably sold it all.
I checked my phone. I had forty minutes before picking Ethan up from school.
"You have ten minutes. Talk."
"Our lawyers say you're planning civil suits," Veronica said. "Against us personally."
"And?"
"We can't afford that. We're gonna lose everything.The houses, the cars, and everything."
"You already lost everything. That's what happens when you help commit murder."
"We didn't help!" Veronica's voice cracked. "We didn't know what Mom was doing to your father!"
I leaned back in my chair and watched them.
Part of me was enjoying this. Seeing them broken and desperate.
"So you're saying you had no idea your mother was poisoning Richard Montgomery for six months?"
"No," Natasha whispered.
"But you knew about the fake photos. The affair scandal you helped create."
Veronica looked down. "Mom hired someone. We knew about that."
"And you said nothing."
"We were scared. She said if we didn't help, she'd cut us off completely."
I laughed, I couldn't help but laugh.
"You were scared of losing money. I was scared of losing my life. Not quite the same thing."
"We know we were awful to you," Natasha said. "The things we said. The way we treated you like a servant in your own home."
"We're sorry," Veronica added. "We're so sorry."
"Are you? Or are you just sorry you got caught?"
She didn't say anything.
I pulled out my phone again and checked the time.
"What about the car accident?" I asked.
"Someone tampered with my brakes and tried to kill me."
"That wasn't us," Veronica said quickly. "I swear. We didn't know about that."
"But you knew about the photos."
"Yes."
"And you knew your mother hated me."
"Yes."
"And you did nothing to stop any of it."
Natasha was crying harder now. "We were scared."
"So was I. Every single day of my marriage. Difference is, I was scared of your family. You were just scared of being poor."
Veronica's hands were shaking.
"Your lawyers sent paperwork. They're suing us for emotional damages, defamation, conspiracy."
"You're lucky it's just civil suits and not criminal charges."
"If you go through with this, we'll lose our homes. Our children's college funds. Everything."
That made me pause.
"Your children. How old are they now?"
"Genevieve is eleven and James is nine," Natasha said.
"Do they know what their mother did to me?"
"Please don't punish them for our mistakes."
I thought about Ethan. How innocent he was. How much I'd do to protect him.
But I also remembered how these women treated me. Called me common. Talked about me like I was dirt.
"What do you want from us?" Veronica asked. "Tell us. We'll do anything."
"Anything?"
"Yes. Anything. Just don't destroy our lives."
"You already destroyed your own lives. I'm just making it official."
Veronica leaned forward. Desperate now.
"Please. What do you want? Money? We don't have it. Apologies? We're apologizing. What will make you stop?"
I thought about it.
Destroying them wouldn't bring my father back.But I wasn't going to let them off easy either.
"If I drop the suits, I want something in return."
"Anything."
"Everything you know about Lucas. Every conversation. Every plan. Every detail about what he's planning from prison."
Natasha's eyes widened. "We don't talk to Lucas anymore."
"Liar. He calls you. I know he does. Prisoners get phone privileges."
Veronica hesitated. "He calls once a week."
"And?"
"And he asks about you. About Ethan. About Damien."
My heart started racing.
"What does he say about Damien?"
Veronica and Natasha looked at each other.
"He's obsessed," Veronica said finally. "Talks about Damien constantly. Says he has proof that Damien orchestrated everything."
"Proof of what?"
"That Damien was at the hotel the night of the gala. That he's Ethan's real father."
I kept my face blank.
"That's insane."
"Is it?" Veronica asked. "Lucas hired a private investigator. Found hotel records and security footage."
"There's no footage. I checked years ago."
"Not from the hotel. From the street cameras. Traffic cameras. They show Damien's car outside the hotel that night."
The room felt smaller suddenly.
Harder to breathe.
"When?"
"November 20th. The night of the gala."
The right date.
The exact right date.
"Lucas is lying," I said.
But my voice sounded weak even to me.
"Maybe," Veronica said. "But he has credit card statements. Damien's credit card paid for a hotel room that night."
"That's illegal. That information is private."
"Probably. But Lucas doesn't care. He's in prison for life. What else can they do to him?"
My phone buzzed.Damien texting about picking up Ethan.I ignored it.
"Tell me everything," I said. "Everything Lucas told you about Damien."
Natasha wiped her eyes. "He says Damien planned it all. That he was working with your father before he died. That he was at the gala watching you."
"That he followed you to the hotel," Veronica added.
"And he has proof of this?"
"He says he does. The investigator got traffic camera footage. Credit card receipts. Hotel key card records."
I felt sick.
"If I drop the civil suits," I said slowly, "you tell me everything Lucas says. Every phone call, every letter and every detail."
"You want us to spy on our brother?"
"I want you to choose. Your brother who's in prison for life? Or your children's future?"
"That's not fair," Natasha whispered.
"Life isn't fair. Your mother taught me that."
Veronica looked at her sister. Then back at me.
"If we do this. If we tell you what Lucas says. You'll drop everything?"
"I'll drop the civil suits. But you stay away from me, frm Ethan and from my life. Forever."
"We can do that."
"And if Lucas finds out you're feeding me information?"
"That's your problem. Not mine."
We sat there for a minute and stared at each other.
Then Veronica held out her hand.
I looked at it and thought about refusing.
But I shook it.
Her hand was cold and sweaty.
I wrote my private number on a piece of paper and slid it across the table.
"You call this number. No one else has it. You don't text unless it's an emergency. You call once a week with updates."
"What if there's nothing to report?"
"Then you call and say that. I need to know he's not planning something."
"What do you think he's planning?" Natasha asked.
"I don't know. That's what scares me."
I stood up. They stood too.
I walked to the door. Stopped with my hand on the handle.
Turned back.
"If you're lying to me. If you're working with Lucas. If this is some kind of setup."
"It's not, I swear—"
"Let me finish. If you betray me, I won't just sue you. I'll make it my life's mission to destroy everything you have left. Your homes. Your reputations. Your children's futures. Do you understand?"
"We understand," Natasha whispered.
"Good. Now get out of my building."
\---
I sat in my car in the parking garage for twenty minutes.
Couldn't drive yet. My hands were shaking too hard.
Damien's car was at the hotel.His credit card paid for the room.
November 20th.
The dates matched.
Everything Lucas said in his letters. Everything I thought was just manipulation.
What if it was true?
What if Damien had been lying all along?
I pulled out my phone and called Damien.
He answered on the first ring.
"Hey, where are you? I thought you were picking up Ethan."
"Something came up at work. Can you get him?"
"Already did. We're making dinner. You okay? You sound off."
"I'm fine. Just ran late."
"I'll save you a plate. What time will you be home?"
"I don't know. An hour maybe. I need to take care of something."
"What thing?"
"I'll tell you when I get home."
"Lara, what's wrong?"
"Nothing. I'll see you soon."
I hung up before he could ask more questions.
Then I drove across town to Robert Chen's office.
Robert was a private investigator I'd used before. During the divorce. He was expensive but good.
His office was in a sketchy building near the docks. Third floor and no elevator, so I had to walk through the floor
I knocked on his door.
"It's open."
Robert sat behind a desk covered in files. He was in his fifties. Ex-cop. He'd seen everything.
"Ms. Otto. Didn't expect to see you again."
"I need you to verify some information."
"About?"
"My ex-husband's claims. About Damien Otto."
Robert leaned back in his chair. "The hotel thing?"
"You know about it?"
"Word gets around in my business. Lucas Ward hired an investigator from prison. Not an easy thing to do. Means he's serious."
"Can you verify what he found?"
"Hotel records? Credit card statements? Traffic camera footage?"
"All of it."
"That'll take time."
"I'll pay extra for rush service. I need answers by tomorrow."
"Tomorrow? That's expensive."
"I don't care what it costs."
Robert looked at me for a long moment.
"You sure you want to know? Sometimes ignorance is better."
"I'm sure."
He pulled out a contract. Slid it across the desk.
"Sign here. I'll have preliminary results by morning."
I signed without reading it.
Wrote him a check for ten thousand dollars.
"Call me as soon as you know something."
"Will do."
I left his office feeling hollowed out.
Tomorrow I'd know the truth.
And then what?
—--
I got home two hours late.
Damien and Ethan were in the kitchen. They'd made spaghetti.
"Mommy!" Ethan ran over and hugged my legs. "We made dinner!"
I forced a smile. "That's wonderful, baby."
"Everything okay?" Damien asked. "You were gone a long time."
"Just work stuff. Had to deal with something unexpected."
"Want to talk about it?"
"Not tonight. I'm exhausted."
We ate dinner. I barely tasted it.
Ethan talked about school, about his friend Tyler, about the science project they were working on.
I nodded in the right places. Said the right things.
But my mind was somewhere else.
After dinner, I helped put Ethan to bed.
Read him two chapters of his book and kissed his forehead.
"I love you, Mommy."
"I love you too, sweetheart."
Damien was waiting in our bedroom when I came out of Ethan's room.
"You sure you're okay?"
"Yeah. Just tired. And I think I'm getting my period and headache."
"Want me to get you anything?"
"No. I just need to sleep."
I got ready for bed mechanically. Brushed my teeth,washed my face, changed into pajamas and climbed into bed next to Damien.
He pulled me close. "I love you."
"I love you too."
Within minutes, his breathing evened out. He was asleep.
I lay there in the dark. Staring at his face.
He looked peaceful and innocent.
Like a man with nothing to hide.
But what if that was a lie?
What if everything was a lie?
My rescue wasn't random. My safety wasn't real. It was all calculated.
Just like Lucas.
Just like Claire.
Another person using me. Another person I trusted who betrayed me.
I thought about tomorrow. When Robert would call with the truth.
And I wondered what I'd do if Lucas was right.
If Damien had been tailing me.
If he'd been lying to me for seven years.
If the man sleeping next to me was just another monster wearing a kind face.
I closed my eyes.
But I didn't sleep.