Signed Away (SOON TO BE PUBLISHED ON AMAZON)

Chap. 24

THIRD POV

The light in the sky was just fading into darkness when all of the Dwights had arrived home. Of course they did not all arrive at the same time. The guilty and perhaps the victim Lillian Dwight had gone ahead giving space to the father and son to collect their thoughts. She had kicked her driver out of the car with no care how and if he got home and had driven around the city for a couple of hours.

She was at a loss for words and expression. Her mind had been shattered with anger and surprise. After contemplating driving of the bridge for a couple of minutes she had driven herself back to the mansion. And now she was sitting at the lounge, nursing a glass of whiskey, or perhaps it was rum, well whatever it was it was strong enough to give her the promises of courage that she so desperately craved. At this point she needed anything cold and hard to her throat that would keep up with her nerves.

Never in a million years, did she think that this deep buried secret would come to light. For years she had gone to bed and arisen with guilt, with questions and confusions. But the years had dulled those feelings and she thought that they gone away. Whenever she looked at her son, happy and content and innocent she knew that she had made the right decision. Soon her actions seemed like a necessity. If you lied to yourself long enough, you start to believe that it is the truth. But it didn't matter anymore what her truth was.

What mattered now was what her husband and son, and friends would decide would be the truth. She could only sit and pray, pray for grace. And in three minutes, she would confirm if her prayers had been heard. Because at that very moment the front door opened and slammed. She could hear the footsteps descending upon her.

The day of reckoning had come.

And she did not need to look up to know that it was her husband. She could feel the hairs on the back of her neck standing.

Heath did and said nothing. He just had his hand on his hips and he was breathing in and out. That was the only thing he could do. The only thing he could do without throttling any human being at this point, whether be his friend, his wife, those two lawyers, or that judge. The only thing that was preventing him from losing it was his mantra he had to be in control. Heath was a man that liked, no loved, being in control. He was the being that had to and should call all the shots. Perhaps that was what had made him successful. He determined everything in life. He determined how much money he made and how much money he loses, he determined who was worthy of his friendships, he determined who he married, and most importantly, he determined whom would be happy or who would suffer. But now his life was tumbling and crumbling before him. He was slipping. How could he for over 34 years be with a woman who could blatantly lie to his face about a matter so important and he had no clue? Did it speak more of how cunning his wife was, or did it make him an idiot to not see something that was right under his nose? Neither option was better. The former option was pretty clear, he loved his wife. But the latter was an insult to his character and ego. He, a man that had prided himself on reading people and knowing everything there is to know about a person had slipped up. No he couldn't take that, it made him question if he was ever the decisive businessman that he and all the people around him made him up to be. This was all too much. Without looking at his wife we went to the wet bar and poured himself a drink. He made it a double and gulped it down in one go. Then he poured another and then another and then another.

Meanwhile, his son was sitting opposite of his mom, his chin in his hands. He was also stunned silent. He could not believe it. He had a brother. He had a brother! It still seemed foreign to him. He had a half-brother and sister. Or used to have a sister. In a span of three hours he had just found out that he had twin siblings. And then had found out one of them was dead. How could it be possible that someone he didn't know existed, did exist and now one of them was dead? And worse still his mother was responsible for everything.