CHAPTER FIVE

“What are you doing here?” Derek was instantly on his feet.

“I wanted to see the woman who murdered my son.” Trevor was closest to the door. He stepped into Vince’s face and said,

“Get out.”

“No wait,” Chloe said. “Let me talk to him for a second.” Reluctantly, Trevor stepped out of the way. The men were all staring at Vince with hostile looks, but his eyes hadn’t left Chloe’s face. “I didn’t “murder” Jesse. He was attacking me and in the process, he fell and hit his head.”

“So that’s what you’ve told the police, I hear. You’re making yourself out to be a victim when my son is the one who is dead.”

“He wouldn’t be dead if he had left me alone. He was there to kill me. I had to protect myself.”

“He was broken and confused. He had just spent two years in a hell hole for crying out loud!”

“Because he tried to kill me!”

“And because you made sure he was out in two years, he once again had the opportunity to try and kill her. If you had let him pay for his crime in the first place the way he should have, he would still be behind bars and none of this would have happened,” Kevin told him. Vince pulled his head up then and looked at Kevin. He narrowed his eyes and said,

“How dare you accuse me of this being my fault? You used to be my friend. You’re a defense attorney for Christ’s sake. You’re the one who is always championing the wrongly accused. How would you feel if this was one of your children?”

“I would feel sad…and ashamed and repulsed at the same time,” Kevin said. “Sometimes we have a hard time facing that anyone we love and care about is not what they seem to be. I’m sure Chloe went through that when she first realized that Jesse wasn’t the man she thought she fell in love with. I am truly sorry that you lost your son, Vince but you didn’t lose him last night, you lost him a long time ago.”

“You think you’re an expert on child rearing suddenly? Don’t kid yourself, Kevin. I lost him because of her! She’s told you her side of the story. Jesse never got to tell his. He was brilliant…did you know that?” Vince had tears sliding down his face and his body shook as he talked. “He had a bright, shining future. It went down in flames because of her. Jesse was raised in a good home with nothing but the best examples. If he snapped it was because she pushed him into it somehow. You better keep a close eye on your own boy.” He glared at Chloe and he was becoming more agitated quickly. “I lost him because she drove him to do something desperate and stupid that landed him in prison and now he’s dead! I keep hearing “self-defense,” but I’m not going to just let this go. She needs to pay for what she did to my son. My wife is devastated.”

“Get out!” Derek had heard more than enough. “You do what you have to do and we will do what we have to do and keep Chloe safe. You raised an animal— a monster. He did things to her that would be low by animal standards. She shouldn’t have to suffer through your tirade as well. Get out!”

“Derek’s right. You can be as loud as you want about this, Vince but this isn’t your jurisdiction, thank God. The D.A. here is impartial and he could easily see who the aggressor here was. Now do as Derek said, Vince and leave. At least you can walk out of here with a little bit of dignity. Otherwise, we’ll have security show you the door.” Kevin walked over and opened the door. Vince was still glaring at Chloe. Trevor stepped in between him and his daughter and said,

“You’ve been told what to do, now do it.”

Vince left and after he was gone Derek turned to Chloe and said, “You don’t believe any of that crap, right?”

Chloe reached out and took his hand and said, “No. It took me a long time to get past the lies that I was spoon fed my entire life but I got there. I’m getting even better with all of you. Thank you. All of you.”

Derek smiled and said, “Now can I tell them our news?”

She smiled back, “Definitely, I think we could all use some good news.”

Derek looked like he was about to burst as he turned to face the little family and said, “Chloe and I are going to have a baby!”

There was a collective celebration. Samantha and Trevor were in tears. They had been given a second chance with the daughter they thought they would never know, and now a second chance at the grandchildren they thought they would never have.

**

Chloe was discharged the following day with all of her follow-up appointments with the surgeon that worked on her arm and the plastic surgeon who will consult on the scarring issue once it had healed. Jake got permission from the authorities in Rhode Island for her to go back to New York while the investigation was technically still pending. He told her that the D.A. assured him once more that no matter how much noise Vince Donavan made, he didn’t plan on filing charges. He was sure to point out that this was not Vince Donavan’s jurisdiction.

Derek arranged for his helicopter to pick them up at the private airport not far from the hospital so that she didn’t have to endure the long car ride back to New York. She was feeling quite spoiled as they left the hospital. It took the staff several trips to retrieve all of her flowers, balloons, cards and stuffed animals. Lexi and Brock had sent her a large, stuffed bear and a note that said,

“I was so shocked to hear what happened but I am so glad that you’re okay. Roxi told us about the baby. I can’t even begin to tell you in a note how happy I am for you that things are finally going so well. You deserve it more than anyone I know. I will be home soon and I can’t wait to see you! Congratulations to you and Derek both! Love you.”

Roxi came to see her off and while the men were loading her things into the car that would take them to the airport, Chloe said, “I never got a chance to tell you how sorry I am about the damage to the condo.”

Roxi shook her head. “You’re too much; you know that? I wouldn’t have even given the “mess” a second thought yet if not for your boyfriend.”

“What do you mean?”

“He apparently called a service that his company used yesterday. Once the police were finished with it, they went to work. I went by there this morning…it looks brand new. I am just so relieved that you’re okay, although you still need your ass kicked for taking that kind of risk.”

Chloe smiled and squeezed her friend’s hand. Roxi wasn’t one to show her feelings in a “normal” way, but she had been there every step of the way and that spoke volumes to Chloe. Once again, she had to take stock of how lucky she was. She looked back over at Derek. Even after all he had been through himself, he was still thinking of everyone else. She watched him and Jake who she was also feeling grateful for as they talked and laughed near the car. She loved Derek’s smile. It still took her breath away, but his gorgeous looks were just a bonus for the man he was inside. Every day…sometimes every hour, he did something to prove once again what an amazing person he is. It was so surreal to her to think about how much her life had changed almost overnight. She would be forever indebted to her friends and her new family, and even to the man she never met who snapped her photo that day in the club and showed it to Derek.