Bribing The Billionaire’s Revenge - Chapter 67: Chapter 67

She arrived home Friday evening, her head reeling from what Willow had told her. Ella told her she should do what Willow wanted. Sending her to another continent to never darken Sherry’s door again seemed like a great idea to her, but Sherry was torn. She didn’t want anything to do with any of it.
She didn’t think Willow would be a good mother, and aiding her in absconding with the child, Vince’s child felt like a situation she did not want to be part of.
After seven, she made her way into the kitchen to find Matilda putting the last dish away from the dishwasher.
“Hi, Sherry. You’re home late.”
“I know. I had drinks with Martina while we spied on Ella. If her date turned out to be a toad, we would rescue her, but she told us to get lost.”
Matilda laughed, “Well, I’m done. I have a few meals for you in the fridge for the weekend. Don’t get too caught up in painting and forget to eat. I’ll be back Monday.”
She walked her to the door and hugged her, “Thanks.”
Closing the door behind her, she went through the house, puttering around. She sat at the kitchen table and stared pitifully at her phone. She could hear Ella in her head telling her she was moping, and she knew she was. She’d never been as emotional as she was today and felt like she was being tested.
Her phone rang, and she eagerly answered it. “Harrison.”
“Hi, beautiful. I miss you.”
“I miss you too. How are you?”
“Horny.”
She squealed at his comment, “terrible.”
“I am,” he sighed loudly. “Horny. Next time, I’m taking you in my suitcase by force.”
She giggled at his comment. “I might sneak into it. It’s been a hell of a few days without you.”
“Your mom still calling?”
“Yes, and Willow showed up at the gallery today.”
“What? Mallory didn’t say anything.”
“I don’t think he realized it was her since the man she was with was not Vince.”
“What do you mean?”
“She came in appropriately dressed on Victor’s arm.”
“Who is Victor?”
“Her ex-husband. He wants her back. She wants to go back. Vince has her on a tight leash, apparently to the point where he has her passport locked up, divorcing until the baby is born or the kid doesn’t get his million.”
“What does any of this have to do with you?” he questioned snidely. “She made her bed.”
“I know. She told me today Vince lied about her blackmailing him.”
“And you believe her?”
“No,” she admitted quietly. “I could tell she was lying, but the thing is, I like Victor. He’s genuinely a nice man. He loves her like a fool. She has him convinced he is the only person who understands her real heart. She was begging and pleading and giving me this sob story about how it took for me to serve her with the restraining order for her to understand the best way for her to get better is to get distance between us. She will pick a fight with him at dinner Sunday, say she’s staying at Mom’s for the night, and then hop a plane.”
He was silent as she spewed her frustrations.
“The thing is, not ten minutes after they left, she was texting me telling me I had better not tip off Vince about her plans to leave the country with Victor because if she were forced to stay, she would make my life a living hell and there wouldn’t be a court order in the world to make it stop. She also started in on the godmother thing again. I think I had thirty text messages from her this afternoon.”
“And the rest?” he questioned. “Vince, Trent, Torrie? Are they texting you now, too? Calling?”
“Vince has. He messaged me a couple of times to ask me if I was happy now that he was unemployed, his father was filing for bankruptcy, and his mother was on anti-depressants, but at least he’s not demanding I go back to him. He’s convinced I sold him out, and I did, but I have zero regrets about hurting him in the wallet, but Torrie being affected is bothering me.”
“You’re feeling guilty,” Harrison suggested. “You shouldn’t. Either with or without your help, Trent Williams was losing his company. I did it three months sooner than expected, but babe, I promise I was ready to take him over.”
“I know. I feel bad because Torrie was always lovely aside from lying to me and keeping secrets about her son, and I know she genuinely loves me. Trent and Vince can rot. At the end of the day, though, I know she chose to be where she is.”
“What do you think Willow’s end game is, Sherry? You’re her sister. You’ve known her forever.”
“I don’t know.”
“Would you be okay with me using some less scrupulous methods to find out?”
“I don’t want her hurt, Harrison.”
“I’m not going to kidnap her and beat it out of her,” he laughed at her words. “Would you be okay if I had one of my investigators do some research?”
“I guess.”
“Hey, we’ll get to the bottom of it.”
“Harrison, I hate Vince. I despise him with all I am, but,” she took a breath, “of the two, he is far more likely to be a better parent than Willow, even if she has Victor around. I don’t want to help Vince in any way, but helping Willow take his kid away is a line I don’t think I want to cross.” She knew he was contemplating her words as he sighed, “Harrison, what am I supposed to do here? I don’t want to tip him off because I don’t want to be involved, and I don’t want to deal with her wrath. If I say nothing, though, then I’m aiding her in taking a child to a foreign country where he might not ever get to see it. Worse, with her the way she is mentally, is this going to put the child at significant risk?”
“What if you simply skip the dinner?”
“If I do nothing, then she leaves, and I get the distance I feel I need from her. I could finally put this nonsense with her. I think if she gives me the space I need between you and the security team, the McGraths will eventually back off. I know she’s the culprit behind many of Vince’s pushing, like the ring, the house, being a family again, and so on. She hates me. She always has. She only wants to be around me to make me miserable. If she leaves, she takes it with her. Distance will be good for me.”
“Then go to the dinner, suck it up, and let her leave. Your mental health is far more important than him.”
“But the kid. I keep thinking of their ugly beady-eyed kid being raised by a crackpot like her when I know, despite the fact he’s a total asshat, he will love this child unconditionally. I don’t know what to do.”
“But it’s not your kid, not your responsibility. You don’t owe him anything.”
“I know I don’t.” She could tell he was frustrated with her. “Why are you angry with me?”
“I’m not babe. I’m upset she put you in this situation and feel helpless. She could have done everything she wanted to do without you knowing. She could have gone to your grandmother’s home for dinner whether you would attend or not and still did what she planned to do.”
“She is a terrible person, isn’t she?”
“She is,” Harrison said quietly. “I hate to do this to you, love, but I have a meeting I am late for. I wish I were there with you to help you through this.”
“It’s okay, Harrison, I understand.”
“Where are the girls tonight? Can they come to stay with you?”
“No. Ella has a date, and Martina and I had drinks earlier, but she has to work this weekend. She has a big case coming up, so she’s been pulling a lot of late nights.”
“I’m sorry, babe.”
“You have no reason to be.”
“You need me.” He said quietly, “You need me to be your partner and hold your hand through this shit, and I’m not there.”
“I’ll be fine, Harrison. I appreciate you being my sounding board, even at a distance. I love you.”
“I love you too.”
As they said their goodbyes, Sherry could feel his reluctance to hang up the phone, making her feel a smidge better.