Chapter 99

Liam’s POV

I had been listening from behind the door to the pool house. I had heard Sophia threaten Aria. I’d heard Aria’s confession.

I’d heard it all, but had no time to reflect on those words.

Now, I only had time for action.

Or I was certain to lose Aria forever. Not because she chose to leave me, but because her life was taken away.

A rush of my own righteous fury flooded through me, and I surged forward, pushing through the door. As it sprung open, Sophia turned in shock.

I dove, tackling into her.

The gun went off.

The bullet whizzed by my ear and collided into the ceiling.

I shoved Sophia down onto the ground so hard that her wrist smashed into the concrete floor. The gun flung out of her hand, skittering across the ground, until it came to a rest near the baseboard.

“Get off me!” Sophia screamed, trying to scratch at my arms and legs as I pinned her face first to the ground, but she couldn’t reach me enough to do any real damage. Even if she could, I wasn’t going to let her go again until she was safely in police custody.

Ignoring her, I called out. “Aria? You okay?”

“I don’t know,” she said. “I think so. Liam, she has Joe and William in that room there.”

“For your sake,” I growled at Sophia, pushing my knee into her back. “Those kids better be unharmed.”

“I would never hurt our child, Liam! You know that.”

“You took him out of school. Brought him here. Kept him in another room while you waved a gun around. Bullets can go through these thin walls, you know. He could have been hurt. But you didn’t care about that at all, did you? You’ve only ever cared about yourself.”

“You don’t know what you are saying!” Sophia wailed.

“I do. For the first time in a long time, I do. You tried to take away the people I love, Sophia. The people who are the most important in the world to me, in ways I didn’t even know until now. And that won’t be forgiven. Not now, or not ever. I can only hope your brother has a big enough soft spot for you to put in a good word for you with God, because the devil can have you for all I care.”

Fresh hurt seared through me. This woman… she was like a sister to me. I looked after her and cared for her for years. I had thought I had made a positive difference in her life. Instead, she only took and took like a black hole, sucking all the joy out of my life for her own personal satisfaction.

I couldn’t pity her. I only pitied myself, for believing for so long that she was someone who was worthy of my care and attention. She never was.

“You killed my brother,” she snapped, tears running freely down her cheeks. “Now you say such harsh things to me.”

“You tried to kill my wife and my children,” I growled in return. “You deserve more than harsh words.”

With all of my being, I wanted to go to Aria, to untie her and hold her, but I couldn’t risk releasing Sophia.

Holding her down with my knee, I fished out my phone and checked in with Logan and the police. Fortunately, I’d had the foresight to notify Logan and my lawyer about my suspicions in the pool house. With a quick text, I had Logan’s confirmation that they were closing in.

After two minutes flat, the police burst through the door. Immediately, they secured the gun and then Sophia. As they grabbed her, I moved, rushing to Aria’s side to help untie her legs and arms.

“Liam, the children,” she said, fear in her eyes.

I wanted to check on her, but I understood her concern. The children came before ourselves.

Our children.

Liam was mine. I still couldn’t believe it.

Aria and I had so much to talk about, to clear up. But this wasn’t the time. Leaving the police to continue untying Aria, I headed to the door and open it.

The room was a closet, filled with pool supplies and deflated inner tubes. Some of William’s toys were on the ground like someone had dropped them there.

William and Joe were huddled together, pressed as far as they could go against the back wall, as if trying to make themselves small.

Fear was bright in their eyes, and it stabbed straight through me. These kids were too young to know what fear like this felt like.

“Dad?” William asked, his small voice shaking.

“William. Joe,” I swallowed down the rising lump in my throat. It wouldn’t do to lose my composure here. The kids needed me to be strong. “You’re safe now.”

“And mom?” Joe asked.

“Safe too,” I told him. “Just on the other side of this wall.”

“And my mom?” William asked, somehow looking even more afraid, his face paling.

“She’s going away with the police now, William,” I said. “From now on, you’ll be staying with me.”

William blinked and some tears fell from his eyes. How brave he was, to have faced this change in his mother for so long alone, not knowing what to do.

Approaching them slowly, I spread open my arms for a hug. “You are safe now,” I said again. “We’re all safe.”

Tears in their eyes, the boys both barrel forward, both colliding with me. I don’t even flinch, wanting them to see how strong I am.

Aria and I would always protect them. They never had to feel afraid like this ever again.

Aria’s POV

When I was finally free from that damned chair, I rushed into the room where Joe and William were kept, where Liam had disappeared inside. There, I saw that they were all safe, holding tightly onto each other.

Joe saw me first, peering up at me with watery eyes from behind Liam’s shoulder.

“Mommy…”

Liam let him go just as I rushed forward.

The two of us held onto each other for a very long time.

Eventually, as the police continued their work, Joe and I were separated from Liam and William. After seemingly endless questioning, we were finally allowed to head home. By now the sun had set and both Joe and I were absolutely exhausted.

Yet, tired as we were, neither of us were ready to go to bed. So we sat on the couch, our sides pressed together, not really speaking, not really watching the television that was on, showing some innocent cartoon show.

At some point, we were going to have to talk about this. Joe was going to have questions he would need help sorting through. My own heart was tangled and unsure. Somehow I still felt afraid, even now that reason for my fear had resolved.

It was like my fight or flight instinct was permanently damaged, and I was trapped on the edge.

When the doorbell rang, I jumped off the couch. Fists clenched, I was ready to fight.

But it was only the door.

“Wait here,” I said to Joe, and walked into the hall.

I checked the peephole first, being certain whoever was on the other side was safe. Then I opened the door.

Liam and William were standing on the other side.