39. Monroe

THIRTY-NINE

MONROE

To say that I'm shocked to see my mother would be a massive understatement. The trip from Rolling Hills to Daytona isn't a leisurely drive. It's something that requires planning and plane tickets—and in Jenna Decker's case, an entire arsenal of wardrobe changes. But here she is, sitting in my kitchen wearing jeans and a hoodie with only a Dior tote in tow. Unless she stopped at a hotel before she came here, she's looking a lot like a runaway herself.

"Well?" I implore. I'm so confused and need to know what the hell is going on.

She blows out a shaky breath, thinking carefully about what she's going to say. I hope she doesn't lie to me. If she does, I'm ready to cut her from my life completely. Now that I have real love and support, I'm not accepting anything else. I deserve more, and now I know that.

"I'm sure you already know that your father has made me keep tabs on you since you left home. Every time I called, he was right there next to me, listening as we talked. Every conversation you and I have had in the last two years was planned ahead of time. He wanted to make sure there was always doubt in your mind about whether you made the right choice. He said it was only a matter of time before we broke you down enough to get you back home."

I drop my head to hide the tears that are stinging the backs of my eyes. I refuse to shed any more over my father, when all he's ever wanted was to use me to get ahead in life. I thought the way he spoke to me the day he came here was the final nail in the coffin, but hearing that he pulled my mother into his plan just makes it worse. I was a pawn to him. And so was she.

She continues. "I knew what I was doing was wrong. Let me just make that clear. I don't want you to think I'm placing all the blame on him. I'm a grown woman, and I chose to let him control my actions instead of being the mother you deserved. I think part of me was a little jealous and bitter that you got out and I was left there, pretending to live a perfect life when we both know just how awful it really was. I believed the only way to stop it from getting worse was to do what he said, so that's what I did.

"I knew he was planning to come and bring you home, and I prayed that you'd find the strength to see through his manipulation. It may not seem like it, but the last thing I wanted was for you to ever return to Rolling Hills. Just from the way you sounded so happy the last time we spoke on the phone, I could tell that you had found the life you always dreamed of."

I look up at Riggs, giving him a soft smile and letting a single tear fall down my cheek. She's right. I did find that. I may have left California on my own and started creating something special, but it wasn't until I admitted my feelings for him that I finally felt like I really had it all. He winks at me in a silent show of understanding before my mother continues her story.

"When your father came home from that trip, his efforts to regain control over you went into high gear. I knew when Conrad started coming back around, that something was up. So I did my best to snoop around to figure out what they were planning. At first, they were very careful about what they said when they knew I was there, but eventually, they slipped up.

"Last week, a man I had never seen before showed up to the house. He was young, wearing all black with a hood and sunglasses, which made me curious about what he was hiding. I pretended like I was meeting my friends for dinner, but instead of leaving, I snuck back in. That's when I found the three of them hacking into the security footage from your building here in Daytona. Apparently, Conrad met the guy through a mutual friend and told your father that there would be a way to get security camera recordings if he could provoke Riggs into assaulting him. They already knew about his shaky situation with the team, and thought threatening to release the video would be enough to get you to come home. They knew you'd want to protect him. I listened carefully from the hallway as they retold the entire situation to the man in black while he pulled footage from his computer."

I scrunch my brows in confusion. "But you called me after that. You tried again to get me to come home, knowing that he had the video. Why would you do that?" I'm trying my best to put myself in her shoes, but I can't imagine choosing my shitbag husband over my own child. No matter how many times I've played this out from a different perspective, I just can't understand it.

"I decided that I was going to leave as soon as I heard their plan. But you have to remember, he controls everything in our household. Other than the allowance he gives me every week, I didn't have access to any money. So, I was stuck. As soon as we got off the phone, I told him I was going shopping, threw as much jewelry as I could fit into my bag, and went to a pawn shop in LA. I took the cash they gave me, drove to the airport, and here I am. I'm never going back there, Monroe. I shouldn't have stayed as long as I did. Please forgive me for not being a better mother. I'll do anything to gain your trust back."

She hangs her head, soft cries shaking her body as the consequences of her complacency finally hit her. I place my hand over hers on the counter, squeezing and hoping the little bit of comfort is enough. Right now, I can't give her anything more. I don't know if I'll ever be ready to, but it breaks my heart to see her like this. This could have been me. If I hadn't found the strength to leave home when I did, the woman I'm looking at is living the life that was destined to be passed on to me. For the first time in two years, I can truly look back and say how proud I am of myself for not accepting anything less than what I deserve.

"What happens when he realizes where you are? You know he's going to come looking for you. He would've been able to run for governor without his adult daughter, but it'll raise a lot of red flags if the voters find out that his wife ran away too."

She looks up at me, blotting the tears from her cheeks with her fingertips. "I hadn't really thought that far ahead," she replies. "My main priority was coming here to apologize in person. I know I don't want to go back there, and I was able to get enough money from my jewelry to last a few months if I'm careful. Other than that, I don't really know what I'm going to do to keep him from coming here and dragging me home. But I promise I'll do everything in my power to make sure he never comes near you again."

I shake my head, blowing out a forced breath. "There has to be a way to take him down. We both know he's done so many immoral and illegal things. Somebody out there has to have something we could use to stop him. At the very least, show the voters of California that he's not the man they think he is."

"Oh my God," she whispers, her eyes going wide. "I do."