Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 70004 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 350(@200wpm)___ 280(@250wpm)___ 233(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 70004 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 350(@200wpm)___ 280(@250wpm)___ 233(@300wpm)
“Get over yourself, Mable.” Birdee shifted uncomfortably. “Nothing is all about you. There are always two sides to every story. And in this instance, eighteen. I think you need to take those rose-colored glasses off and look at the world with your real eyes. Maybe if you did, you’d see that your life is pretty damn cushy.”
She struggled to stand up from the couch.
“God, I need a fucking vacation,” she grumbled. “I should freakin’ move.”
“You went on my honeymoon.” Mable snorted. “You had a vacation recently.”
That was when Birdee slowly turned her head and focused solely on Mable.
The angry gleam in her eye had me stiffening, because I knew she was about to hurt Mable with her words. But I also had a feeling that the words were going to be true.
“I most certainly did not,” Birdee disagreed. “I haven’t been anywhere in years. I don’t even have a passport or a Real ID. I couldn’t get on a plane if I tried. Oh, and when you finally open your eyes and see the world for what it is, call me. Maybe I’ll be nice and answer. But don’t hold your breath. You’ve literally made my life a living hell, and I don’t altogether even like you.” She walked to the door, where her father refused to get out of the way. Birdee didn’t say a word as she waited for him to move.
When Gentry came up behind her, he ordered, “Move, man.”
Vito moved, but not without saying, “Birdee, can we talk for a bit?”
Birdee ignored him and kept on walking.
Gentry followed her out into the night.
“She’s right,” Apollo said as he threw a stack of papers on the table. “Everything she said was true. After finding a little tiny clue, I was able to figure it out. All this crap that’s happening to you, Mable, was also happening to her. And all of it boils down to your stepmother, Whitney. From an early age, she started pitting you two against each other. It started in school—there are literal documents that show her contacting teachers and school administrators about the two of you. Text messages are in this stack of papers, too. Some between your ex-boyfriends. Boyfriends’ parents. Bosses that you both worked for. Hell, there are even some in here where she contacted the vet and had Brawny’s microchip details changed. And she’s good enough with a computer that she can do this all anonymously, so it was really confusing at first. But I truly think that she was arrogant enough that she believed she would never get caught. She would message you from a spoofing website meant to appear like Birdee’s number. Half those texts you got that were so awful didn’t even come from her. Whitney literally documented everything she did. It’s all here and more.”
“I can’t believe this,” Vito replied in stunned disbelief.
“Oh, you got it worse, my man,” Apollo said. “All the times that you thought you were texting your daughter, you were really texting her mother. And the times where you actually got Birdee were the times you were saying all the hateful stuff like ‘I disown you as a daughter’ and ‘you’re a disgrace.’”
Vito looked sick.
“She made sure that those got through.” Apollo looked apologetic. “I’m sorry, but you have a lot of making up to do. She’s going to require some groveling.”
“So who actually went on my honeymoon?” Mable looked at the papers in disgust.
“That would be your stepmother,” Apollo said. “She’s similar enough to you in the hair and eye color, facial features, and body structure that she could pull it off. She’s been using your identity for years. That’s who also bought the car under your name. She did something to affect Birdee’s credit, and Birdee found out. The mother promised to fix it, and got her a car. Birdee was under the impression that it was to pay her back for the damage done to her credit. She was unaware that it was in Mable’s name. Let alone that it wasn’t paid off. Whitney produced some fake title and handed it over to Birdee when she gave her the car.”
“Jesus Christ, this is a freakin’ mess.” Mable scrubbed her hands over her face. “So what you’re telling me is, all this time, I thought that I was the victim. When, in fact, Birdee was a victim, too. I’ve been mean and angry at her for no reason, and she’s just thinking that I’m an asshole to her for no reason.”
“It’s looking that way,” Apollo admitted, sounding apologetic. “A lot of the same stuff that was done to you was done to her, too. Where you saw vacations and preferential treatment, Birdee was seeing suffocation and falsehoods. Let me just say here that I think you got the better end of the stick. I would rather be ignored by that crazy bitch than to be suffocated by her.”