Chapter 3 - THE AFTERMATH
The ambulance lights painted the snow-covered driveway in alternating flashes of red and blue. Paramedics rolled Regina out on a stretcher, an oxygen mask over her face. Candace was crying hysterically, following closely behind the gurney as they loaded her mother into the back.
Richard stood on the front porch in his expensive cardigan, shivering in the cold, but nobody was talking to him. His two sons, Thomas and Robert, stood a few yards away, speaking in furious, hushed tones, repeatedly pointing finger at their father.
I packed our family’s coats into the trunk of our SUV. Blake helped Abigail into the back seat, wrapping a blanket around her shoulders.
Candace ran over to the car, her eyes red and swollen. “Douglas! You can’t leave! Mom is going to the hospital!”
“I know,” I said calmly, standing by the driver’s door. “I’ll follow you to the hospital after I drop the kids off at home.”
“How could you let Blake do that?!” Candace sobbed, her voice breaking. “In front of everyone! On Christmas! You destroyed this family!”
I looked at my wife—really looked at her. For twelve years, I had watched her bend over backward to appease her tyrant of a father. I had watched her allow him to belittle me, dismiss our children, and treat our family like second-class citizens, all for the sake of 'family harmony.'
“Richard destroyed this family twenty-two years ago when he started a secret life in Chicago,” I said coldly. “Blake just pulled back the curtain. And if you’re angry at anyone tonight, Candace, you should be angry at the man who just humiliated your daughter in front of twenty people.”
Candace blinked, stunned by the authority in my voice. I had never spoken to her like that before. Without another word, she turned and got into her brother Thomas’s car to follow the ambulance.
I got into the SUV and started the engine. The ride home was silent for the first ten minutes.
“Dad?” Abigail’s small voice spoke up from the back seat.
I looked at her in the rearview mirror. “Yeah, sweetie?”
“Is Grandma going to be okay?”
“She had a panic attack, Abby. The doctors will take care of her.” I stopped at a red light and looked back at both of them. “Blake... why tonight?”
Blake leaned his head against the window. “Because he was never going to stop, Dad. He’s spent his whole life making everyone feel small so he could feel like a king. When he pointed at Abby tonight... I just couldn't watch it anymore. He didn't deserve to sit at the head of that table.”
“I’m not mad at you, Blake,” I said softly. “In fact... I’ve never been prouder of you. But you opened a war tonight. Your grandfather is a powerful man with a lot of lawyers. He’s not going to let this go.”
“Let him try,” Blake said quietly. “He doesn't know half of what’s in that folder.”
My heart skipped a beat. “What do you mean, half?”
Blake looked at me, his brown eyes dead serious. “The second family isn't the real problem, Dad. The real problem is where the money came from to pay for them.”
I dropped the kids off at our house, made sure the doors were locked, and drove straight to Saint Jude’s Hospital.
When I walked into the waiting room, the atmosphere was suffocating. Regina was stable, resting in a private room under observation. Candace, Thomas, and Robert were sitting in the vinyl chairs. Richard was sitting in the corner, staring blankly at the floor.
When I walked in, Richard looked up. The fear from earlier had morphed back into familiar, venomous rage.
He stood up, pointing an trembling finger at me. “You,” he growled. “You engineered this. You used your son to poison my family!”
Thomas stepped between us. “Dad, sit down.”
“No!” Richard shouted, his face turning purple. “Douglas has always hated me! He couldn't handle that I built an empire while he’s just a middle-school vice principal! He fed those lies to Blake!”
I walked up to Richard until I was standing inches from his face. I didn't raise my voice, but every word was dipped in steel.
“I didn't feed him anything, Richard. Your grandson did the research himself because he was smart enough to see through your fake perfection.” I leaned in closer. “And if you ever—ever—speak to my daughter like you did tonight, a secret son in Chicago will be the absolute least of your problems.”
Richard gasped slightly, stepping back.
Candace stood up, looking terrified. “Douglas, please...”
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“I’m going home to be with our kids, Candace,” I said, turning my back on Richard. “You can stay here with your father’s legacy. Or you can come home and be a mother. It’s your choice.”
I walked out of the waiting room, leaving the Hendersons to devour each other in the silence.
