Mack Daddy(69)

I’d signed a lease on a new apartment in Brookline but couldn’t move in for another few weeks. Victor never made me feel like I was overstaying my welcome. A part of me felt that he was secretly hoping my relationship with Mack wouldn’t recover from this.

Whenever I thought about keeping Vic around as a safety net, I had to remind myself how unfair it was to even think like that. But with Mack keeping his distance, it was easy to see why my mind was veering in that direction. I was at a crossroads with no sense of direction.

My state of confusion was disrupted in a big way one afternoon after school when I received a knock on the door of my classroom. I’d been correcting papers but got up to answer, expecting to see that Lorelai had returned because she’d forgotten something.

Instead, two very well-dressed women stood before me. One looked about thirty years older than the other, but she was nonetheless striking. I didn’t recognize them as being related to any of my students.

“Can I help you?”

“Are you Francesca O’Hara?” the younger woman said.

“Yes.”

“I’m Michaela Morrison, Mackenzie’s sister. And this is my mother, Vivienne.”

Oh, my God.

Michaela had the same hazel eyes and bone structure as Mack. And they both looked like their mother.

“Wow. Oh, my goodness. Come in. Please.” I led them over to one of the student tables where we each took a seat.

“You look really nervous. Please don’t be,” Michaela said.

Vivienne looked morose. “We didn’t come to make trouble for you. I have to first apologize immensely for what has happened recently. Mackenzie made me aware of the letter you received and the information that was dug up on your father. That was very unfortunate, and I’m terribly sorry for my husband’s actions.”

It was a really inopportune time to lose my cool. Nevertheless, a tear sprang free and fell down my cheek.

Mack’s sister reached out and placed her hand on my arm. “I’m sorry if we’re upsetting you.”

“No. Not at all. It’s just really good to meet you. I never knew what to expect when it came to you both. This is a bit of a relief, actually.”

“Meeting you seems long overdue,” his sister said.

“I know.”

“My brother once told me about you years ago when Jonah was about three years old. It was Christmas Eve. Mack and I were sitting by the tree talking. I asked him if he planned on marrying Torrie, and he was honest with me. He told me he couldn’t bring himself to take that final step because he was still in love with someone else. And that was when he told me the whole story of how he’d met you and how he’d left things with you back in Boston. I’ll never forget the look of longing and regret in his eyes. I’d never seen that side of Mack. It broke my heart.”

“Really?”

“Yes. I remember thinking it was so romantic yet tragic. And I’ve thought about you a lot after that, even though I never knew you, because I’d just felt so terrible for my brother. At the time, I had just met my now fiancé, and I remember wishing so badly that Mackenzie could find the same happiness I did.”

Vivienne interrupted, “I’m afraid apologizing on behalf of my husband is only half of the reason why we needed to travel here to see you.”

“My brother is in a really bad place.”

My stomach dropped. “I knew something was wrong. He hasn’t been opening up to me.”

“Something new has happened.”

My heartbeat accelerated. “Is he okay?”

“He’s physically okay, yes. I’m sorry if I scared you.”

“What’s going on?”

“My brother and I have been used to dealing with my father’s crooked ways our entire lives. But when I found out about what Dad had done to you, I decided that I’d had enough.”

My heart was pounding in fear. I had no clue what else they could have possibly come here to tell me.

She continued, “I started investigating my father. One of the things I did was break into his private office. A long time ago, I’d watched him open a safe. He didn’t realize I was mentally taking note of the combination. I never thought I would actually use it someday.” Michaela held onto her mother’s hand for support. “So, recently, I used the code to open it. I was thinking that maybe I would find something in there that I could use to blackmail him in the same way he’d done to you, except my one condition would be for him to leave my brother alone. I never expected to find what I did.”

Vivenne closed her eyes and seemed to be gearing herself up for what would come next.

Michaela took a deep breath then said, “I found pictures of Torrie…and a video on a thumb drive.”

“Torrie?”

“Yes. Naked photos…and a sex tape.”

I couldn’t grasp it. “What? Naked?”

“I know. It’s a shock. My father had apparently been having an affair with her for years.”

Mack’s mother finally spoke. “Deep down, I think I knew that Michael had been unfaithful to me at some point in our marriage. But the level of betrayal that this has brought upon our family is beyond comprehension.”

“Did you confront him?”

Michaela nodded. “We confronted them both. They didn’t deny it. They claimed it’s been over for a long time.”