A Silken Thread - Brenda Jackson [122]
From the first time they’d met his voice had been what had captured her. It was a deep, rich timbre that had made blood rush all the way to her head, as it was doing now. She came close to running over to him, throwing herself in his arms, when she remembered the pain he’d caused her. Then she took a step back before swinging around to face Griffin and April.
“Why did you bring me here? Why is he here?”
April reached out and captured her hand. “Because it’s time you heard the truth, Erica.”
She pulled her hand away. “What are you talking about? I know the truth, April,” she said, fighting back tears. “I haven’t had a chance to tell you what happened, what I found when I arrived in Dallas.”
“You don’t have to,” April said softly. “Both you and Brian were played just like Griffin and I were played, and I think it’s time for us to compare notes.”
Erica frowned. “What are you talking about?”
April crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m talking about the fact that your mother lied to you, Erica. That day you told her you were going to visit me in L.A., she knew you were lying and had every intention of going to see Brian.”
“No, there was no way she could have known.”
“Yes, she figured just where you would go the first chance you got and it wouldn’t be to spend time with me. She knew you were going to Dallas, just like she’d never planned to go to Wyoming to visit that friend.”
“What are you saying?”
“I’m saying that I know for a fact that your mother never went to Wyoming because she came to see me in Los Angeles.”
Erica shook her head, confused. “That’s not possible.”
“It is possible. She did.”
“But why would Mom come to see you?”
April leaned against Griffin as if she needed him for support. She glanced up at him before looking back at Erica. “The reason she came to see me was to make sure I ended things between me and Griffin. She threatened me with dire consequences if I didn’t.”
“She did what!”
“She said she had proof I was fathered by Herbert Hayes and she would tell everyone that Griffin and I were involved in an incestuous relationship if I didn’t end things with him, as well as walk away from my friendship with you. That’s why I didn’t call you. I was too afraid to. And that’s why I ended things with Griffin.”
Erica placed her hand to her mouth in disbelief. “No.”
“Yes. Thankfully you told Griffin where I was and he assured me Herbert Hayes was not my father and we aren’t related. Your mother had lied. And she mentioned while she was in L.A. that she was also making sure you ended your relationship with Brian, as well. That way you and Griffin could be free for each other. She figured heartbreak would bring the two of you together, if nothing else would.”
Erica’s head began spinning and she closed her eyes. “No, no. None of that can be true.”
“It is true, Erica. Everything you saw at Brian’s house that day was exactly what she wanted you to see. What she paid someone to do to make it seem like he had betrayed you. She planned it all. She knew you were on your way to Dallas and made sure things were ready when you got there. She hired Jaye Pittman to help her get what she wanted.”
“Jaye?”
“Yes, your good old cousin Jaye. He did whatever your mother paid him to do. But that’s not all. We have proof she is the one who texted those pictures of your father’s affair and then pretended she was so torn up about it. I’m sure if you searched her room you’ll find the prepaid phone she used, if she hasn’t thrown it away yet. Even if she did, we got the receipt showing Jaye purchased it for her. She used your father’s affair with Brian’s mother to her advantage, playing on your sympathy, getting your support and turning you against Brian. In her mind she had everything to gain by doing so.
“Think about how perfect the timing was,” April continued. “And those prescriptions she’d been taking for a heart problem are nothing more than sugar pills. I had Margie Graham who works for Dr. Cobb check for me. Margie owed me a favor from years ago when I loaned her money for her divorce. I figured