Chapter 37: Unexpected Visit

Gwen’s cheeks trembled with fear as she stared at the woman in front of her. The fur coat, the red nails, the jewelry on her ears and neck, all the classiness from someone she hated with all her heart.
“What are you doing here?” Gwen uttered the words with difficulty.
“Are you not going to invite me in?” Mrs. Lane asked with a sneer on her face.
Gwen sensed Stephanie approaching her from behind, but she didn’t look; she was too busy trying to understand the presence of that woman in her apartment.
Mrs. Lane didn’t wait for an answer, passing by Gwen, entering her apartment without ceremony and uninvited.
“Good evening, miss,” she said to Stephanie as she entered the living room.
Stephanie didn’t reply, and when Gwen closed the door, she could see that her friend was just as scared and surprised as her.
“Mrs. Lane, is there a reason for you to be here?” Gwen repeated.
“Let's not be too formal, you can call me Marcy,” she said, taking off her coat and putting it on the back of the chair. “I'm assuming you received my letter.”
Gwen’s jaw almost dropped. She wasn’t expecting her to be so straightforward and admit her threat. But, thinking back, she already did that once a few years back, so it shouldn’t be such a surprise anyway.
“I did. I tried to leave the country with Cody, but your son stopped me. It wasn’t my fault,” Gwen explained, frustrated. “Why are you so eager to send me away again? Finn already knows that Cody is his son. It doesn’t make sense.”
Marcy locked her evil eyes on Gwen.
“Yes, you shouldn’t have come back in the first place, right? Finn found out about Cody and now look at the mess you caused.”
“It wasn’t my fault that he found me. I was supposed to stay here for just a few days. I could never imagine that he would find me in so little time,” Gwen replied, suddenly feeling powerful. She didn’t want to live a life where that woman continued to tell her what to do or not to do.
But maybe, just maybe, she could count on Finn to protect Cody. He wouldn’t let anyone do anything to his son, his heir. Even if he didn’t believe Gwen, he would not leave Cody without protection. So perhaps she shouldn’t have to be so scared all the time.
“Finn’s always been a problem, that’s true,” Mrs. Lane contemplated, talking to herself and analyzing the décor in Gwen’s living room with a disgusted face. “I will solve this situation.”
“What do you mean?” Gwen asked, confused.
Marcy looked at her.
“I will deal with Finn so he doesn’t get in your way. But we need to come to an agreement.”
Gwen gulped.
“And why should I? I have Finn by my side now,” she lied bluntly, ignoring Stephanie’s shocked eyes on her. “Cody is already his rightful heir, the whole world knows. Why should I give that up?”
Mrs. Lane narrowed her eyes, clearly annoyed that she was arguing with her.
“I don’t want a woman like you with my son. I told you that when we met for the first time. You were very obedient back then, so why are you challenging me now? You know I have a lot of contacts, right? Don’t you think this is too risky?”
Gwen kept her glance, trying very hard not to look at Stephanie who was clearly uncomfortable with the whole situation.
“I do know all of this, but I also know that my son’s father is very powerful and also has a lot of contacts. He won’t allow anything to happen to his son, so I’m not that worried anymore,” Gwen stated, feeling her eyes shudder with her bluff.
Marcy raised her brows, intrigued by Gwen’s sudden change of attitude.
“You’ve changed, I can tell,” she continued, almost making Gwen laugh. Gwen had never been so afraid in her entire life, but she was now risking everything, including her son’s life, to tell that woman to leave them alone.
“I’ll give you one million dollars to disappear again.” She heard the woman say, and Stephanie gasped by her side.
“What?” Stephanie whispered, probably unaware that she had said that out loud.
“Why are you so afraid?” Gwen asked after a few seconds, trying to recover from the astonishment.
“I don’t want you close to him. He will marry Vivienne.”
“I don’t have anything to do with him anymore.” It wasn’t really a lie, but it wasn’t true either.
“But he seems to think that he still has a chance with you. And I think that’s why he won’t marry Vivienne.”
“I was away for five years. I left him without saying anything like you asked me. It wasn’t really my fault that he didn’t marry her,” Gwen replied, making Mrs. Lane look even more pissed.
She was probably not expecting Gwen to be so confrontational. She remembered Gwen being just a silly and innocent girl.
“Finn loves you, but he can’t have you. I want you gone, I don’t care how you do it. I will give you a few days to think about my proposition.”
“I don’t want to be with him anymore, okay? I don’t love Finn, so you don’t need to worry. You can let me stay here with Cody, and I promise you I won’t be around your son,” Gwen tried to convince her.
If leaving Finn was necessary to be free from that evil woman, she would do it. She would suffer for not being able to be with the man she loved, but at least she was going to have freedom and peace.
Marcy analyzed her from head to toe, probably thinking if she should believe Gwen or not. Gwen knew that she wasn’t a woman to play with, so she was not sure what it was going to be the outcome of that conversation.
“I’ve already given you my offer. Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” she concluded, taking her coat and passing by Gwen, closing the door without even saying goodbye. Not that she was expecting anything polite from that woman, but still, Gwen didn’t believe the conversation had ended that way.
“What the hell just happened here?” Stephanie murmured by her side, but Gwen didn’t find the words to reply.
She was still stunned.
“What are you going to do, Gwen?” she asked.
But Gwen didn’t have an answer. She actually had no idea what her life was going to be from now on. She had just risked it all, and it changed nothing.