Her Baby Plays Cupid

Chapter 8 Leaving Dublin Behind

Zachary Moore's POV

Dublin, Ireland

Thankful I hadn't unpacked my car before the s**t hit the fan at my parents house. I drove to a hotel close to the Ferry port, checked in, taking only my overnight bag to my room, leaving everything else locked in the boot of my car.

In the room, I placed my bag down, then went to the washroom, grabbing a towel to dry my hair soaked by the heavy rain. The room service I ordered when checking in soon arrived. I thanked and tipped the server, shut and locked the door, then immediately poured a stiff shot of whiskey. I downed it, poured myself another, and sat my ass in the desk chair. I would limit my alcohol to these two shots, then I would plan.

The second shot went down fairly easy. I was tempted to take a third, but restrained myself. I had too much to do to allow myself to get wasted. Those four arsewipes weren't worth it.

I should have guessed that Sean would want what was mine. He had since the day he was old enough to walk. In high school he would swoop in, steal my girlfriends, charming them out of their pants, then leaving them disillusioned when he was done with them. No matter how those girls apologized afterwards, I refused to take them back. I'm nobody's back-up plan. Why I though Cara would be any different I don't know.

Sean used these past six months while I was away to his advantage. The only difference now was this time he wasn't careful enough to prevent a pregnancy. Well, he could have Cara, he could have their baby, and he could have my parents unconditional love and support. What he couldn't have, what none of them could have any longer, was my presence, my support, or my money.

I pulled out my phone, brought up the ferry schedule, and booked passage on the first available sailing which was early afternoon the following day. Next I made a phone call to the owner of the company I was working for, accepting the six-month extension of my project manager position in London. He was thrilled with my decision, as it saved him having to bring someone else up to speed on the project.

The call I was dreading was to my landloard. Just this morning I had given my four week notice, planning to move out by the end of the month. Rentals in that area were in high demand, so I'm praying he hasn't already promised it to someone. I sent up prayers of thanks when my landlord admitted he hadn't yet gotten around to calling anyone on the waiting list. I told him I had changed my mind, and I would be keeping my flat for at least another six months, maybe longer.

"Good," he barked in laughter. "Saves me a lot of work! See you when you get back."

The London part of my life settled, I breathed a sigh of relief. Now for the rest. I opened the contacts on my phone and blocked my parents, Sean's, and Cara's numbers. Then I proceeded to block them on every social media platform, every email server, removed their names from any of my bank and financial accounts. Cancelled automatic payments I made for them out of the goodness of my heart. Piece by piece I dismantled any support I had given them. Deleted them from each and every area of my life.

In the past I had helped them all financially. But they were all working adults. Screw them. Let them pay their own damn bills. I owed them nothing. Not one red cent. They have only themselves to blame. Let them live with the consequences of their actions. As of early this afternoon, they are dead to me.

Maybe it was the anger from earlier. Or maybe it was the anger that had been building up over time. Whatever it was, it carried me through the night and into the next day. Severing ties with those four was far less painful than I had originally feared. All I know is that the moment the ferry pulled away from the dock in Dublin, nose pointed towards Holyhead, I felt a weight lift off my shoulders.

Finally, I could breathe freely, the weight of family guilt, censure, and condemnation falling into the Irish Sea and being swept away by the tide. I was free.

Nine hours later I pulled into the parking garage of my building. I had stopped in Birmingham for petrol and a quick bite, then drove the rest of the way without stopping. I felt nothing but relief when I manhandled my suitcases into the lift, and then into my flat. I didn't bother to unpack. Just relieved myself, brushed my teeth, undressed and fell into bed. The rest could wait for tomorrow. Or any day in the upcoming week seeing as I didn't have to be back on the job site until the following Monday.

Three weeks after my broken engagement, I opened my post box to see a creamy white envelope addressed to me. A wedding invitation. The audacity! I scrawled MOVED. NOT AT THIS ADDRESS on the unopened envelope, dropped it into the outgoing mail slot, and went on with my life.

Leah's POV

Toronto, Canada

Looking at Liam, Connor, and Colin sitting here in my apartment, I decided I was going to clear the air once and for all.

"Liam, I know you three are here in support of me. I can't thank you enough for that. But before we go any further with our reunion, I need to make my position clear."

Liam sat up straight, immediately on guard.

I continued. "We all know why I cut ties with our parents. As well as why I cut ties with you three. You all tried to strong-arm me into marrying Luca Garabaldi. I despised him as a teen, I despised him three years ago, and I still despise him. I don't care what your or our parents reasoning was. You all treated me like my opinion didn't matter. You treated me like a pawn in whatever games you all were playing." I paused, taking a sip of my water.

"I may be a widow now, but my life is my own. I am not now, nor will I ever, allow you to use me as a bargining chip. I don't care how much the Coles or Morettis push, I will never marry Luca Garabaldi. I hate that man with a passion. You three have no idea of what he is planning! Liam, if you had taken the time to listen to me that night three years ago, you would have understood the threat he poses."

My three brothers looked at me in disbelief. Well they would soon learn to believe me. I picked up my old cell phone, turned it on, found the video from the hotels security cameras, and hit play. I had chosen that venue for my party because Graystone Security installed and monitored the security system. After hearing what I had that evening, I immediatedly had Carly download the footage. What was on my phone was a copy.

Luca Garabaldi and a woman, Andrea Cole, were in a side room, the door not fully closed. The two of them were locked in a heated embrace, clearly engaged in the act of s*x. Her husband of two and a half years, Kaden Jones, was the last person on their minds. When they finished, straightening out their clothes, they began a discussion that revealed their plans.

"So, you think Leah Murphy will agree to the marriage?" Andrea asked. "I don't like the idea of you sleeping with her. I don't want to share you, Luca." Her whiny voice was grating.

"I told you, Andrea. It's only until I can get rid of her brothers and take over their family. We already got rid of her parents. She's just the tool to get me, get us, what we want. After we get control of that organization, then we go after Elio and his brats. Your father's okay with the plan. But everything hinges on me marrying Leah."

"I still don't like it, baby." Andrea pouted

The rest of the footage showed me sneak away to find Carly, then going back that way to use the washroom. That was the point Luca and Andrea saw me. He had grabbed my arm, hauling me into his body, all the while smelling like Andrea. I lost my s**t, slapped him across the face, and berated him. I didn't let on about what I heard. No, I just made it clear that I would rather die than marry a piece of scum like him.

Then Liam showed up and everything went sideways. That's when I did the only thing I could think of on the spur of the moment to protect my brothers. I severed family ties, rendering my usefulness null and void.

I stopped the video, then picked up my current cell phone and cued up Jake's body cam video. I handed the phone to Liam. "Carly, Greg, and I are going into my home office. I can't bear watching or hearing that again."

We three went into the office and closed the door behind us. Greg was shaking as he replayed last evening in his mind. He didn't need to watch the video. Every iota of the event was etched indelibly in his memory. "Leah, why did you want them to see that particular video?" he questioned.

I hesitated for a moment then spoke my thoughts. "Because I think I know the identity of the 'Gary' the shooter mentioned. Gary is Luca Garabaldi."