“All you saw was poor little black girls unworthy of the effort. You have no idea what that did to the three of us. No idea about the trauma you left us with.”
“Trauma?” Mother Abigail smiled. “You’re talking about those pathetic friends of yours? As if they don’t have the best lives in the world. Queen runs this town as the law. And that Goodiva friend of yours is a celebrity too. We educated you, put you into society, giving you financial security. How do you think we found out about you and your talents? Your parents came to me on their knees when you were ten. Hell before that.”
“That’s a lie. My parents were afraid for my safety, and you are the most powerful woman they could reach out to help their child. I stopped talking for weeks after Collins died. They took me to all kinds of doctors. They admired you. Thought you were a good person.”
“I am. Look at you. You’re my charity,” Mother Abigail smirked.
“Shut up!” Delilah shouted.
“I beg your pardon?” Mother Abigail laughed.
“I control tonight.” Delilah pointed her finger in her mother-in-law’s face.
“The next call I make is to have security drag you out of here publicly,” Mother Abigail responded. “You don’t control anything, sweetie. Least of all me. Have you forgotten who you are speaking to?”
“No. I haven’t forgotten. You went to the press and made Eve’s Promise my crime. You said I was the one that chose another man to have a baby with. You made it seem like I was having an affair. All of it was lies.”
“Far as I know, you did all of those things,” Mother Abigail shrugged her shoulders and refolded her arms across her breasts. “Noah’s white daddy is living with you. Right? Sleeping out on my ranch in your husband’s bed. Right? How long before you give him everything my son gave to you? Including the child he always wanted. Oh, wait. That’s right; I keep forgetting. Noah’s not my grandchild. I owe you and your son nothing.”
Delilah smiled. She walked over to her purse. Mother Abigail’s smile faded when she saw her reach inside. “Don’t worry. I didn’t come to hurt you, not physically. Though what I’m about to show you will settle things for us once and for all.”
“Show me?”
Delilah approached her with her phone. She punched in her passcode. “I’m not a Montgomery. I never was. And Charles never loved me. All of this is true. But Charles loved power. He loved money. He’d do anything to have it. Just like you raised him to do. Anything. Before this goes to the press, I wanted to see what you’ll do to protect the family.”
Mother Abigail’s phone buzzed. Her cellphone was in her white pants pocket. She dug deep in her pocket and removed it. Delilah stepped back and watched as her mother-in-law played the video. She’d never seen the matriarch show any signs of distress, except for when she threw her out of Charles’s hospital room. And even then, it was more anger than genuine emotion. At the funeral, Mother Abigail wore large Chanel sunglasses to shield the fact she didn’t drop a tear over her son’s passing. Nothing ever affected the ice queen until that moment. The older woman watched the video, and her eyes stretched with repressed tears. She put a hand to her mouth, unable to conceive it.
“As the Mistress of Ceremonies and the senior legal advisor to the Women’s Junior League, I have to share with you, Madame President, that this new development will not only bring down the judicial wrath of the government on the Montgomery Trust, but it will open the foundations up for financial ruin. Every member of the board will be subjected to similar legal scrutiny. I will give testimony to some of the investments in oil drilling and mismanagement of funds that I suspect your sons have done for years. My testimony, Charles's confession on that video, and the evidence already collected by the Attorney General will destroy the Montgomery legacy, erase a hundred years of history, and put your pious ass in your place.” Delilah smiled. “The Senate hearings will resume. This I can promise you. Tyson is in for the fight of his life to prove he wasn’t part of all of this. A tsunami of crap is about to wash over Falcon Cove and cleanse the town of the Mayfairs and Montgomery’s legacy for good.”
“What do you want?” Mother Abigail asked. She walked over to the sink and tossed the phone, and then gripped the edge of the sink for support. Her head lowered, her breathing labored, she looked as if she was nearing a stroke. “What. Do. You. Want. Girl?”
“What we both want. I need to protect my family just like you want to protect yours. We walk out of this room together. You remove the scarlet letter from my chest, publicly. I give the opening ceremony speech to the guests, and you demonstrate grace and poise as you nominate me for your seat on the board. Today you resign, retire, quit. I don’t care.”
Abigail looked over at her.
“You offer a public apology and then advise your people to contact any media outlet that wants to hear you grovel. You put me on the pedestal for once. That’s a good start.”
The rage and tears broke Abigail’s features and aged her a hundred years before Delilah. “So, you want to be me after all? That’s what you’ve always wanted. Why you married my son! You bitch! You want to be me because you know you are nothing! You were born nothing, and you’ll die nothing.”
“Think whatever you want. You started this war. Checkmate.” Delilah picked up her clutch purse and her phone. “Oh, and maybe you should wait a few minutes before your return. Your face is a mess. I’ll call Sara in to help you tidy up.”
Abigail looked in the mirror at her smeared mascara and lipstick from her constant touching her face in shock. She grabbed tissues and started wiping. “Delilah!” Mother Abigail said before Delilah reached the door. “You want to see me beg? Is that it? Well, here it is. Don’t ever use that video against my family. Ever. Let Charles rest in peace. I’ll do what you ask. I am pleading for Charles, for Noah. This isn’t just about me. I am pleading for everyone. If I do this, we start fresh. I’ll restore your reputation, and we start again. We rebuild this family together. Together! Say it!”
“It’s all I ever wanted, Mother Abigail. To be respected and included, remember? Prove to me you are a woman of your word.” Delilah said and then left. She did what she promised. Delilah told her mother in-law’s assistant that she needed help. When she returned to join the guests' everyone was moved into the chamber decorated by the committee for brunch. The Women’s League members were all seated at a long white cloth table before their distinguished guests. Delilah walked through the crowded tables of guests as the only one in vibrant color. All eyes were on her. And she held her head up with pride. She was second to the last to arrive at the table. A hush fell over the room as she took a seat. Only the clinking of dinnerware could be heard as the waitstaff delivered plates to the tables and others whispered.
“Hi Delilah,” Karen leaned in to whisper with a smile. “Love the dress.”
Delilah pretended to accept the compliment. She watched the door as the others around her either ignored her or mumbled about her presence. And just as she expected, Mother Abigail appeared. In her twenty thousand dollar all-white Chanel suit, minus her fur stole. The diamonds around her neck and twinkling from her ears announced her prominence to the room louder than a bullhorn. Sara, her assistant, had the doors to the chamber closed as Mother Abigail walked over to the podium with her head held high. It was a little premature; at first, everyone would eat, and the guests would have musical entertainment. But Mother Abigail was never one to dawdle. Again a hush began to descend over the room. As poised and confident as Delilah expected, Mother Abigail stepped to the microphone and smiled at the women and children gathered.