“Don’t you ever touch me again,” Warner hissed, his nose four inches from hers. An agent handed the president a tissue. Warner stepped back, and pressed it against the scratch. “She is not allowed past the outer office. Do you understand me?”
“But she’s-”
“I don’t give a fuck who she is. She isn’t allowed in the Oval Office again. Am I clear?”
“Yes, sir.”
Tears stung Carolyn’s eyes, but she refused to let them fall. Head held high, she spun on her heel and left the Oval Office with all the dignity she could muster.
SEVENTY-EIGHT
Carolyn shivered as she sat quietly in a private waiting room of the hospital. She wished she’d worn a sweater. Why, she wondered, did hospitals always feel so drafty and cold?
Secret Service agents stood outside the door, giving her privacy, but their thoughtful consideration felt more like solitary confinement. Carolyn clasped her hands in her lap. There was nothing to do but wait.
She hated being there, but protocol demanded her attendance as soon as she’d been notified, especially since Warner was delayed on Air Force One.
An hour and a half later, Warner sauntered into the room. A Secret Service agent shut the door to the waiting room, intensifying the trapped feeling that threatened to overwhelm her. A current of animosity surged between them.
“Worried about the love of your life?” Warner asked as he sat across from her.
“He’s your father,” she responded, surprised that he’d even speak to her.
“But he was your lover.” Anger flecked with pain sparked from his eyes.
Carolyn froze. “Warner-” What could she say? she wondered. Nothing, she finally realized. Absolutely nothing. The truth she’d always feared had come back to haunt her. She slumped in her seat, the weight she’d been carrying for so many years finally crushing her.
Warner leaned back on the couch and crossed his arms over his chest. “Come off it, Carolyn. Edmund told me everything. The affair, his baby – you remember – the reason you had the abortion. All of it.” he ground out through an obvious wall of hurt.
Now, she understood his hatred, his reason for striking out so cruelly time and again. She stared at her hands. “When did he tell you?”
“It doesn’t matter,” Warner said, shrugging. “I don’t give a damn, anyway. You’ve served your purpose.”
The emotion in his voice betrayed his words. giving evidence of how much he really did care, of how much these facts had destroyed him. That realization hit her like a clenched fist to the temple. Her head throbbed violently. “It was before I knew you.” Why was she bothering to defend herself? Nothing she could say or do would repair the chasm between them.
“Not according to Edmund,” Warner laughed. “Of course, that bastard’s about to burn in hell with the rest of them. He served his purpose as well. His time was up.” He leaned toward her. “This is a lesson you should take to heart Carolyn. No one tries to control me.”
Her eyes met his. “Warner, tell me you didn’t cause this-”
Warner glared back. “This what? Heart attack? Don’t be naive.”
“My God, he’s your father.”
Warner’s eyes narrowed. “That son of a bitch is not my father!”
“What are you talking about?”
“My mother had an affair. Seems to be a recurring theme.” He arched an eyebrow at her.
“So you see, I’m really a bastard. I’ve never been anything to Edmund other than the bane of his existence. A reminder of my mother’s failure. An imperfection in his life that he tried to dress up for his own gain.”
She shook her head in disbelief.
“All along, I’ve been Edmund’s pawn. If not me, it would have been someone else. I was simply convenient.”
“I’m sure he loved you in his own way.”
Warner laughed, the sound bitter and harsh. “Don’t kid yourself.”
“I understand your hatred of me. But I don’t understand-”
“You understand perfectly. You said it yourself. Carolyn, politics is war. Edmund will be joining all the other casualties of battle.”
“Casualties? You act like you’ve had a hand in this.”
Warner’s lips drew back into a thin line. He gave her a knowing look. Then he said. “And you’re acting like a novice. You need to catch up, Carolyn. Stupidity doesn’t become you.”
“How many have you killed?” Her voice was a whisper.
“Don’t be ridiculous. I’ve never killed anyone.”
Carolyn knew he deliberately meant to hide behind semantics. Of course, he’d never personally killed anyone, but he didn’t deny issuing the orders. He wanted her to know the truth. “Your precious Council is a pit of vipers. You even turn on one another.”
“Politics is survival of the fittest. It eventually had to come to this, him or me. And it wasn’t going to be me.” Warner laughed. “Your problem, Carolyn, is that you’re too fucking naive, too fucking innocent.”
“Go to hell,” she said.
He ignored her response as he rose and opened the door. “Can I get some company in here?” he asked the agents who guarded the door.
The sound of footsteps echoed in the corridor outside the waiting room.
Warner nodded toward the door, then said to the agent reading a magazine beside him, “It’s show time.”
Moments later, the doctor walked into the room. “They told me you’d arrived, Mr. President.” He extended his hand to Warner. “I’m Dr. Jacobs.”
He turned to Carolyn. “Mrs. Lane.” She accepted the doctor’s handshake.
“I’m sorry, sir, but your father has passed away. Once he started having problems, it was like a chain reaction. All of his vital organs began to shut down, and we were unable to stop it. Finally, his heart gave out.”
“Do you know what caused his organs to fail?” Carolyn asked. Only she could see the hostility in Warner’s gaze that her question evoked.
“No, unfortunately, we have no idea. We can order an autopsy if you’d like.”
“Yes,” Carolyn said.
Warner shook his head as he turned to the doctor. “No, that won’t be necessary. My father lived a full life. It was his time. My wife’s just upset.” His expression was the epitome of grief.
Only Carolyn recognized the light of satisfaction in Warner’s eyes.
SEVENTY-NINE
Katherine met Carolyn at the entrance to the White House. “How’s Warner’s father?”
Carolyn felt out of sorts, confused and numb. Lately, she felt as though she existed in a continuous state of shock. She forced herself to focus on Katherine’s question. “He’s gone.”
“I’m sorry.” Katherine said.
“Thank you.”
“What can I do?”
Carolyn shook her head. “I just need to rest. To be alone for a few minutes. Please ask the Navy mess steward to bring me a cup of almond tea in the Garden Room.”
“Certainly.”
Carolyn walked to the elevator and rode it up to the Garden Room of the White House. Nothing was as it seemed. She’d been duped. The men in her life had made a career out of using her and others for personal gain. At least, Warner had the balls to be blatant about it.
It was Mark who shocked and hurt her most. He’d double-crossed her for years, using her as a stepping stone to his own career, yet pretending to love her. She’d deal with him later, she decided. Fortunately, she’d had the foresight to align herself with another powerful player.
The Navy steward appeared almost immediately, carrying her tea on a tray. “Sugar or cream today, ma’am?” he asked, setting down the tray and then pouring her a cup.
“No, thank you. Plain is fine,” she responded.
He handed the beverage to her, then turned smartly and left.