Too Late for Regret (Annalise and Roger) novel Chapter 129

Ana’s POV

I wanted Tiffany to be so worked up and angry that she would be unable to focus on but getting me back. I wanted to make very sure that she was going to come after me tonight, so this nightmare can finally be over. I knew that Charlie would keep me safe matter what Tiffany had planned for me. I would be lying if I said that I wasn’t scared. Tiff had a way of pushing too far.

Gretchen kept her hands to herself. She preferred to record the abuse rather than participate in it. She seems to be really worried about what Tiffany is going to say next at the moment. don’t believe their attorney knows what’s going on regarding their planned escape. He’s just worried about her incriminating herself further. I told the truth when I corrected her. She lied about my parents and my brother. I wasn’t going to let people think that what she was saying had been the truth.

Some of it was the truth, but not all of it was accurate. The part about them being disappointed in my weight gain was the truth. I can see the tears in my mother’s eyes. My father and Seth are just as upset. They were just given a reminder when Tiffany pointed out how they treated me. My mother had been the most vocal about it, but I knew it was because she was pushed into it. Naomi would make snide remarks about it, and Tiffany never let up on me either. She felt like it was the only thing she had over me. So, of course, she would bring it up as much as she could. I wish I had taken the opportunity to tell them that she was the cause of it back then.

Now that her parents have a fine facing them. A fine that would take more of their quickly dwindling funds, they’re furious. They will face the humiliation of the entire city knowing what kind of person they raised. Tiffany might have been able to avoid the scandal, but they knew the business would suffer even more as a result. That is the reason I kept the amount low. The payment could never fix what she had done. But it would become an albatross around their necks. A symbol of shame that would be attached to their name for the rest of their lives.

We broke for lunch, and once we got inside our subdivision, we met up with Mark and another bodyguard I hadn’t met yet. I already knew what was going on, as Charlie had been tense since Tiffany had admitted her guilt. She had nothing left to lose, and that made her even more dangerous. Charlie closed all the window shades before we entered our house Colby and Rita came down to eat with us once the first floor was secured.

Mark had picked up lunch for us, and we silently grabbed our food. I knew that Charlie on edge.. He kept his left hand on my thigh as we ate lunch. It was as if he thought I would disappear if he weren’t touching me. He finally spoke when we finished lunch.

“Our plans are changing. Tiffany is unhinged. We don’t have the necessary information to develop a proper defense plan. We know she’s coming, but we have no idea when or what she’s planning to do. She has violent tendencies, and I’m worried. I’m worried about you and our baby’s safety. So I’m changing the plan. I can’t leave you. Even though Rita and Colby will be here, and I trust them. I just can’t leave you to face her alone. So Bradley here will be posing as me,” Charlie said before pausing to nod at the man who came with Mark. “He will be the one to leave for the emergency that Samantha’s cooking up. I’m having the police come to our company. I want Samantha arrested as an accessory. I’ll stay here with you. I’m not leaving anything to chance. I can’t lose you, Ana.”

I could hear the emotion in his voice. His eyes shone as he looked at me, before lifting me up and pulling me onto his lap. He banded his arms tightly around me. He breathed in deeply, trying to calm himself down. Mark was also clearly worried, and he finally spoke up.

“Charlie trusts his gut, and so do I. It hasn’t steered him wrong yet in all the years that I’ve known him. If he is worried, then we all need to be worried. It’s why he’s so good at what he does. It’s also why we’ve become as successful as we have in such a short amount of time. We need to take this threat very seriously. We know when Samantha’s call comes in, that is the start of the trap. We all need to be on alert. They will probably come out of hiding as soon as Charlie leaves. So they will be in place when the call comes in. We will spring our own trap on them. The only way we will be prepared is if we’re ready to go the moment Bradley, as Charlie, leaves. With the window tint, it would be hard for them to tell them apart. They have the same build and hair color. They won’t be close enough to verify who it is. They think they’re catching us unaware, so they won’t think twice about it,” Mark stated.

“To make sure Tiffany goes away for as long as possible. We need her to make it inside the house. Otherwise, she’ll be able to argue that she never intended to enter. It would be untrue, but we have to wait for them to enter to be able to prove that in court. It’s the reason I’m so worried about you, Ana. We will leave the alarm set, so it will go off once they open the door. That will make them think you’re alone and unprotected. They believe they have at least five minutes before the police arrive. They know how they’re coming in and will also have an exit strategy. Tiffany intends to kill you, or at least seriously hurt you. So, the minute we get home tonight, I need you to put on the Kevlar. She is going to show up with the guard who’s helping her. She needs his help, and God only knows what their planning. Rita, I need you and Colby to be armed tonight. Mark brought a box for you. So you have vests that you can wear. I want you both to be able to deal with anything they might try tonight. I’m sure they won’t make us wait long to approach,” Charlie replied.

“No, we need to do as we usually do. You will need to ride up front with Jon. They’ve been watching us for a few weeks now. They have our patterns down. So when you leave, have the windows down just enough for them to see Bradley in the back seat. Just the top of his head will do. They’re expecting to see me leave, and will believe it’s me when you leave. I appreciate the thought of you wanting to protect Ana, but we need them to believe that she is home alone. The alarm sounding will be something they expect. Colby, Rita, and I being here won’t be what they expect. We need to evaluate the threat level quickly. If I feel like Ana’s life is in danger, then we need to surprise them first before they can react. We need to keep Ana away from them,” Charlie advised.

This is much more serious than anything else I’ve experienced. Even when Tiffany hurt me, I never once thought she was willing to kill me. I will do as they’ve told me to do. I will stay back and let them deal with her. I’m now wishing that I had more training with weapons. I’ve had several trainings over the last two months. Charlie knew this was coming and had me at the gun range often. Rita accompanies us, and she has provided me with a lot of valuable input as well. I can strip and clean my weapon very well, and I excel at close–range shooting, but I struggle with targets that are further away.

I’m worried. Because I know Tiffany, and she is beyond angry now. She will want to hurt Charlie, as that would ultimately hurt me the most. I wouldn’t put it past her, as she still has an issue with Seth. If she weren’t still hurting, she wouldn’t have mentioned him at all. Just the thought of having to live without Charlie has a sob breaking out of me. I don’t want to go on without him.

“It will be fine, love. We will be safe. They don’t realize we know they’re coming, and that is a big positive. We will use that small unit of time to catch them unaware. We just need to disarm Eddie, and I’m sure Tiffany and Gretchen will then comply,” Charlie confidentially spoke.

He doesn’t know Tiffany as well as I do. Once she knows she’s trapped, there’s no telling what she will do. I won’t be able to calm down until she’s arrested. I’ll remind them again not to underestimate her.