All Chapters of Too Late To Beg: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

TAMSIN The police officers approached me with the kind of professional detachment that suggested they had done this hundreds of times before and saw nothing particularly noteworthy about arresting yet another person on yet another charge. "Tamsin Whitmore?" one of them asked, though it was clearly a formality since Isla had already pointed me out. "Yes," I said, my voice coming out steadier than I felt. "You are under arrest for assault and battery, criminal trespass, and attempted feticide. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law." The words washed over me like ice water. Attempted feticide. They were accusing me of trying to kill Isla's unborn child. I stood there frozen, unable to process what was happening, unable to reconcile the reality of police officers reading me my rights with the fact that I was the victim in this entire situation. Poppy came running out of the apartment building, her face fl

JAMES I got in my car and drove to the address I knew was Poppy's apartment, where Tamsin was staying. The drive took less than twenty minutes, but it felt like hours with my thoughts spinning in endless, punishing circles. When I arrived, I pulled into a spot across the street where I had a clear view of the building's entrance and the lit windows on the third floor. But I could not bring myself to get out of the car. I sat there in the darkness, my hands still gripping the steering wheel, staring at the building like some kind of pathetic stalker who could not accept that he had lost everything that mattered. Rain had started falling at some point during the drive. Light at first, then heavier, until water streamed down the windshield in sheets that blurred the world outside into nothing but shadows and refracted light. I watched the windows of Poppy's apartment and replayed everything Tamsin had said to me. How we were done. How she would never forgive me. How I

LEO I made all the necessary arrangements, including having my lawyer obtain the proper court orders from my judge friend and position himself at the station where Tamsin would be taken. When I went to drop Tamsin off at Poppy's apartment that evening, I acted as though nothing unusual was about to happen. And then the police arrived right on schedule. I had to make sure Tamsin did not fight them. She was exhausted and upset, and I could see the defiance building in her eyes when they tried to handcuff her. The last thing she needed was an additional charge of resisting arrest. "Trust me," I had whispered to her. "Something is about to happen." When she finally agreed to cooperate, I felt a wave of relief so powerful it was almost physical. Everything went according to plan after that. The video evidence. The reversal. Isla's arrest. Tamsin's vindication. Now, back at Poppy's apartment with everything resolved, Tamsin actually let me inside instead of keeping me on the doo

JAMES I was still kneeling beside Mary's bed when Leo pulled out a business card and handed it to her. "If you ever need help," he said, "call me." She nodded slowly and took the card from him with trembling fingers. "Thank you," she whispered. Leo looked down at me with an expression that might have been contempt or might have been pity. I could not tell which was worse. Then he turned and walked out with his hands shoved in his pockets, leaving me there without a single word. "Please do not kneel," Mary said quietly. "You can get up." I rose to my feet, my knees protesting after being pressed against the floor for so long. "Do not worry about me," she continued, her voice flat and resigned. "It is too late for me." I shook my head violently. "No. It is not too late for you, Mary. I promise you. I will take you to the hospital. I will make sure you get surgery. I will get the best doctors for you. Whatever condition you have now, whatever can be done to help you

JAMES After the specialist who had been flown in from abroad began Mary's treatment, I left the hospital. Evening had already settled over the city, casting long shadows across the parking lot as I walked to my car. But there was something I needed to do first, something that could not wait until morning. I needed to see Leo. I tried calling him first. His phone went straight to voicemail, the automated message telling me his number was unreachable. So I drove to his firm instead, weaving through the evening traffic with a singular focus. I did not know where he lived, and even if I had known his address, I would not have gone there uninvited. This was business, however personal it felt. It belonged in his office, not in the intimate space of his home. When I arrived at the sleek glass building that housed his firm, his assistant met me in the lobby. The young man looked uncertain, as though he was not sure whether to send me away or grant me access. "I need to speak with