Chapter 7, enjoy!

Rating and Disclaimer in chapter 1

Warning: Violence


The Perfect Family

Liam's Wrath

It was a perfect day for a picnic, in Stephanie's opinion, as the two women walked to the small pond that was hidden in Heidi's garden. It almost seemed to be normal, even though it was far from normal. The birds were hidden in the branches of the trees singing their songs and butterflies flew from flowers, drinking their sweet nectar. The sky was a light blue and the sun was shining down.

Heidi walked in front of Stephanie, holding the picnic basket and Stephanie herself held a basket full of knitting materials. She had gotten the hang of knitting, well kind of, and was now busy knitting a hat, it was so misshapen that she had no idea who would wear it, well, she'd find someone who would, once she was free from this place.

"Here we are," Heidi said stopping in front of the small pond, "You can sit on the bench while I lay the blanket out, don't worry about the time, my husband said we can stay out here for as long as we want."

"How kind of him," Stephanie said softly, sitting down on the bench beside the water, "Heidi, is it alright if I ask this question…do you love your husband?"

"Of course I do," Heidi said, without looking up, "He's my world, he protects me from the world that blames me for something I couldn't possibly do! I'm so thankful for him, I mean, I could be in jail right now, I loved my job and I loved….I loved my first husband…I truly did.."

Stephanie rubbed her stomach and asked, "Can you tell me about your husband, your first husband, I mean?"

Heidi took out a blanket and said in a soft voice, "It's been so long, I don't remember much about him, it's all blurry and I can't base anything off of any assumption I have of him."

"How long have you been in hiding?" Stephanie asked Heidi earning a lost look from the woman.

"I….20 years…." Heidi said breathlessly, looking at Stephanie, "I've been here for 20 years, is that a long time, I forget sometimes…"

"20! But you look so young," Stephanie said earning a smile from Heidi, "You look like you're 19!"

"Oh, we just age differently," Heidi said softly, unpacking the picnic basket, "I can't tell you more, my husband forbids that I say anything to you."

They sat in silence for a bit before Stephanie said, "My husband is wonderful, his name is Carlo Ricardo Manoso, he owns his security firm and it's very successful. He was a government mercenary, but he's retired now, and spends his time scaring his men, running his business and loving me."

Stephanie watched as Heidi stopped setting the utensils on the blanket, her eyes far away.

"Carlos loves me with every single fiber of his being," Stephanie said softly, getting off the bench and walking over to Heidi, "I know when I sleep, he watches over me, because it soothes him. He's always there when I call for him, he never keeps me waiting, did your first husband do any of that, did he have a cute name for you? Carlos calls me 'Babe.'"

"…kitten," Heidi said, a tear falling onto her cheek, "He called me Kitten, he used to say that…I was feisty like a kitten. He used to hold me while I slept, and whisper to me that he'd never let me go, no matter what. He…I…miss him so much…when my husband told me he died in the bombing, it felt as though I lost a part of me…he was my everything, I wasn't allowed to mourn him. My husband told me to get over him, but I couldn't, I can't, I miss him with all heart!"

Heidi hugged a plate close to her chest and sobbed softly, fat tears falling down her cheeks. Stephanie sat down beside Heidi and hugged her, rubbing her back and murmuring soothing words into her ear. The poor woman, her husband had been dead for 20 years and she couldn't even properly mourn him.

"It's alright, Heidi, you can cry now, I promise, I won't tell your husband," Stephanie said softly, hugging the woman, "It's okay…."

"Stephanie, your husband…he's looking for you, and…I hope he finds you," Heidi whispered, gripping Stephanie arms tightly.

The little bubble of hope grew in Stephanie's heart. She wanted so badly for Carlos to find her now. What was this man planning on doing with her?

"I hope he finds us too…" Stephanie said, making Heidi grip the woman tighter, "When he comes to get me, I'm taking you with me as well…"

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

When Carlos wasn't helping the FBI in the search for his wife, he was looking over the Washington DC bombing. It nagged at his heart and made him go back to reading several articles about it. He would sweep though old newspaper articles, through news segments, anything and everything he could find, hoping to find out why this was bothering him so much.

Carlos let out a sigh and then sat back in the chair, looking away from the article he was reading. It said the same thing like the last articles, bombing, building, one death, flatten the building…wait…

Carlos read through the article again and then wondered out loud, "How is it that only the building that was bomb received any damage, but not the surrounding buildings. The buildings around the area would have had to be damaged too, but, it says only the building was damaged, there wasn't any debris from the bombing."

Carlos picked his phone up and called Diesel, who answered in two rings, "Diesel, the bombing, did you notice something off about it?"

"No, not really, why do you ask?" Diesel asked softly, making Carlos frown.

"Only the building was damaged and in that area of DC, the bombing would have damaged other buildings as well," Carlos said, hearing a sharp intake of breath from Diesel, "What…."

"There might not have been damage if there was a….Carlos…maybe the bombing was an inside job" Diesel said, his eyes wide, "Holy shit, Carlos…."

"My thoughts exactly, hurry up and get over here, so we can connect the dots together," Carlos said hanging up his phone.

He didn't know why, but he thought that if he could find out something about the bombing, maybe that would help him find his wife.

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

Stephanie let out a yelp as she felt her baby kick her in the kidneys, making her get up and race over to the bathroom, Heidi looking on with a smile on her face. When Stephanie waddled back into the living room, she gave Heidi a glare and said, "Well, you try to carry a child that likes to kick your kidneys."

Heidi's smiled faltered and she said, "I wish I could, but, I can't, I have problems with fertility, my husband wants me to have a baby so badly, but I can't."

Stephanie winced and turned her head to look away from the hurt in Heidi's eyes. Stephanie was in the last trimester of her pregnancy and all she wanted was for Carlos to find her, and for her to have her baby. The hope that she had a few months ago that maybe Carlos would find her was slowly dwindling. Though on the bright side, Heidi's husband had loosen up and allowed the women to spend time in other parts of the house that were deemed suitable. They were now sitting in the living room, knitting and talking quietly to each other.

Stephanie placed a hand on Heidi's shoulder and said, "I'm so sorry, Heidi, I wish there was something that could….Heidi?"

Heidi let out a sob and said, "You're nearing the end of your pregnancy you're eight months pregnant….i'm sorry, so sorry," reaching out to hug the woman, "Soon, your tree will be ready to bloom too."

"What tree?" Stephanie asked Heidi, feeling dread creep up her body, as Heidi let go of her, the woman's eyes seem to die.

"Your cherry tree, with what little powers that aren't bound, I use to grow a cherry tree," Heidi said, fingering the gold bracelet, "For each and every pair of mother and child that doesn't past my husband's test and are killed…."

"Why….why are they killed?" Stephanie asked breathlessly, earning a soft whimper, "Heidi…why am I here?!"

Heidi opened her mouth to tell Stephanie but the living room swinging door busted open and Heidi's husband came in, his face red with rage. He turned to Heidi, walked over to her and slapped her across the face, before grabbing her arm.

"You little bitch, I save you and heal and keep you safe and this is the thanks I get?! Telling our guest our dirty laundry! Get up!" Heidi's husband roared pushing Heidi off the sofa, an then rounding on Stephanie, "You too, get up, I'm going to have to show you what exactly happens when my darling wife disobeys my commands!"

"Please," Stephanie sobbed as Heidi's husband grabbed her arm, "Please, don't hurt her, don't hurt Heidi!"

"Stephanie…." Heidi whimpered her eyes wide with horror, "You said my name…oh god….you said my name…."

"How does she know your name?" Heidi's husband asked, rounding on Heidi who shrank back and crawled away from her advancing husband, "Heidi, I asked you a question, I demand an answer!"

"I told her," Heidi sobbed as her husband gripped Stephanie's arm tighter, "I'm so sorry, sir, please, don't do it-"

Stephanie let out a scream as Heidi's husband grabbed her arm with both hands and with a grunt broke it in his hands. She had screamed from fear, and had expected to feel pain, but instead, she felt nothing. In fact her arm wasn't even broken. She heard Heidi let out a scream of agony and saw with growing horror that Heidi's arm was broken, hanging limply at her side.

"I told you, my dear guest, that Heidi gets your punishment, and all your pain, what did you think the bracelet is for?! To make you look pretty?! Oh no, it makes sure that all your pain goes to Heidi, all the injures you get, Heidi gets, instead of you" Heidi's husband growled slapping Stephanie in the face, making Heidi cry in agony, "Does it hurt, dear wife? Good, because tonight is going to be a living hell for you!"

Stephanie let out a sound as the man pulled her close and whispered in her ear, "How does it feel, Stephanie, to know that you're the source of her pain? I hope it hurts you, to know that Heidi is being tortured because of you…"

"I hope Carlos kills you with a bullet between your eyes," Stephanie hissed before Heidi's husband punched her in the face, making Heidi cry out in pain.

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

Liam leaned against the closed bedroom door, locking it shut. His rage still boiling underneath his calm demeanor. He was angry because Carlos and Diesel had begun to look into the bombing, telling him that it had been done by someone on the inside, because of the wards that had been put up around the building. Only Unmentionables are able to do that…fuck, they were getting too close to the truth. Things needed to be done...and soon.

Liam cursed softly and walked over to the master bedroom where Heidi lay on the bed, her eyes glazed over with pain, her breathing labored, her body covered with cuts and bruises, her arm broken and her ribs cracked. He smiled cruelly down at the woman and said, "I won't heal you for a week, punishment my love, that's what you get when you tell our secrets to people."

Heidi licked her lips and whimpered, "…Sorry, Liam…"

"Once I heal you, you'll be only delivering food to our guest and then you shall come right up to our room, I'm disappointed in you, Heidi, maybe no access to the gardens will make you see better."

Liam ran a hand through Heidi's hair and said, "I have to go, business and all those good things."

Liam kissed Heidi's cheek and left the master bedroom, closing the door and locking it, never hearing the soft words that were spoken to him

"….I'm pregnant…."

TBC….


(I smell that the ending is near! And jeez, I throw in that monkey wrench too! Take a moment of your time to review, please, I love your feedback!)