Chapter Eleven
Bridget's POV:
Bridget swam out of the darkness only to find more of it when her eyes opened.
Siobhan was gone.
She shifted and bit back a scream as pain shot up her leg. Groaning, she blocked the pain and tried her bindings again. They were still tight but the left restraint seemed looser. Not much but some. Hope had her ignoring her aching face and throbbing leg as she struggled with the binding.
She needed to get out of there. Andrew and Juliet were counting on her, and Siobhan needed to be taken down.
Fear shot through her at the thought of what would happen when Siobhan got back to the apartment. Siobhan thought Bridget was still pretending to be her. She had no idea that Andrew knew the truth. Once she realized her plan wasn't going to work she would kill him and Juliet.
No, she couldn't let that happen. She had to get out!
Frantic, she pulled hard on the zip tie making the plastic bite into her wrist. Blood seeped from the broken skin and slid in rivulets down her hand. Using the blood as lubrication, she made her hand as small as possible, and wiggled it until she felt her hand begin to slide out of the restraint. She cried out in excitement and pulled harder. The knuckles of her left hand slipped through the tight opening and she was free. Tears of joy, and pain, fell from her eyes. Emboldened, she struggled with her right hand. It wouldn't budge.
Panting she considered her options. She could waste time trying to slip free, or she could maneuver the chair to the table and get the ice pick.
She used her toes, and threw her body forward, to scoot her chair to the table. Her thigh screamed in agony as fresh blood bubbled from the wound. She ignored it and continued her journey. The table was closer, just within reach. It took another moment to shift to the ice pick, but then it was in her hand.
Setting to work, she slipped the pick under the right zip tie, and pulled with all the strength she had left; in moments she was free. She rubbed the circulation back into her abused limb before leaning forward and releasing her feet from their binding.
She was free. Giddy, she stood, but cried out as pain shot up her leg. The world went bright with her excruciation. Bridget grasped the chair, bent over and let her dinner hit the floor. The pain in her throat intensified as the bile spilled out.
Slowly her vision cleared and she spat before bringing a shaky hand to her mouth; wiping it clean. Her leg throbbed relentlessly but she gritted her teeth against it and attempted to put more weight on the damaged limb. Misery sprang forth but she didn't get lightheaded. Nausea rushed up, but she pushed it back and limped to the door. She needed to get to Andrew and Juliet.
She was about to turn on the light when she heard metal rustle from the other side.
Siobhan, or her accomplice, were back.
The stun gun!
Turning she limped back to the table, grabbed the stun gun, and raced back to the side of the door where the light switch was. The door rolled open.
"What the hell!" the accomplice said, as he noticed the empty chair and broken zip ties. He reached for the light switch, and Bridget slammed the stun gun to the side of his neck, pulling the trigger viciously.
His body jerked and convulsed before he fell to the floor, still conscious. Wasting no time, Bridget used it again, pulled back, and groaned in frustration as the huge man's eyes stayed open. Reaching forward she stunned him a third time. She waited, posed to deliver a fourth, but finally he quit moving and his eyes closed.
Carefully, she stepped around him, the stun gun ready ready to strike if he moved. He didn't. Once she was outside the storage unit, she pulled the door down and used the lock to shut it tight.
Without wasting a moment, she limped down the hall. She needed to get home and stop Siobhan.
Andrew's POV:
She wasn't Bridget.
The thought spun in Andrew's mind as he ripped his mouth from hers' and backed away.
"Andrew?" Siobhan asked. "What is it? What's wrong?"
He wiped his mouth with one hand while he reached into the back of his suit pants with the other. Slowly, he pulled out the gun he took with him to the loft and pointed it at his wife's black heart.
"Where is she?" he asked.
"Andrew!" Siobhan said, shocked. "What are you doing?"
"Where is she?" he demanded.
Siobhan stepped forward and looked earnestly into Andrew's eyes. Andrew wasn't fooled. It was amazing to him that he ever thought Bridget was Siobhan. The light in their eyes was completely different. Sure, they looked identical, but Andrew could see that there was no warmth in Siobhan's eyes, only calculation.
"I'm Siobhan, Andrew, I swear! I'm Siobhan!"
He smiled.
"I know you're Siobhan." He stepped closer. "I want to know what you did with Bridget!" He enjoyed the confusion that swept across his wife's manipulative face.
"You know?" she whispered.
"That the woman I've shared a life with for the last 9 months is your twin sister? Yes, I know."
"You know, and you still love her?" she asked, completely taken aback.
"Of course, I love her! How could I not? She is exactly what I've always wanted for myself and Juliet. She is the best thing that has ever happened to us," he stepped forward and placed the gun between Siobhan's eyes, "and if you have done anything to her, I will kill you."
His finger itched to pull the trigger, so he could end it all. Once Siobhan was gone, he could marry Bridget and they could finally be the family they wanted. Only he couldn't do it. He couldn't pull the trigger and cold bloodedly kill the sister of the woman he loved, no matter how evil she was.
"You won't kill me, Andrew," Siobhan said confidently. "You don't have the balls."
Andrew smiled without a single drop of humor.
"You have been trying to kill the woman I love, and you plan to kill me and Juliet. I'll kill you, have no doubt." He nudged her head with the gun. "Doubting that will be the last mistake you ever make, just like not covering your tracks was a mistake. You really should have done a better job." He smiled as he bluffed. "The police have all your passports and are sifting through the rest of your belongings. Portia and Regan have been remanded into Child Protective Services care until I can prove my paternity and pick them up."
The blood drained from Siobhan's face and insane panic replaced the sick confidence in her eyes. She screamed and lunged at Andrew.
"No! No! No! No! You son of a bitch! You can't take my girls. I'll see you dead first!"
She moved her head as she swung her fist, hitting Andrew in the face. The gun blazed to life and the bullet swept across Siobhan's scalp carving a groove through her hair. Blood poured from the wound, but it did little to slow down her maniacal attack. Over and over, she hit Andrew while he defended himself and tried to subdue her.
She knocked him back and his leg caught on the console table causing him to lose his balance. Falling to the floor the gun skidded across the foyer. They scrambled and fought to reach the gun first. Siobhan won. Her hand closed around the butt and she pointed the death machine at Andrew, but before she could pull the trigger the elevator dinged and the doors opened.
Andrew watched in awe, as a bloodied Bridget dove for her sister. The gun flew from Siobhan's hand and clattered against the wall. Andrew leapt for it. Holding the gun he watched Bridget reach up and place a piece of black plastic against Siobhan's throat.
She activated the trigger and they watched as Siobhan bucked and jerked while electricity pulsed into her body. Stunned for a moment but far from done, Siobhan lunged and Bridget pushed her back before stunning her again. Siobhan's body shuddered and her head slammed against the wall, knocking her unconscious.
Bridget stood up as she eyed her sister, whose chest rose and fell but didn't move otherwise.
"Bridget!"
Andrew leapt over Siobhan's body and pulled Bridget into his arms. She cried out as his leg hit her injured thigh. He glanced down and rage filled him.
"What did she do to you?" he said in anguish.
Tears fell down her battered and bruised face. Blood soaked the better part of her left thigh and angry ligature marks marred her throat.
"It doesn't matter," she croaked.
The elevator dinged. Andrew raised the gun and stepped in front of Bridget so she was completely covered by his body. He didn't know who was coming through those doors but he would be ready.
"Andrew!" Solomon called out with his hands raised.
Andrew lowered the gun.
Solomon looked at the bloody and unconscious Siobhan before turning back to Andrew and Bridget.
"Is she dead?"
"No," Andrew said with regret.
Bridget looked around Andrew's shoulder.
"Bridget!" Solomon stepped forward. "Are you okay? I went to the storage facility. The door was busted down."
"I'm okay," she smiled sadly. "Siobhan's accomplice must have gotten out. He came back just as I got free. I used the stun gun on him and locked him in," she looked at Andrew. "It's a good thing he came back, otherwise I never would have gotten here in time."
"Are you sure you are okay?" Andrew asked, gently cupping her battered face.
Her eye was blackening and he saw bruises marring the creamy skin of her cheek. She winced when he lifted her chin to inspect the angry marks across her neck. The psychotic bitch strangled her. She reached up to take his hands and he noticed her bloody and raw wrists. Closing his eyes against the rage in his heart, he used every ounce of self-control not to use his gun on Siobhan. The pain Bridget had to endure broke his heart. Shoving it aside, he continued his inspection. Andrew took a closer look at her leg.
"Call an ambulance," he told Solomon. "Bridget needs to go to the hospital."
"What about her?" Solomon asked gesturing to Siobhan.
"Hide the bitch in the bedroom," Andrew spat.
"No," Bridget said quietly before continuing. "Solomon, tie Siobhan up but don't move her, then call the police, please."
Andrew drew back in shock.
"No! Absolutely not! They will fingerprint you to tell the difference between you both! They will know you are Bridget," he shook his head emphatically. "No, we need time to figure out a way to change the records. We…."
"No," Bridget interrupted calmly.
"Yes!" Andrew yelled, grabbing the phone from Solomon before he could place the call.
Solomon didn't say a word. He removed his tie and set to work trussing up Siobhan leaving them to figure it out.
"No," Bridget took his hands and implored him with her eyes. "I told you that once we found her I would turn myself in, and I meant it."
"Why? Why can't you just keep things the way they are? You can be Siobhan in public and nothing has to change." His eyes begged her to agree.
"I don't want to be Siobhan," she said simply. "I want to be me. I also want to be the person you deserve and someone Juliet can look up to. So I have to do this. I have to set an example. I will own up to what I've done wrong and I will pay the price. It doesn't mean I won't fight like hell to keep my freedom but I will answer for my own past. It is the only way we can have the future we deserve."
"No." Andrew pulled her into his arms and held her as tight as her injuries would allow. "I don't want to lose you," he whispered.
"You won't." She hugged him and smiled. "We'll contact Agent Machado. I think once I tell him the whole truth he will help us."
Andrew felt the truth in her words. It was irrational to think that they could live with the lie. Lies are what nearly destroyed them before. It was selfish to make her live a lie for the rest of her life simply because he was scared.
Solemnly, he turned and handed the phone back to Solomon who took it hesitantly.
"Are you absolutely sure, Bridget?" Solomon asked.
"Yes, I'm sure." She gripped Andrew's hand. "It's time I took back my life."
Siobhan's POV:
6 months later
Siobhan stared out of the window of the psychiatric hospital where she was awaiting trial for the murder of John Delario, the kidnapping of Gemma Butler, which resulted in her death, and all the other sins she committed.
The oak tree outside her window stood strong and proud while its leaves danced in the breeze but she didn't notice it. She didn't even see the massive tree. Instead, she saw a vision of herself standing in front of a bound Bridget. Smiling in glee, she raised her gun and put a bullet between Bridget's eyes. The back of her head exploded, splattering blood and brains on the mattress that hung on the wall of the storage unit.
Over and over, she replayed what she should have done. If she could go back she would never have left Bridget alive. She would have killed before heading back to the apartment.
A knock on her door interrupted her thoughts, and she turned her head groggily as the vision faded away. The drugs they've given her dulled her mind and she could no longer focus on more than one thing at once.
A doctor holding a clipboard walked in.
"How are you feeling today, Siobhan?"
"I'm good, doctor," she slurred. She concentrated on making her mouth smile. Charm had gotten her everything she wanted growing up, and she would use it now to get out of here. "I think I can go home today. I'm the picture of health."
Her dull blonde hair hung in untidy ropes, her pallid skin was blotchy and her eyes were dull. Her outside finally matched her inside.
"Now, Siobhan, you know that you aren't going to be going anywhere. You are here until a judge says you are ready to go back to jail, or your trial is over and a jury decides your fate."
"But I'm fine. Bridget lied. She set me up," she said through gritted teeth, her tenuous composure slipping. "I'm fine! I'm fine! It was all Bridget's fault," she screamed. "Let me out of here! I'm fine!"
"Orderlies!"
Two strong men came into the room and held her body down as it bucked and she screamed. The nurse stepped up to the bed and gave her shot.
Moments later the fight slipped out of her body and suddenly she was back in the storage unit pulling the trigger and ending her sister's life over, and over, and over, and over….
Bridget's POV:
"Thank you, Agent Machado," Bridget said.
Victor Machado's dark eyes laughed from under the blackest, thickest lashes Bridget had ever seen on anyone, male or female.
"Call me Vic. I think after everything we've been through you should call me Vic, don't you?"
"Okay, Vic." Bridget smiled. "We just wanted to thank you for everything you did."
"Yes, thank you!" Andrew agreed as he shook Vic's hand.
The last six months had been hard and insanely emotional but with Vic's help, and the support from Andrew and Juliet she got through it. Amazingly, Vic was able to talk to the right people and Bridget was able to serve her time through giving to the community.
Siobhan hadn't been as lucky. Her sins came out in force and she was remanded to jail to await her trial. While there her sanity seemed to slip further and further from reach until a judge decided to move her to a psychiatric hospital.
Bridget hadn't seen her sister in person since the night at the apartment. She still had nightmares about being held in the storage unit, and though her wounds were healed, just the thought of seeing Siobhan again caused her to have a panic attack. She began therapy, thanks to Andrew's urging, and it helped with the anxiety and nightmares, but she was far from ready to see her sister.
Andrew got a paternity test done on the twins, once Siobhan told the police where they were. It came back positive. He was a father of twin girls. Bridget had been thrilled for all of them. They picked Portia and Regan up and brought them home. Andrew was amazing with the girls and was there for them even at 3:00 a.m. when they wouldn't settle down and needed to be walked all around the apartment. He was patient, loving, and completely in love with his kids, all of them.
Juliet took to her sisters immediately and loved helping to take care of them. She showed so much promise of the woman she would become. Bridget couldn't be prouder, or happier, to call Juliet her daughter.
Bridget could still remember the feeling of Juliet's arms around her the night of the storage unit. She cried for Bridget's pain and hugged her tight telling her she loved her. That memory would be burned in Bridget's mind for the rest of her life. She asked if she could call her mom, and Bridget whole-heartedly said, yes.
Their relationship only grew stronger after that.
Andrew's divorce from Siobhan was finalized last week and he was finally free of her insanity. The scandal surrounding the entire affair showed them who their true friends were. Jeff and Greer accepted Bridget and embraced their love. A handful of others did not. Though, being true Upper East Siders, the scandal was fuel for gossip so the invitations still poured in.
Andrew and Bridget's relationship seemed to deepen every day. She never thought she deserved the kind of love he gave her, but she realized now that as long as she returned that love they were worthy of each other.
So, the saga was over. Vic was heading back to Wyoming and they could finally start living normally.
She hugged him tight. She would miss Victor Machado, her guardian angel, even when she didn't know it.
He pulled away and looked Bridget in the eyes. "So you promise to stay out of trouble, right?"
She laughed. "You can count on it." Turning serious, she continued. "Sorry for deceiving you, I really am. I wish I had listened to my instincts and called you when Jimmy told me that I couldn't trust the FBI, but my instincts had been so wrong in the past I couldn't trust them."
"Well, I can't say that I'm thrilled that you lied to me for so long, but after what Jimmy did I realize that you really didn't know who you could trust and then you were in too deep. I get that, but please tell me that you are done lying to me."
Bridget nodded, vigorously. "I am."
Vic laughed. "Good. Well, I have to catch my flight back to Wyoming."
Bridget leaned up and kissed his cheek. "Fly safe."
He raised a hand in goodbye as he stepped on the elevator of the apartment. The doors closed, and Bridget sighed.
"It's officially over," she sighed in relief.
Well, it was over until the trial, but she didn't want to bring that up. They would have to deal with it but not right now. For now, their part was over and that was a reason to relax and smile.
"Yes, it is." Andrew smiled as he turned her in his arms. "I think we need to celebrate."
Bridget smiled as she gazed into the eyes of the man she loved, and who loved her in return. "I think that is an excellent idea."
"Great! Lydia is watching the twins."
Lydia was the nanny they hired. She came highly recommended by Greer, who has known her for years.
"Put on a dress and your dancing shoes, I'm taking you out," Andrew said.
"Hold on! Shouldn't we wait for Juliet?"
Andrew smiled mysteriously. "She is going to meet us."
Bridget narrowed her eyes. He obviously planned a surprise. Well, he wasn't the only one with a surprise. She smiled slyly to herself.
"What did you do?" she asked suspiciously.
He smiled. "You'll see."
Andrew and Bridget's POV:
Forty-Five Minutes Later
Andrew pulled a blindfolded Bridget through the doors of a tiny Manhattan bistro he rented out for the evening.
Candles danced on every surface, while white clothed tables held lots of rich, delicious food in silver platters and bowls.
With a flourish he pulled off the blindfold, and Bridget was greeted with an explosion of sound.
"SURPRISE!"
She laughed and smacked Andrew on the arm before turning and kissing him. The crowd whistled and teased until they broke their kiss and Bridget turned back to their guests.
Juliet, Solomon, Shane, Greer and Jeff clapped and smiled back at her. They came forward, and everyone exchanged hugs. Bridget never felt more loved.
Andrew watched the woman who turned his bitter world sweet and marveled at her beauty, inside and out. He cleared his throat loudly to get the groups attention.
"Excuse me, everyone! First, I'd like to thank all of you for coming out and celebrating our freedom from madness, but I'd like to give us further reason to celebrate."
Smiling with mirrored love, he took Bridget's left hand and sank to one knee.
Bridget clapped her hand over her mouth, while her eyes filled with tears. The crowd watched eagerly, but Andrew and Bridget saw nothing but each other.
"Bridget, I love you," he began, "as complicated as our life has been over the last year and half that one fact has always been constant, even when I wouldn't let myself admit it. I love you." He reached into his pocket and pulled out the ring he had given her the night he asked her to re-marry him when he thought she was Siobhan. The oval diamond nestled snugly in the center of a ring of smaller diamonds that shone like the stars, as he gripped it between his thumb and forefinger. "You told me to keep this ring and give it to you when I was sure that you were the woman I wanted to spend the rest of my life with."
Tears fell unchecked from Bridget's face as she nodded.
"Well, the truth is I should have given it to you the second you told me to wait because deep down I knew that you were the woman I wanted to spend my life with. You are, Bridget. You are the woman I love more than my next breath and I want to spend a lifetime proving it to you. I love you, I trust you, and I want to pledge my life to yours', from this day on. Will you marry me?"
Bridget closed her eyes and marveled at the intensity of her love for the man at her feet. He was everything to her, but she needed to make sure he knew everything before she said the word that was shouting in her heart.
"I love you, Andrew, more than you could ever know but I need to tell you something before I give you my answer."
The crowd murmured in confusion.
Bridget leaned down, cupped her hand against Andrew's ear, and whispered softly, "I'm pregnant."
Andrew's head shot up and Bridget laughed at his staggered look. He wasn't the only one who could pull off a surprise.
"You are?" he whispered, with shell-shocked eyes. He was going to be a father again. For a split second he wasn't sure what to feel, after all, he had twins less than a year old, but soon joy, absolute joy overshadowed everything else.
Shouting with happiness. He picked Bridget up and kissed her hard before spinning her around. Her laughter shot out and affected the crowd who laughed with her.
Quickly, Andrew set her down and cupped her face in his hands and kissed her sweetly.
"You're happy, I take it," she whispered.
"No," he said seriously before breaking into a face splitting grin. "I'm ecstatic!" He kissed her again before he suddenly stopped and stepped back. He crouched until he was eye to eye with the love of his life. "You still haven't answered my question."
"Yes," she said simply. "I will marry you."
The smile on his face could have lit the whole of Manhattan. He placed the ring on her finger and dipped her in his arms kissing the breath from her body.
The crowd clapped, shouted, and whistled in approval.
He set her upright before turning them both to face their friends.
"Well, we are getting married and I'm going to insist it is soon," Bridget said slyly before adding, "because I'm pregnant!"
Juliet's jaw dropped, she shrieked, and ran forward hugging them both while the crowd clapped and called out congratulations.
"I hope I get a brother!" Juliet said as she hugged them both before dancing away.
Andrew laughed and hugged Bridget from behind. Gently he cupped his hands over her still flat stomach. Her left hand covered his and the circle of light on her finger danced in the candlelight, reflecting the love and happiness in the hearts of the happy couple and the family and friends who surrounded them.
The End