Chapter Twelve
The morning sun rising across the horizon emitted tranquility, but it did not permeate Daniel. His body was burdened with the enormity of the situation at hand. He felt Emily joining him on the porch swing, her presence comforting as always. "Did you get any sleep last night?" She softly asked, her eyes also fixating on the breathtaking sunrise.
"Not much. Sorry if I kept you up. I just...couldn't get the images of last night out of my mind."
Emily had trouble sleeping as well. She had spent most of the night having her mind filled with various questions and strategies as she contemplated their future and how to protect it. "Daniel...what did you do... with Helen Crowley's body?" Emily pensively asked, unsure if she wanted to know the answer. Did it even really matter?
Daniel sighed, recalling his actions with disgust. "I helped my dad...roll her up in the floor rug... And then he called in one of his favors to have her body removed from the premises." He shook his head, that familiar knot forming in his stomach. "I still can't believe my mother killed her in cold blood."
"I'm not excusing what Victoria did, but... she obviously thought she was protecting you." Emily's voice was low and calm as her eyes silently called to him. Daniel turned his head to look at her. "I now can understand a mother's need to protect her child." It was a true statement, and they shared an understanding gaze at one another.
"I think you're being far more gracious than my parents or I deserve, Em. Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful. It's just...I don't understand how you can be so calm about all of it."
"When have you ever known me to flip out about something?" Emily reminded with a tiny smirk, and Daniel couldn't help from smiling just a bit in response. She was constantly steady and collected. It was one of the many things he loved so much about her.
"True. But it would be justified in this case."
"Well... I may seem calm, but... I'm terrified of what the Initiative is trying to do, Daniel. What they will do, if we don't stop them." Daniel nodded, hating that he had inadvertently involved them in this battle. Emily continued, her voice shifting to a firm whisper while her eyes simultaneously darkened with disdain. "And for the record... I think what your parents did to David and Amanda Clarke was despicable."
Daniel looked away for a brief moment and closed his own eyes at the mention of Amanda's name, the woman who had become one of Emily's closest friends. "I didn't even think about the position this was putting you in with Amanda, Em. I'm sorry."
Emily did not want Daniel to feel guilty when, in actuality, she was Amanda and none of what he had confessed regarding David Clarke was new information to her. She was the one who was guilty on so many levels. And with each passing day, it was becoming harder for her to live with this fact.
"Amanda already knows her father was an innocent man. She doesn't believe he was capable of doing the things everyone said he did." At least it wasn't a lie. The sin of omission seemed to be Emily's most common transgression these days.
"Are you going to tell her what I told you last night?" Daniel tentatively questioned. He knew it would not be right to ask Emily to keep such a secret, but hoped she would, nonetheless. At least for the time being.
"Tomorrow's her wedding day. I don't want to ruin that," Emily gently replied and paused. "Daniel, I wouldn't do anything that would hurt you. But... I don't think your parents should get away with what they've done. I want justice for Amanda and her father." Emily waited with baited breath for him to respond. She knew she was venturing into risky territory. Though Daniel's objection of his parent's actions was clear, they were still his parents.
But he seemed to take her statement in stride, and his expression reflected that of agreement. "I shouldn't have protected them when I found out the truth last winter."
Emily found herself relieved once again that Daniel's will was proving to be stronger than his bloodline. At one time, she had felt his previous decision to support his father would be their relationship's undoing, but now it seemed quite an insignificant moment of the past. It occurred to Emily then that Daniel was the first person she had ever truly forgiven.
She shrugged her shoulders in attempt to downplay his prior choice. "They're your family."
Daniel wrapped his hand around her's, feeling undeserving of her support. "You're my family now. And Charlotte, of course."
Emily smiled wryly just as he received a phone call from Victoria. It was a brief conversation, and Daniel sighed heavily once it ended. "My mother has summoned me to the house to discuss our...plan."
"Would you like me to go with you?" Emily offered.
"No. Thanks though. I think it's best my parents not know what all I've told you." Emily nodded understandingly. "I better go get dressed." Daniel placed his hand to her hair, kissing her forehead quickly as he rose from the swing. Emily sat motionless while he retreated inside, composing her thoughts. She needed to speak with Nolan.
With Daniel headed to Grayson Manor, Emily took a shower as well and was in the process of getting dressed for the day when she initiated a much needed phone call to her best friend. Nolan answered almost immediately. "Ems, I'm glad you called. I researched the video of Aiden's sister, and...it was made six years ago, not a few days ago."
Emily felt a combination of relief and despair. Relief in that she was not responsible in any part of Colleen's death, but greatly saddened for the further confirmation of Aiden's loss. "Does Aiden know this?"
"Yes. It wasn't your fault." He whispered. Nolan hated the outcome, but was desperate for Emily to know the truth, to know that she had not made the wrong choice in convincing Aiden to spare Victoria's life. He heard her sigh on the other end of the phone.
"Where is he now?"
"I don't know. I was able to determine that the warehouse where the video was shot is local, and I hacked the police department's medical records. Aiden and I saw the coroner's report on Colleen... He took off after that."
"Thank you for helping him, Nolan."
"I'm just sorry it didn't have a happy ending."
"The Initiative's to blame for that." She sighed again as she now stood in front of her closet, absently contemplating what to wear. "I've decided to tell Daniel about Carrion."
"What? Ems, I don't think that's a good idea."
Being that loose dresses were now a staple of her wardrobe, Emily grabbed a gray and yellow patterned one and slipped it on, holding her phone in the nook of her neck as she did so. "Nolan, he deserves to know as much as we do about what the Initiative is planning."
She did have a point, but he could tell by the tone of her voice, there was more to it. "Did something happen?"
"Yes. A lot, actually. I set it up so that Victoria would tell Daniel about the Initiative which she did, but... she also killed Helen Crowley last night."
"Holy - moly. That's cold...even for her."
"I know. But you and I both know that even though Helen is gone, they'll send someone else in her place... And Daniel also admitted... his parent's guilt about what they did to my dad."
"Geez..." Nolan mumbled, taken aback.
Emily had returned to the bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror, almost as if considering her identity. "He doesn't want there to be any secrets between us, Nolan. I don't want there to be either, and it's killing me that I'm keeping the biggest one of all."
"Ems, I understand that you want to be honest. I think it's great. But you need to be really sure before you tell Daniel the entire truth."
"I know... and I'm not ready yet. Once I do...he...may never trust me again. He may never be able to forgive me." Her voice became very quiet as her sentence ended. The thought of forever losing Daniel's love and trust was quite disheartening.
She heard Daniel arrive back home, announcing his presence from downstairs and calling to her. "I gotta go. I'll call you later," Emily muttered to Nolan and ended the call. "I'm upstairs in the bathroom, Daniel." Her reply was loud enough so he could hear, and Daniel appeared before her moments later. "That was a fast meeting," Emily commented, adding a pair of earrings to her ensemble for the day.
"My parents wanted to make it quick because they'd ordered the staff back to the house." Daniel stopped in the bathroom doorway to explain, leaning against the door frame as he did so. "It seems their Labor Day party is still going on tonight as planned. My father has even decided to make his gubernatorial announcement at the party." It still managed to dumbfound Daniel that his parents could proceed with their daily routines as if nothing had happened.
"Oh, and I almost forgot the most important detail in all of this," Daniel added sarcastically. "He has requested you to either wear red or white. Even though blue is just as patriotic, he wants us all to appear unified for the camera." Daniel rolled his eyes as he walked into the bedroom with Emily following behind.
Emily rolled her eyes as well at Conrad's narcissism. "Well, lucky for him, I already bought a red dress."
"Ugh...this is madness." Daniel sat down on the bench at the foot of their bed, dropping his head to his hands. Emily took a seat next to him and ran her hand along his back comfortingly.
"Daniel, there's something I need to tell you. It's about the Initiative." Daniel lifted his head to look at her, his questioning eyes serious. "Nolan told me that...he abandoned a project several years ago called Carrion."
Daniel paused in recollection. "I remember seeing that name when I was reviewing the NolCorp reports. I had intended to question him about it, but hadn't gotten around to it yet with all that's been going on... Why did he abandon the project?"
"Because of the damage it could do. The program would have the ability to knock Manhattan off the power grid in a matter of seconds."
"What does that have to do with the Initiative?" Daniel slowly asked.
"Turns out...Padma Lahari, Nolan's CFO, works for the Initiative. She's been trying to get her hands on the program. Daniel, Padma was the one who started all of this when she requested David Clarke's employee file."
He nodded, processing what he was hearing. "I guess my becoming CEO has been part of their plan all along... Did Padma find the program?"
"No. And even if she had, Nolan said it's not finished."
The brevity of their conversation hung heavily in the air, and they sat in silence briefly. Daniel turned to Emily. "So... they want to turn the lights out in the entire city?"
Emily slightly nodded, trying to imagine what the Initiative might have in store. "And unleash their wrath while it's dark."
Daniel paused at the endless possibilities. "I've got to go into work for a little while."
"It's Saturday," Emily reminded with a crinkled brow.
"It's part of my mother's cover up plan of making it appear as though Helen is still alive." Emily now arched her brow and Daniel shook his head, acutely aware of the absurdity of the situation. "I'll fill you in more later." He kissed her goodbye for the second time that morning and left Emily to her thoughts once again.
"Miss Crowley, Daniel Grayson. I'm sorry we weren't able to have our meeting last night, but I wanted to confirm you were still planning on coming to my parent's party tonight -" Daniel said recorded on the deceased woman's voice-mail; a voice-mail he knew she would never hear. He stopped short as Victoria glided into his office at Grayson Global.
"Miss Crowley is preoccupied with a more pressing matter at the moment," The raven-haired beauty informed.
Daniel ended the intentional false call and addressed his mother. "You've spoken to her?"
"Oh, yes. She came over to the house last night. It seems someone tipped her off to the evidence I've been holding."
"And let me guess...forced you at gunpoint to hand it over?"
Victoria remained serious despite her son's sarcasm. "No, I gave it to her willingly to save you."
"This story gets more and more ridiculous every time you open your mouth," Daniel scoffed. "You never had any evidence against Helen Crowley because there never was any conspiracy against you. You know damn well I was never in any danger."
"You read the file that I gave you yesterday, Daniel," Victoria insisted.
"Yeah, yeah, I did. And everything in it's a big lie. Listen, all Helen's company is guilty of is nearly doubling the size of our fund. And you knew that if you spoiled my relationship with them, Dad could take back Grayson Global."
"Oh, you need to pull the wool from your eyes -"
"No, I need to pull you from my life," Daniel bitingly replied causing Victoria to leave.
Their entire conversation had, of course, been a ruse for the benefit of whoever was watching the hidden camera in Daniel's office. His last sentence, hateful as it was, rang true to his core though. Victoria turned briefly at the office door before exiting his office, and smiled smugly at him, pleased at their performances.
"Thought I might find you here," Emily said as she approached Aiden who stood stoically staring at the wooden cross that which marked his sister's place of burial. It was one in a long line of nameless graves.
"She deserved better than this," He commented, not looking at Emily.
"I know. I'm so sorry."
After several moments of silence, Aiden seemed to reach a time of conclusion and looked over at Emily, who was waiting patiently. "I'm sorry that I caused you to go to the hospital. I took my anger out on you, but as angry as I was, I never meant you or your baby harm."
"I know that. And it wasn't entirely your fault. Victoria had just left right before you arrived. I'd allowed her to get the best of me. It won't happen again," Emily said with resolve. "I've completely gone against Takeda's teachings... I've allowed myself to become emotionally involved. I swore... I would never let anyone in again so that... there would be nothing to lose." Her eyes fell to her swollen stomach momentarily as her mind returned to Daniel. "Now, I have two major weaknesses."
"Takeda's teachings aren't all they're cracked up to be. They leave you alone in this world." Aiden brushed passed Emily, stopping a few feet away and turning back to face her. "You have people worth fighting for. Who do I have?"
"Aiden -" Emily breathed, feeling badly for him.
"Don't take pity on me, Emily. I don't need it or want it."
Enough said. Emily knew Aiden meant his words and dropped the thought. "Where will you go now?" She questioned, watching an icy determination fill his blue eyes.
"I'm going to find the bastard who killed my sister. End this once and for all."
Emily watched Aiden walk away, understanding his need to see his mission to completion, but wishing that it would take him somewhere far from the Hamptons.
Once Emily returned to the beach house, she realized just how fatigued she had become. The lack of sleep combined with the intensity of what all had been occurring was beginning to take its toll. It was a beautiful day though, and she left both sets of double doors open as she often did, allowing the wind to gently flow through the curtain sheers.
Emily slowly sat down on the sofa and leaned her head back against the cushions, closing her eyes. She was not certain if she had been asleep fifteen minutes or fifteen seconds when Charlotte's jubilant voice awakened her. The brunette immediately apologized when she realized she had disturbed her sister in-law.
Emily sat up with a forgiving smile. "It's okay, Charlotte. What's all this?"
Charlotte's arms were full with bags, hanging fabric samples, and her tablet protectively gripped somewhere in between. "You're having a baby, remember? We need to get to work on the nursery." She plopped down on the sofa, unloading the paraphernalia onto the coffee table.
Emily chuckled. "Of course. I guess I'm a little behind."
"I know there's been a lot going on lately, and I wanted to do something nice for you... show you what a good aunt I'm going to be my niece. By the way... have you and Daniel decided on a name yet?"
"I have no doubt that you're going to be great aunt. You're already a great one to Carl," Emily reminded with a smile. "And no...we decided we want to meet her first."
"That is so sweet. I can't wait for her to be here, and I'm so excited that I'm going to have a niece as well. And let's face it, girly stuff is so much fun! I've been getting ideas on Pintrist, and I wanted to see if you like any of them. You can totally veto anything." Emily sat in amusement as Charlotte continued to ramble in a giddy fashion, showing Emily images on her tablet, and then referring to the various fabric and paint card samples she'd brought along.
It was a sweet time shared between the two sisters, and one that Emily did not want to forfeit, regardless of the insanity going on outside of the beach house which was weighing greatly on her mind.
Charlotte was long gone by the time Daniel arrived back home, and finding the downstairs empty once again, he assumed Emily was upstairs getting ready for the party. She was not in master suite though as he had suspected. "Em?"
"In here." He could tell her reply came from the guest bedroom down the hallway. Daniel found her sitting on the bed, various fabrics and paint card samples spread out all around her. It was an unexpected and comical sight, he thought.
"What's all this?"
"Charlotte surprised me with these samples for the nursery,"Emily replied while continuing to examine the fabrics before her in comparison with the paint cards. "What do you think? Lace or tulle?" She looked up at him quizzically and Daniel had to laugh.
"To be honest, I don't even know what tulle is," He admitted with another laugh.
Emily frowned. "Sorry. I know we have more important things going on right now besides which fabric overlay is going to be used on the bumper pad for the crib."
Daniel gently cleared a place on the bed and took a seat with remorse. "No, I'm the one who's sorry. We should be focused on getting ready for the baby instead of getting ready for the Initiative."
Emily had grown accustomed to times of joy being overshadowed by chaos, and found it only to inspire greater determination to persevere. "We still have plenty of time to get ready for the baby," She said in soft optimism and placed a kiss to Daniel's lips.
He wondered how it was possible to love her more each day when he already loved her with his entire heart. Emily recognized the familiar sparkle reflecting in his eyes, the sparkle she now feared she would lose one day. "Speaking of getting ready...we better get ready for the party. How did it go at the office?"
Daniel stood and offered his hands to help her up as well. "According to plan. Let's hope whoever's watching the hidden camera in my office bought it."
"Emily, don't you just look positively radiant tonight," Conrad overtly complimented when she and Daniel arrived to the party, arms linked. Her red dress was simple, but dazzling and matched Daniel's tie which complimented his dark suite perfectly.
Emily forced a polite smile. "Why, thank you, Conrad. I hope it will send the right message to the camera tonight during your announcement."
"I have no doubt it will." Turning his attention to his son, "Daniel, smile. This is a party. You look as though someone died." Daniel clenched his jaw as Conrad firmly patted his shoulder and walked away.
"Don't let him get to you," Emily gently advised under her breath.
A peculiar looking man with brown hair severely parted on the side and a thin mouth approached them then. "Daniel Grayson? It's nice to meet you."
Daniel extended his hand, smiling cordially. "You as well, Mr. -?"
"Call me Trask," The man replied, releasing Daniel's hand.
"Trask. This is my wife, Emily."
"Pleasure." Trask briefly acknowledged her presence before returning to business. "I'm Helen Crowley's replacement. That is, if a woman like Helen could ever really be replaced."
Daniel swallowed hard as his heart rate increased. "I see. I hope everything is okay with Helen?"
"She's moved on to greener pastures, but...she always spoke very highly of you which is why our firm is choosing to keep our investments with Grayson Global."
"Well, I appreciate that." Daniel's expression was strained at best. He hoped it was not as obvious as it felt. Emily remained silent by her husband's side, assessing the newest member of the Initiative they were encountering. He seemed to be void of any emotion whatsoever, she noted.
"I'll be giving you a call in the morning. We're interested in making additional foreign trades," Trask informed.
Daniel tried to stay extremely calm, even though internally, he wanted to scream. "Of course."
"Until tomorrow." Trask slid into the crowd, and Emily felt a chill roll down her spine.
"I hate to say this, but I think I preferred Helen Crowley," She muttered, only for Daniel's ears.
"I know what you mean." Daniel concurred as they watched Trask approach Conrad and Victoria. Moments later, the trio were sneaking away for a private meeting. "I'm sure he wants to discuss Helen's disappearance with my parents."
"Hello, you two. You look smashing as always," Ashley greeted with charming smile and added,"It's positively nauseating." Daniel and Emily lightly laughed at her dramatic expression.
"Ashley, you look smashing, too." Emily complimented, smiling pleasantly in return; she and Daniel both forcing themselves to brush off what had just transpired with Trask. And Ashley did look her usual fashionable self, wearing a fitted, but tasteful, white, sleeveless dress.
"Yeah, how did my dad manage to convince you to be the communications director for his campaign, by the way?" Daniel asked causing Ashley's smile to fade.
"What can I say...he made me an offer I couldn't refuse." Both Daniel and Emily could tell there was more to the story than Ashley was letting on, but neither had the chance to question her further about it. "Speaking of which, I believe it's about time for your father's announcement."
Minutes later, Ashley had rounded up the Grayson clan to stand in front of the fireplace and commanded the attention of the guests. With the photographer properly in place, she proceeded, hands clasped at her chest. "Ladies and Gentlemen, it is my pleasure to introduce Conrad Grayson and his family."
"Thank you. And it is our pleasure to stand here with our closest friends and supporters on this Labor Day," Conrad suavely began. "With the blessings of my wife, children, and dare I say, future grandchild, I have decided to announce that I will humbly be seeking the opportunity to serve as your next governor."
The intimate crowd began to cheer and applaud at this, and Daniel regretfully let go of Emily's hand so that they could force themselves to join in the applause. As Emily looked out at the ignorant audience, she had a renewed sense of determination to expose Conrad and Victoria for the monsters they really were.
From the back of the room, Trask observed the regal family. His eyes landed on the pregnant blonde who standing stoically beside her family by marriage. Though he had not paid much attention to Emily before, it now occurred to him that she could serve a far greater purpose in their plan.
A/N: Sorry for the delay in posting this update! I had intended to finish and upload it much sooner. Thank you for all your sweet words of encouragement! I just love reading your thoughts, and so hope you are still interested and enjoying this story. I still have lots of ideas for the chapters ahead. And for those of you who are not Aiden fans, never fear...he will make an exit from this story in due time. I have no intention of Aimly being a part of it. I'm just trying to keep the story "realistic". Anyway, your feedback on this chapter would be greatly appreciated as always!
P.S. - Who watched Revenge tonight? Please tell me I'm not the only one that LOVED the Demily scenes. They still got it, if you ask me. :)