Chapter 12 (Three's a Crowd)
When Stephanie arrived back at her hotel room, Triple H was waiting anxiously. The first thing he noticed when she walked through the door was the stoic expression on her face. It was almost as if she had seen a ghost.
"Steph, are you okay?" He asked making his way over to her.
Stephanie slowly raised her head to Triple H but her eyes were still somewhere set off in the distance. She simply could not erase the image of Lilian on the bed surrounded by what appeared to be blood stains on the sheets. Additionally, she now brandished a nice golf ball size bump on the back of her head from when Shane had flung her into the hallway.
"We have to help Lilian." Stephanie replied in a low and even tone. Her soft puppy dog eyes once again filling with tears.
Triple H looked down at his wife. The seriousness in her tone told him all he needed to know. Gently he ran a thumb just below Stephanie's cheek to catch a falling tear and wipe it away. After a brief moment of taking her in, he then suddenly turned and headed toward the night stand where his cell phone was and scooped it up into his hand.
Stephanie immediately lifted her head just as he started dialing. She frantically ran to him and pulled the phone from his hands.
"Hunter, what are you doing?" She asked alarmed.
"Calling Vince, he needs to know what's going on." Triple H responded.
"No!" Stephanie shouted.
Triple H couldn't believe what he was hearing. Was Stephanie actually going to defend Shane again especially now knowing what she knew?
"Okay, then I'll call the police." Triple H responded as he moved closer to Stephanie and tried to grab the phone from her hand.
"No Hunter!" Stephanie repeated as she twisted her body so that he was unable to reach her, or the phone. "It would destroy Dad. More importantly, it would destroy Mom." Stephanie cried and to this Triple H backed away.
She was right. Vince, and especially Linda, would be devastated. Shane had always been a mama's boy. For Linda to find out that her only son was abusing another woman would hurt her more than anything in the world. For as much as Triple H hated Shane and wanted the world to know what a bastard he really was, he simply did not have the heart to hurt a woman like Linda McMahon. A woman he considered as close to him as his own mother.
"Okay then, what do we do?" Triple H asked.
After a few seconds to actually think about the question, Stephanie cleared her throat and wiped whatever tears she has left away from her face. She had been forced to digest a lot in one night. First the false news that Triple H was fooling around with Lilian and then the realization that Shane had more than just a bad temper, he was actually physically abusing Lilian.
"I think I might have an idea." She said plainly, just before turning to wash off her face in the bathroom, leaving Triple H to wonder what the hell was going on inside Stephanie McMahon's head.
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The following morning Lilian remained clutching herself under the covers. She wanted to wait until Shane was gone before getting out of bed. Not only had she been violated and raped, but she was now feeling dirty and was determined now more than ever never to let Shane see the nakedness of her body again. She would be damned if he would possess her in that way. If Shane wanted to own someone for their body, it would have to be one of his little diva whores', but it would not be Lilian. Despite this strong declaration though, Shane still possessed Lilian's mind.
"Are you ever going to get up Lil? We have a plane to catch." Shane asked as he finished fixing his tie and acting as if nothing happened the previous night. Lilian knew though that Stephanie's appearance last night had rattled him. It was when Shane was acting the most calm that he was actually the most unnerved.
When Lilian didn't answer, Shane walked over to her and sat down on the bed. His eyes traced along her body, taking special note of the sheets that were now stained with Lilian's blood.
'It didn't have to be this way Lilian. I'm sorry if I hurt you, but you have no idea what it feels like to be betrayed in the way you betrayed me." Shane said as he let his fingers run through the silkiness of her blond hair in an effort to console her.
"How did I betray you Shane?" Lilian asked sternly. Sometimes Shane's comments never seemed to baffle her. He had always managed to twist things around no matter how glaring the evidence against him, and not her, was.
Shane signed. He didn't want to have to go through this again.
"I told you to stay away from Hunter. You defied me; you embarrassed not only me but my entire family." Shane then paused for a moment and continued running his fingers through her hair as if pacifying some sort of household pet. "But I forgive you Lilian. Let's just move on." He finished as he bent down and kissed her on the cheek, and then got up from the bed.
As Lilian watched him walk away she decided that she would no longer take his empty apologies. Everything Shane did was physical. If he hit her one night, he always followed the next morning with a tender kiss or gentle hug. He knew how effective his touch could be with her, but the more Shane abused Lilian's body while taking advantage of other women to fulfill his own sexual needs, the lesser the affect his charm had on her.
"Stephanie knows!" Lilian called out.
Shane abruptly stopped in his tracks. It was his hope that he would not have to hear Stephanie's name until he had a chance to speak with her about last night face to face. He knew there was no getting around it, he would have to convince Stephanie that what had happened was a one time thing and would never happen again. But the way that Lilian reminded Shane of what Stephanie saw last night not only angered him, but reminded him that yes, he did have something to fear now.
"Fuck Stephanie. She saw me lose my temper, that's it. You need to keep your mouth shut Lilian. I said I was sorry, don't make me hurt you again, capish?" Shane snarled and then walked out the door slamming it behind him.
As soon as Lilian saw that Shane was gone, she finally made a motion to get out of bed and take a shower. Her body ached from the way Shane had forced himself inside of her. She knew that she had to leave him but wondered how. Was it as simple as just asking him for a divorce? Of course not. Shane was a McMahon, he was powerful, he was part owner of the company she worked for. A divorce would mean not only the end of her career, but her dignity and reputation as well. Lilian didn't have the lawyers that the McMahon's had at their disposal. Maybe if she simply did as Shane asked, and not question him about his own affairs, she wouldn't have to worry about another night like last night. Maybe last night really was just a one time thing. Lilian thought hard about the future. She was tough enough to handle a smack from Shane every so often, but not another violation. As Lilian stepped into the shower and watched the pinkness of the water fall off her body and into the drain she decided to press onward and not think about what might happen. She would convince herself that yes, last night was a one time thing, it would never happen again. A divorce would have to wait.
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"Hello?" An man with a low monotone voice answered as he picked up the phone.
"Hi, it's Stephanie McMahon." Stephanie replied in a businesslike voice.
Upon hearing Stephanie's voice, the man on the other line groaned. He wasn't exactly a fan of any one of the McMahon's. Stephanie was no exception.
"Okay." The man replied with blatant rudeness. Stephanie knew this wouldn't be easy, but she continued.
"I'd like to bring you to Raw." Stephanie proposed understanding the man's irritation and cutting right to the chase.
"The Boy Wonder have a change of heart?" The man asked referring to Stephanie's brother. Shane was the reason he was moved to Smackdown in the first place. Everyone knew that Smackdown had always been considered second fiddle to Raw. The man considered the move a slap in the face.
"No, but that doesn't matter. We need you." Stephanie replied.
"Who's we?" The man asked cautiously.
"Me, Hunter and uh..." Stephanie paused for a moment to clear her throat. "And uh, Lilian." She said with hesitation.
After hearing Lilian's name, the man on the other line groaned again. He suddenly felt a headache coming on as he weighed his alternatives. His instinct and desire was to jump at the chance to go back to Raw and see Lilian, his common sense and need to be a martyr warned against it.
"Raw huh? Who would I feud against?" The man asked hoping to find some sort of excuse to jump to the other brand.
Stephanie thought carefully about her answer. She had admittedly put the man through some very lame feuds, one involving her very own brother, this time she would make it worth his while.
"I'm thinking Edge, maybe Khali, but then again there's someone else you might benefit in feuding against." Stephanie suggested.
The man rolled his eyes. He hated backstage politics and playing games.
"Not Shane again." He growled.
Stephanie chuckled slightly.
"Possibly, but don't worry, you won't have to sell him as some sort of tough guy. Real men don't hit women." She finished leaving the other man guessing just what in the hell she was talking about.
"Okay Stephanie, I'll go to Raw. But if I have to work with Shane, or Lilian for that matter, I'm leaving." The man replied with authority and then abruptly hung up the phone.
As Stephanie disconnected her phone, Triple H came up behind her.
"How did it go?" He asked.
Stephanie smirked before letting a smile cross her lips.
"He'll be at Raw next week." Stephanie replied, and then continued. "If anyone can convince Lilian to leave Shane, it's him."
Chapter 13 (First Day Back at Raw)
A/N: Okay, so any guesses as to who the new character is? I decided to go with the strong, silent type who isn't necessarily good looking, but whose history might surprise you. Plus, several people voted for this option (although it was close) so there you have it. The other mystery man (the one who was more of a jokester and who had a history with The McMahon's) was Chris Jericho. I miss him so much and was very tempted to use him, but I liked the idea of the other guy too. Please don't hate me. Anyway, the other guy will be revealed in the next chapter. As always, please let me know what you thought of this chapter and thank you!