Chapter 36

From the arms of a stranger

Ty and Amy waited in together, hearing the sounds of people walking and talking outside the meeting rooms door.

Amy could see Ty was anxious, although he had agreed to meet with this person, he still had his reservations. He had pushed his hands deep into his pockets, hiding the shakes that ran through them. He didn't want to worry Amy, but since his time on the stand and the cross-examination, he had been having trouble controlling the tremors that ran through his body. Doctor Delray had told him that they were a side effect of the brain injury, caused by overstimulation and

stress causing misfires and crossed signals to be sent throughout his body. With time the symptoms would hopefully disappear, but for now, they were a clear indicator that he was running on overdrive and needed some time to regroup and breathe.

Ty stood up and walked to the back of the room, trying to settle himself and not show how nervous he was. Amy watched him with concern, she wasn't buying this fake persona he was giving her. She could see how on edge he was and didn't quite know what to do to help him alleviate it.

She turned to the door when she heard the lock unhitch and the handle turn,

"here we go," Ty said in a whisper, also watching as the door opened and a tall slender woman entered the room.

Ty's mouth dropped slightly in confusion, he didn't recognize her, she was a complete stranger to him, he slowly walked back towards the back of the settee, starting to think he maybe hadn't remembered everything as he thought he had.

"Mr. Borden, "the woman said, her hands clenched together tightly over her stomach. "it's so nice to finally meet you"

Amy looked at Ty and saw the confusion on his face, his eyes trying to connect with something, anything that would make this woman familiar to him. But still, he came up blank.

She was a tall slender woman in her mid to late 40s, her hair a dark shiny brown and pulled sensibly back into a tight bun at the back of her head, she was dressed in a simple yet high-end outfit and held a small tote bag to her waist as she tried to get a read on how this introduction was going to go.

"do… I know you?" Ty asked, his eyes still searching her as she stood before him.

"no Ty, can I call you Ty, we have never met in person, but I know you well. "She stepped forward but saw Ty involuntarily take a step away from the settee, keeping his distance.

"and you must be Amy, I have been told about you too, "she smiled,

Amy smiled back, trying to be sociable but her confusion was making it hard, "Um, how are you….? "she said, "involved in all this, who are you?"

The older lady's smile faded slightly and she motioned towards the settee and Any nodded and moved over so she could sit down. Amy could see Ty had questions, but as he was keeping his distance she decided to be the voice and get things moving.

"I have been involved with all of this for some time now, and after everything that has come to light, I realized that I couldn't just stay quiet any longer. "she looked down at her aged hands and then back at Ty." When the DA came to me and explained what you had endured, I knew I had to come forward and give them the help they needed. You have suffered so much at the hands of my family, and I know I can never repair that for you"

"your family," Ty breathed,

"Yes, "she said, her black eyes watching Ty as he came a little closer,

Ty froze, the resemblance finally hitting him. "your Ivanna Duponte" he stated, his breath hitching in his throat, "your Bens sister!"

Amy's mouth gaped slightly as the realization that she was sitting next to the sister of the man who had systematically tried to destroy her boyfriend hit home.

"You …. You and that daughter of yours tried to set me up!" Ty exclaimed, his hand now running through his hair in exasperation.

"no. no Ty, please listen, I didn't know what my brother was up too, he told me he had a great Job for Sarah where she could focus on her studies. He never told me anything about you and what had happened. "her eyes pleaded with Ty and he exhaled loudly and turned away, his mind a mess of confusion and innuendo.

"But Sarah said you told her to get close to Ty, and then frame him "Amy rebutted, "We heard the tape, she said it was you and Ben who came up with the idea. "

"I spoke to Ben, I'll admit that he told me of a young man who used to work for him, who was needing some one -on- one physio work. He said you had been in a serious accident while in his employ and that he felt responsible for your care and rehabilitation."

She heard Ty laugh roughly, and watched him turn away.

"I know it's hard to understand, but I'm telling you the truth, "she shut her eyes, her face showing her pain that he was not taking what she was saying as the truth.

"Hard to understand!" Ty rebutted, his back still turned to her, "Your daughter nearly had me thrown in jail for assault, twice, "

"She is unstable, I know that now and I'm so sorry she tried to hurt you, I assure you, she will get the best help necessary. "

Ty suddenly turned and looked Ivanna in the eyes, "if you didn't know about any of this, why where you footing the bill for my stay at Greenslades? Sarah told me you covered all my medical expenses, that doesn't sound like someone who isn't involved" he demanded.

"Yes, that is true, I paid for all your expenses, Ben told me that he wanted you covered, but his money was tied up in investments. So, to help him out, I countersigned for our company to cover the costs. "

'I&D Holdings "Amy breathed, "Ivanna and Dawson "She turned to Ty who had now turned back to look at them both,

"yes, that's our company, "she said, "we are a subsidiary of the RG group which was run by our late father, Benjamin Senior,"

"RG Group own s River Glenn," Ty said flatly, looking past her.

"ok ok, "Amy interjected, "I can see how all this was orchestrated from the get-go by your brother, but how can you be standing up in a courtroom telling them that the company you and Ben own paid for Tys Medical bills possibly help in the case against Ben. All it shows is that Ben once again tried to look after Ty not hurt him".

Ivanna took a breath and looked up at Ty and then back at Amy. "that is true my dear, that's why I'm, not the one who's testifying today, "

Amy's face looked more confused than ever now. She looked over at Ty as he came around to the front of the settee and stared at Bens sister in disbelief.

"If you're not testifying, then who is?" he asked

"I told you I wanted to help them get to the truth, so when they came to me, I knew that I had to convince my house guest that it was time to stand up and be counted, no matter the cost or the threat. This is the person who testifies today, not me"

With that Ivanna stood up, and slowly walked over to the door and turned the knob, Ty's face turned to stone as a young raven-haired woman slowly walked into the room. Removing her headscarf and her sunglasses. She looked directly at Ty and her bottom lip quivered,

"Kallie!" Ty whispered, his voice hardly audible. His face suddenly still.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The young woman slowly walked further into the room, she looked at Amy whos mouth was agape with surprise. Her words failing her.

"I'll wait outside for you," Ivanna said to Kallie as she stepped through the door, she turned at the last minute to look directly at Ty and Amy who still were looking on in shock at the surprise visitor.

"I'm so sorry Ty for everything that my family has done to you, I know I have no right to ask this, but one day, I hope you will be able to forgive me and move on from this"

With those parting words, Ivanna walked through the door and closed it behind her.

The room fell into silence, Ty had stepped further back from the settee, his green eyes glued to Kallie as she nervously played with her scarf.

"thank you for agreeing to see me," Kaliie said softly, "You look well Ty"

"no thanks to you" Ty replied coldly, "why are you here Kallie, you get a sudden crisis of conscious " Ty wasn't buying the sudden change of heart she was supposedly having. Kallie had betrayed him before and he wasn't about to be sucked in again.

"I'm going to do what I should have done from the beginning," she said softly her gaze shifting to Amy. "I can't let this go on any further,"

Ty chuffed and turned away, shaking his head, his obvious contempt showing.

"why did you run Kallie, ?" Amy asked, "If you had only stayed and done the right thing, " Amy stopped, she could feel her anger rising, she knew this woman held the key to ending this nightmare, but she could also see how her presence was affecting Ty. He needed answers, and Amy was determined to get them for him.

Kallie took a slow steadying breath and looked at Amy, knowing Ty was listening even though his back was to her." Ben threatened my father, I had no choice, If I had stayed, he would have killed him," her eyes pleaded her case, "he's all the family I have left"

"so, what's changed now ?" Amy rebutted, "if you go out there today and tell your story, your father will still be in danger, won't he?"

"The DA has promised to protect him, they are moving him to a facility in Toronto," She said, "he will serve his time there, as will I" Kallie saw the look of surprise on Amys face at the mention of her own charges,

"yes, Amy, by testifying I am admitting my part in all of this, I'll be charged and I will never be able to finish my medical degree, "she dropped her head and took a breath, "I'm not making excuses, I want this to be over just like you do"

"and in exchange for this sudden need to do the right thing?" Ty questioned,

Kallie sighed softly, "they offered me amnesty if I testified, but I refused it, I am going to serve my time for what I did, "

Ty turned around, his eyes meeting hers, "I trusted you, "he said softly, "I asked you for help when I had no one else and you turned your back on me, you lied to me" there was a slight quaver in his voice, the anger was gone and had been replaced with an ache from her betrayal.

"I don't expect you to forgive me, Ty," Kallie said, "but please understand I'm not running anymore, Ivanna convinced me that I need to do this. "

The door slowly opened and the DA looked inside, "its time, "he said, and Kallie nodded and turned back towards the door.

"I am sorry Ty, "she said softly, "I should have been stronger, and stopped that evil man way before you came onto the scene, maybe if I had been braver, you wouldn't have had to go through all this and my brother would still be alive,"

"you can fix that now Kallie," Amy said softly, "this is your chance to set this right "

"I'm doing this for Clay and for you Ty, I just hope one day you will be able to forgive me"

Kallie nodded at Amy and looked defeatedly at Ty, knowing that the only way she was going to prove to him that she was worthy was to follow through.

The door closed and Amy turned to Ty who's face was still and cold,

"you need to let this anger go, Ty,, otherwise it is going to consume you" she warned

"that's easier said than done Amy, you don't understand, I thought she was my sister, I loved her as such. And she played me, "he rubbed his face and took a slow breath.

"Ty, she did call me, and tell me where to find you!, she also protected you as best she could, It must have been horrible for her.

Ty came to her side and took her hand, his face softening slightly, "I hear what you're saying ok, but I can't just pretend it doesn't hurt, I hate feeling like this, I do, but every time I see her, I just get this feeling inside that consumes me, I can't help it,"

Amy hugged him and tried to make the hurt go away. She knew that this was not easy for him.

The door opened yet again and Mr. Sutton came into the room.

"I'll escort you two back to the gallery, "he said, "Ty, I need you to remember that you're still under protective detail so you cannot leave the courtroom without an escort. "

Ty nodded and took Amy's hand in his as they followed the DA Assistant and rejoined Lou, Jack, and Tim.

Jack looked at Ty and gave him a welcoming nod as they took their seats and waited for the court to be called to session.

"so Miss Simmons, let's start from the beginning shall we, "the DA said clearly, the Judge calling for order when the courtroom broke into disarray when Kallie was called to the stand.

Ty saw Bens reaction, all be it from behind. But he could tell he wasn't happy. He leaned over to his lawyer and they had a heated under the radar conversation which ended in Ben pulling away from his council angrily and returning to his side of the bench.

"how long have you known Ben Dawson?"

"I've known Mr. Dawson since I was in my late teens, "Kallie said clearly, her voice a little shaky as her eyes met with Bens. She took a deep breath and

steadied her resolve, "when my father started working at River Glen"

"so you have been part of the River Glen family for a lot longer than this incident."

Kallie nodded, "yes, My brother and I grew up around the Dawson family, "

"your brother, tell us about him." The DA pushed,

Kallie paused, the memories hard to deal with" Clay was my younger brother, he worked for Ben Dawson with my dad. Although Clays role was off-site, he seldom came to River Glen"

"off-site?"

"yes, he was in stock procurement, "she said softly, "I didn't know what that meant until the accident when he passed away"

"please explain to the court what happened to Clay, your brother"

"Clay was killed in a riding accident, well that's what the official story was, Dad told me later that Clay had died after a deal went bad and he had been trampled loading horses"

"A deal?" The DA noticed the jury watching her intently,

explain to us what this deal involved,"

"Clay and Rusty were on a pickup with some other hands, they were collecting a load of horses and I don't know the full story but the horses spooked and Clay got caught in the trailer,"

Ty looked at Amy, this part of the story was new to him, he squeezed her hand as their attention went back to the young woman in the stand.

"I didn't know at the time that this was all illegal and that the horses where stolen racehorses, Dad had tied to keep me out of all of it, I was at medical school and only came to visit from time to time."

"your father, was he aware of the going on at River Glen? Did he know about the illegal activity?"

"yes, he did, he didn't like it, but he knew about it, he was trying to get Clay out, to get us away, but Ben had covered a lot of my father's gambling debts and he owed him. He tried to save us, but there was no way out" Kallie sipped the glass of water before her, her hands were shaking as she put the glass back down. Bens steely gaze was penetrating her and making her lose her resolve.

"let's move on when did you first meet Mr. Borden,?" The DA looked over at Ty causing the courtrooms eyes to follow, Ty looked away, the pressure of the attention making him uneasy.

"Um, I met Ty after My father called me to come and take a look at him as he was sick, "she said, "dad said he was a new hand, and that he had come up ill after a night out, "

"you were only a medical student with no license to practice is that correct?"

"yes, I am, I was a registered nurse who was in school to become a doctor, so no I didn't have a license, but my dad said it wasn't serious and that they just needed to get my opinion. I … I know now I should have told someone, but he is my dad, and he asked for my help"

"keep going Kallie, what happened when you met Ty"

"Ty was very sick, I didn't know then but he was suffering from Detomidine poisoning caused by the injection that had been given to him. He had a fever, was nauseous and had a lot of pain from the injection, I think he may have also suffered from some adverse reaction to the drug as his arm was swollen and inflamed,"

"did you treat Mr. Borden at this time "

"I did, I gave him some pain medication and some anti-nausea drugs, but I told my father that he needed to see a doctor," Kallie dropped her head, "I could see that Tys condition was much more than a hangover,"

"OBJECTION!" the defense chimed in,

"she is not a medical practitioner, so she cant say what was wrong with Mr. Borden"

"sustained, "the Judge called back,

"in your opinion, do you think Mr. Borden required medical assistance?" The DA rephrased,

"yes, from what I could see, yes, he needed to see a doctor,"

"did they take him to a doctor,?"

"no, not that I'm aware, I left him in their care that night, but I didn't see him again until after the accident"

"Ty testified that he tried to get you to help him on this first night, that he gave you a message to get to his family? Is that right?"

Ty rubbed his jaw, the memories again coming to the surface, this was the moment when she had been his only avenue out. Amy felt him fidget next to her, his Borden escape mechanism kicking in. She clasped his hand tightly in hers and gave him a look of reassurance.

"yes, they left me alone with him so I could assess his medical condition, that's when he asked me to help him, I gave him a piece of paper and a pen which I then took with me when I left,"

"OBJECTION" the defense called but the DA raised his hand with a small plastic bag in his hand

"I present exhibit 5 the note that was given to Miss Simmons from Mr. Borden" he passed it to the court clerk who then passed it onto the judge,

"Is this your handwriting Mr. Borden?" the judge asked, looking directly at Ty who now had been approached by a clerk, Ty stood up and walked with the clerk

over to the judge's bench and was given the plastic bag, he looked at the paper within and then back at the judge.

The Judge bent his microphone towards Ty who said quietly, "yes, that's the note I gave Kallie"

"thank you, Mr. Borden, you may be seated, "the judge smiled at him and motioned to the clerk to return him to his seat next to Amy. As Ty walked back, his eyes flickered to Bens who glared at him mercilessly.

"go on council, "the Judge continued,

"you said you didn't see Mr. Borden again until after his accident, explain how that came about"

Kallie swallowed hard and looked up at the courtroom, she knew this was going to be the hardest part "Rusty called me and said I was needed back at the ranch, something about an accident involving a young man who had been hurt, When I arrived Ty was unconscious, I was told by my father that he had been hit by a truck and that they wanted me to assess his condition. "

"who were they?" the DA Asked, "who was there Kallie"

"My father and Ben Dawson, "Kallie said clearly,

"Ben Dawson was there when you were called to see Mr. Borden"

The room fell silent, as everyone waited on Kallie's next response,

"yes, Ben was with me and my father in the trailer when I was brought to see Ty, "

Amy felt Tys hand grasp hers, she looked up and saw a small smile of satisfaction in the corner of his mouth, she returned the gesture, knowing that this was the first nail in Bens coffin.

"tell us what you saw, "

"Ty was laying on a bed in a mobile home, my father's mobile home, he was unconscious and had injuries that attained to being hit by a vehicle.

"explain the injuries, "the DA wanted this to be easily understood, so he pushed for more details,

"In my opinion, from my medical training, Ty had been hit by the vehicle on the upper shoulder and head, resulting in a suspected cracked shoulder blade and bruising and a hematoma to the left side of his skull, he also had a laceration that was superficial to his left temple. "

"a head injury?'"

"yes, and a bad one at that, he also suffered cuts and bruises to his arms and body from the impact"

"OBJECTION!"

"yes yes, council, she said in her opinion, we know she's not a medical doctor, "the Judge said wearily.

"what did you do for Ty at this time?" The DA continued, seeing the looks of concern flash across the juror's faces.

Amy looked at Ty who had dropped his head slightly, he could feel the eyes on him from the gallery spectators and the other court attendees. Amy looked at Jack whos face looked ashen as well, the thought of Ty in that condition without any help was weighing on his mind.

"I gave him some meds to assist with the pain when he or if he woke up, I couldn't do much as I didn't have the right equipment, I told both Ben and my father that he needed to see a doctor, but …."

"But? "the DA said softly,

"Ben refused, he said I had to treat him there and that if he didn't wake up within 24 hours, then he would take him to the hospital"

"so no real medical help was called, no ambulance, no doctor? even though Ty was unconscious, bleeding and suspected of broken bones.?" The DA looked at the Jury, "Is that what you're saying?"

"yes, Ben didn't call anyone, I was all he had," Kallie's' voice trailed off, her eyes lifting to Tys, as a tear rolled down her cheek, "I made him comfortable, I cleaned the head wound and I monitored him until he woke the next day"

"I cant do this, "Ty whispered to Amy, as he went to get up, He needed to get out. The pressure of the attention and Kallie's testimony becoming too much for him.

"Shh, its ok, "Amy soothed, "I'm right here, "

He sat back down, taking a breath, his heart pounding. "ok, ok, "he smiled shakily, threading his arm into hers, pulling on their connection for strength.

"the next day, when Ty awoke, let's start from there,"

"Ty woke up and was very disorientated and confused he also was in a considerable amount of pain due to his shoulder and his head." Kallie said, "Ben and my father came to see him as soon as they knew he was awake, "

"please continue Kallie,"

"Well, Ty was asking questions, he was confused like I said, he didn't remember the accident, and seemed to not recall where he was or what had happened, "

"what did you tell him at this point in time?"

"I tried to calm him, as I thought it was due to him being unconscious, and that it would pass, but I realized then that Tys memory was affected, he didn't know his name, or who we were or what had happened, he was getting more and more distressed, and I had to sedate him so he wouldn't hurt himself any more than he already was, "

"so Tys amnesia came into play here, at this time, "

"yes, his memory was completely blank, "Kallie said softly, "this is when he was told he was Clay Simmons,"

Ty bit his lip, and dug his free hand into the arm of the chair, he didn't want to relive this again. It was hard enough the first time and then to have to go through it under oath himself. To hear Kallie tell the story again, felt like knives in his soul, stabbing unmercifully at an old wound that wouldn't heal.

"who told him he was Clay Simmons, ?" The DA asked loudly, "point to the person if they are in this room"

Kallie sat up straight and inhaled before she spoke, her words clear and slow to make sure everyone heard every word, "He's right there, Mr. Ben Dawson told Ty that he was Clay Simmons, he told him I was his sister and that Bill, was our father,"

She pointed directly at Ben who gave her the coldest deathliest stare in return.

"we make the court aware at this time that the witness pointed to the defendant" The DA interjected quickly.

"OBJECTION!" the defend yelled, "she is not credible, she had admitted to being a part of this elaborate ruse herself, "

"overruled, " the judge said coolly,

"thank you, Kallie, We appreciate the fact that in testifying here today you are also admitting your involvement in this crime and subsequently setting yourself up for possible future charges."

Kallie nodded, "I understand that, but the truth needs to be told"

The DA walked across the front of the defense's bench, his hands behind his back and he paused for dramatic effect. "ok, let's skip forward a little, Ty was told he was Clay, he was looked after by you while he resided at River Glen and kept completely oblivious to his real identity through this time, is that correct"

"yes, I saw Ty once every few days, and monitored his health, the shoulder injury healed, but the head injury was still a concern, Ty suffered seizures and blackouts, and I told both Ben and my father that we needed to get him medical help. "

"why didn't you just go for help Kallie?, you had his note, you were free to come and go, unlike Ty who was restricted to the ranch, " The DA pushed.

"I wanted too, I could see how dangerous it was for him to be left untreated, But Ben had my dad in a really bad place, you have to understand, Ben is not a man that you want to cross., he threatened both of us, I was scared, I'm not proud of it, I was scared my father would end up in the same place my brother did, so ….So I stayed quiet," Kallie dropped her head and let out a small sob, knowing that she had let this man who sat before her intimidate and control her."

"what treatment did you give Mr. Borden?" The DA asked, softening his tone, seeing she was near to breaking,

"I monitored Ty's condition, and the seizures were getting more frequent, I told Ben and my father that if we didn't do something soon, that Ty was running a high possibility of permanent brain damage. So, Ben got me intravenous Xanax and told me to give Ty a shot each day until the seizures were under control. "

"did you administer these shots?"

"yes, one a day for the first few weeks, then one every few days, "Kallie locked her gaze onto Ben again, "I became aware though that the only time Ben pushed for the shots was when Ty started to show signs or recollection, if he had a flash of memory or said something pertaining to his real life, Ben would make sure he got a shot that day, "

"these shots, what did they do to Ty? "

"they stopped the seizures, but they also clouded his memory, making it harder for him to recall things. It kept Ty in a state of limbo, open to suggestion, where Ben fed him the life he wanted him to have, "Kallie stopped, and looked at the Jury, "you have to understand, Ty was oblivious to all of this, he believed what he was told, why wouldn't he? He thought I was his sister that Bill was his father, that Ben was someone to look up too. He didn't stand a chance, "she looked

towards the gallery. "that's why I called Amy, that's why I told her he was alive and where she could find him, I couldn't allow it to go on any further, it just wasn't fair, not to Ty"

Amy looked at the broken girl before her on the stand, a tear running down her cheek. For the first time since this whole sordid tale had begun, she realized what Kallie had been up against, and somehow now felt empathy for her. She had tried to protect him, she had tried to make Ty as safe as she could. But now she could see how large the battle must have been.

"I can't listen to any more of this Amy" Ty breathed and released his hold on her, he stood up and sidestepped past the other gallery members and walked out the court's door.

Amy turned to Jack who placed his hand on her arm and smiled,"shh, you stay, I've got this,"

Jack stood up and touched Tim's shoulder in a silent message to hold the fort and followed Ty from the courtroom.

Jack found Ty looking out the large glass windows in the hallway outside the courtroom, His hands were pushed deep into his pockets and he rocked gently on his dress shoe heels.

"you're not supposed to leave without an escort remember," Jack said softly as he came up behind him. Making him startle slightly at the noise,

"I'm not supposed to do a lot of things, Jack, "Ty smiled, his gaze still out the window and on the busy streets of Calgary below.

"How's about we go out and get some air, I saw a little cafe on the ground floor with a garden, "

Jack suggested,

"can't leave the courthouse, remember" Ty smiled,

"well, I'll be your escort" Jack smiled,

"I don't think that's exactly what they meant Jack," Ty grinned,

"come on, let's go, I don't know about you, but all this locked door, he said she said is doing my head in" Jack laughed, placing his hand on his shoulder and roughly tapping it.

Ty smiled a true smile for the first time since arriving at the courthouse, he looked back at the courtroom door and then back at Jack who had moved to the elevator doors and had already hit the button.

Jack smiled softly as Ty came to stand next to him. As they watched the glass elevator come to a stop on their floor. The door opened and they stepped in together.

to be continued