TW / Descriptions of panic, threat and violence.

Chapter 11: Confrontation

The Bistro Michelle stepped into bared no resemblance to the one she'd left behind. Everything, from the mosaic wall tiles to the mustard yellow leather covering the booths, was new. It was as though everything she and Robert had designed and built had been ripped out; replaced by some faux-chic tat: every trace of them completely erased.

Despite the décor, it was clear the Bistro was still popular. The room was full to the brim with lively patrons, dining happily on the set brunch menu and sending nothing but empty plates back to the kitchen.

Michelle took a deep breath as she surveyed the area; her eyes narrowing as she caught sight of Ray. He looked sickeningly pleased with himself, stood hands on hips behind the bar as though overlooking his empire. Michelle felt her stomach churn.

With a hastened pace she approached the bar, her face set with a neutral expression; giving nothing away.

"Ah, if it isn't Michelle Connor…" Ray smirked, raising an eyebrow. "What can I do for you this morning?"

"We need to talk." She said, pointedly; deliberately bypassing the niceties of polite conversation. "In private."

"Oh, I don't know if that's a good idea…" Ray shook his head, folding his arms across his chest. "We wouldn't want to risk anymore false accusations, would we?"

"Where's Vicky?" She asked instead, keeping her tone level as she allowed his comment to slide. He was going to tell her everything, whether he did it privately or not. She would make sure of it. She watched with a nauseous anticipation as his lips smacked closed, pulling up a fraction at one corner.

"Trouble in paradise, is there?" He quipped, releasing a chuckle alongside the words. Michelle exhaled; her unshakeable fear diluted by the anger his quick remarks were driving into her.

"I'm serious, Ray." She hissed, pushing herself away from the white marble countertop and storming towards the office.

"You can't be in here!" Ray said decidedly as he followed her into the private room, closing the door behind him all the same. As he turned to face her, a shiver crawled along her spine.

"Why, have you got something to hide?" She shot, raising an eyebrow as she folded her arms protectively across her torso. It was an instinctive reaction; one that she regretted almost immediately. Ray was the type of man to thrive off intimidation and the power it brought him. She could tell by the way he was smirking that he knew she was afraid.

"What do you want, Michelle?" He asked, eyebrow raised.

"I want to know what you've done with Vicky." She stated, a slight waver in her voice. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest as the second hand of the desktop clock ticked rhythmically with each second that passed. He was taking a moment to deliberate her question; calculating his response. All of his actions presented themselves to her as those of a guilty man.

"And why do you think I have anything to do with her whereabouts?" He questioned; his eyes narrowed.

"Because the last person around here that she had contact with said that you were the person she'd gone to see."

Michelle wondered if she'd played her cards too soon. Whether she should have pushed him harder before revealing her conversation with Gary. All she knew was that she had to get to the bottom of this quickly. It was dawning on her even more with each passing minute the danger that Vicky could be in. Her heart felt as though it was being crushed inside her chest.

"And what? You're just going to take their word for it?" Ray laughed, pulling out the chair from his side of the desk and collapsing into it, an amused grin on his face. Michelle shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other as he rested his elbows on the arms of the chair, drumming his fingers together like a stereotypical villain.

"I know what you're like…" Michelle whispered, the sick feeling in her stomach even stronger now. Ray's eyes continued to rake over her; her determination alighting sparks of excitement across his skin. To him, this was a game of Cat and Mouse; and he very rarely lost.

"We could have made a great team, you and me..." He chuckled, eyes darkening as he stared her down. "You're feisty, good looking, intelligent. What a shame you had to throw it all away..."

"You got what you wanted in the end..." Michelle pointed out with a sneer; her eyes trailing up and down his cheap, grey suit. "Your grubby hands all over my Bistro."

"Oh, I wanted much more than that."

Michelle was taken aback by his confession, so much so that she didn't even flinch when he pushed himself up from the chair, advancing on her. He stopped less than three feet away, a tense energy filling the space between them.

"And when you couldn't have me you went after my girlfriend instead?" She spat.

He took another careful step towards her, leaning down to whisper cruelly in her ear.

"She offered herself up on a plate."

Michelle flinched backwards, her right hand flying upwards and striking a harsh slap across his cheek. He looked unphased as she pulled it into her, palm tingling. The smile that spread across his face in retaliation caused the fire within her to burn even fiercer, her hand flying out once more.

Only this time he was expecting it. He wrapped his fingers tightly around her skin as he caught her wrist, pulling her closer to him. Her breathing faltered as she stared up at him, her whole body shaking with rage and terror.

"I don't take well to people trying to pull a fast one on me, Michelle." He released, his breath warm and rancid against her face. She tugged at her wrist helplessly, letting out an involuntary whimper as his grip tightened. "I know the game she was playing…"

"What are you talking about?" Michelle exhaled. There were tears stinging the corners of her eyes, but she refused to let them to fall. If this was how he dared to act with a Bistro full of people in the next room, she dreaded to think what he could have done to Vicky. She had to stay strong for her.

"She was in Gary Windass' pocket all along. I knew about their little plan. I've got eyes and ears everywhere."

"What plan?" Michelle spat, giving her wrist a final tug. "If you don't let go of me, I'll scream."

"Ah yes, and then I'll get arrested for assault and you'll never find out where your precious little girlfriend is." He smirked. Michelle's heart dropped. "I'm the one in control here."

"Where is she?" She reiterated; her tone set.

"It was so obvious what she was trying to do." He goaded, deliberately ignoring her question. "I really didn't think she was prepared to go as far as she did."

Michelle's left hand flew up in a fist, pounding against his chest; the skin of her right burning as she fought against his claw-like hold. It was a frenzied scene; him laughing maniacally as she attacked. It didn't take long for him to find purchase around her left wrist, too.

"Hey, shh, calm down. We don't want to draw any attention now, do we?" He spoke softly, as though trying to placate a wild animal. She continued to fight against him, achieving nothing but tiring herself out. Relenting, she allowed her upper body to drop in defeat, her arms held in place by Ray's firm grasp.

"I'll go to the police…" She said quietly. "You've admitted it to me."

"And just what have I admitted? That I saw her? That's hardly enough to charge me on, is it?" He laughed. "They wouldn't believe you anyway. All they'll see is a scorned and bitter woman wanting revenge after being cheated out of her Bistro…"

"I've got other witnesses. Everyone around here knows what you're like. How many other women have you slapped a gagging order on, hey? I'm sure plenty of them will come out of the woodwork when they hear you're in court."

"Well, the main flaw there is that most women know how a gagging order works. You're the only one that was stupid enough to break yours."

"Either way, the police will have to investigate. I'll tell them everything you've told me and they'll find her."

Michelle felt her body lurch forwards as Ray tugged on her wrists. He dragged her to the chair he'd vacated minutes before, pushing her down into it. Her hands fell limply into her lap as he let go of them, crouching in front of her; one hand resting on an arm of the chair, the fingers of his other tracing circles on her thigh.

"And if you do that," He whispered, eyes boring into hers, "I'll tell them exactly what you and Vicky did to Robert."

Michelle's breath hitched in her throat. How the hell did he know about that? She was certain she'd never let anything slip and Vicky had promised to keep her mouth shut too. It was a secret they'd sworn to take to their graves, no matter what happened between them.

"What are you talking about?" She attempted to deny; the waver in her voice giving away the truth. Even so, Ray decided to indulge her. Playing with her was all part of the fun.

"I'll tell them how you hid Vicky away, waiting until everyone thought she was dead and Robert was in prison before she legged it across the country. I'll tell them all about how your little plan was thwarted by the arrival of her little bundle of joy. What was his name again? Sonny, wasn't it?"

Michelle was physically shaking in her chair. Her knees felt so weak that she was sure she couldn't stand, even if she wanted to. He knew everything. How did he know everything? There was no way Vicky would have betrayed her; especially not to Ray. Not unless she was forced to.

"What have you done to her?" Michelle asked; her voice weak. Her stomach had dropped and she felt as though she could throw up at any second.

"There you go again with the accusations!" Ray rolled his eyes. "You're always so overdramatic. You're definitely one of those people that catastrophises. If we were in the States you'd have a little bunker ready for the apocalypse." He laughed.

"What have you done?" Michelle repeated, her voice raised in frustration.

"For god's sake, Michelle. Calm down. I'm a businessman, not the mafia. And what is my main business?" He looked at her expectantly, wanting her to give an answer.

"Being a sleaze." She spat, defiantly. She gasped as his hand fell firmly onto her thigh, her mind wandering back to that hotel room, panic building within her.

"I'll give you another try." He said, coldly.

"Hotel owner." She gasped out between heavy breaths, too terrified now to not play along.

"Correct…" He smiled, removing his other hand from the arm of the chair and stroking a finger down her cheek. She tilted her head away, the rest of her body frozen in place. "And one of those hotels just happens to be the Heffernan Lodge."

"What?" Michelle croaked, meekly. She had no idea. When she'd booked Vicky into that hotel the previous year it was because it was the furthest down on the online listings, in the quietest part of town: The complete opposite to all of the other hotels owned by Ray.

"It may look like a shabby building on the outside, but what it does have is an extremely high-tech surveillance system." He smirked. "Every word the two of you spoke in that grubby little room was recorded…"

"You have cameras inside your hotel rooms?" Michelle interrogated; the disgust evident in her voice. There wasn't a single thing she'd discovered about Ray that didn't make her skin crawl. He was a total creep through and through.

"Only that hotel. It's the perfect place to catch criminals. No one expects to be caught in a rundown, edge of town hotel…"

"And I bet you've caught loads, haven't you?" Michelle spat, sarcastically. "Bet the police can't wait to give you a medal."

"Well, I'm sure they'd love to hear all about what you and Vicky got up to." Ray said, matter-of-factly.

"You're bluffing. If you really had any of that, you'd have shown the police by now." Michelle pointed out, haughtily. Ray's face broke into a terrifying grin.

"But where would be the fun in that?" He asked, walking his fingers tormentingly up her thigh. "Why give it all straight to the police when I can use it?"

Michelle's heart was beating ten to the dozen as she tried to bat his hand away. His fingers lifted from her thigh, linking with hers instead.

"You see Michelle, no one ever has to see that footage. You and Vicky can go off and live your lives together without any worry…" His eyes glinted darkly as he stared at her.

"What's the catch?" She breathed; her tongue tacky in her dry mouth.

"I just need you to do one little thing for me…"